Getting a new Outback - should I get EyeSight or not?

garythesnail

Looking for pros and cons. I already know that there is no insurance discount despite the rumors and speculation. In fact, some people are reporting an insurance increase on cars with EyeSight. Reduction in rear end crashes also seems to be speculative (unless you are a tailgater of course). So, can someone tell me why I should pay extra for it, and pay extra for car insurance too?

bdyment

I have a 2017 Forester with Eyesight and it is a great safety feature. It does a lot more than just help to avoid rear end collisions. I have not seen any cases of insurance increasing because of this safety device. I think it is a very worth while addition to have.

garythesnail

Thanks for the input. I guess it will be a while before we'll really know if it actually improves safety. Meanwhile, what we have is rumors, opinions, and speculation (and some great advertising videos from Subaru). My wife thinks the cross-traffic and blind-spot alerts will just be a distraction.

Funny, when I first learned about EyeSight I thought it was a terrific idea, and a "must have". Now I'm not sure.

cmhj2000

We like ours. It takes a while to get used to the car "driving itself" to a degree. But it did save me from a close call once.

manku

I wouldn't buy a Subaru without eyesight.

And I wouldn't buy any car without blind spot monitoring or cross traffic alert.

And, FWIW, getting a Subaru (2017 limited,eyesight) lowered my monthly insurance premium by $70.

PF_Flyer

It would be hard to imagine insurance premiums rising because of a safety device. (Would seem a stretch to say it would make a vehicle more attractive to a car thief)

What vehicle did you come from before the 2017 Subie manku? Could be a lot of other factors beyond EyeSight that would affect premiums.

garythesnail

PF_Flyer, to people not in the insurance business it may be hard to imagine. However, insurance companies for the most part don't work on feelings, rumors, opinions, or speculation. The reason a new safety device can raise premiums is because insurance companies go by their costs (pay outs). When a vehicle has a new safety device, all the insurance company knows for sure is that it will cost them a lot more to fix it after a crash. If there are no statistics to show reductions in claim amounts from the safety device, they are not likely to give a discount for it. The same thing happened in the early days of airbags. Some people paid more for insurance on vehicles with airbags for while, until the reduction in injury claim amounts could be seen. In the case of EyeSight, we already know that when a windshield is replaced, the EyeSight system needs to be recalibrated. Since windshield replacements are fairly common, this is an additional cost to the insurance company that they may make up by increasing premiums. Will systems like EyeSight reduce claim amounts? This has yet to be seen, but early statistics show that it actually increases claim amounts slightly for all coverages except Bodily Injury (which only covers injuries to passengers in the other vehicle, not passengers in the vehicle with EyeSight). IIHS has an interesting report on this.

manku

PF_Flyer said:

It would be hard to imagine insurance premiums rising because of a safety device. (Would seem a stretch to say it would make a vehicle more attractive to a car thief)

What vehicle did you come from before the 2017 Subie manku? Could be a lot of other factors beyond EyeSight that would affect premiums.

I had a 2011 Prius 4...when I put various VIN numbers in my (progressive) insurance website, the numbers didn't really change much if I had gotten a new prius (34k sticker, tech package) or even various 50K cars like a Q5. Oddly, the Subaru lowered it substantially...I didn't price a non-eyesight Outback, which in hindsight would have been interesting.

Also, my premiums just about doubled last year as I was in an at fault accident...premiums, for two cars, went from about 1800 to 3300 a year.

Mr_Shiftright

I like most of Eyesight except Lane Keep Assist. I'm not sure if that can be disabled. I don't like a computer actually steering my car.

The Subaru website does make this claim:

"You may even be able to save an additional $200 on your auto coverage with Liberty Mutual Insurance® if your Subaru vehicle is equipped with EyeSight"