The cars in the Mercedes E class are some of the most popular luxury cars available to drivers today. The bummer is that getting car insurance for your Mercedes can take a huge bite out of your wallet. These handy tips can reduce your bill and make your vehicle more affordable to have.

Be clear with your insurance representative about the safety features in your vehicle.

The Mercedes-Benz brand is known for being exceptional not only in luxury, but also safety. With Mercedes E class vehicles specifically, you get features such as the Pre-Safe Technology system that prepares the car for impact, headlights that adjust automatically for optimum visual clarity and cameras to tell if you are weaving between lanes on the road. All of these safety features lower your risk of getting in a crash and often reduce the severity of the damages or injuries that happen when an accident does happen. Your insurance agent can reward you for this reduced risk, but if you’re not clear on all the safety features present in your model, you could miss out on a bigger discount.

Bundle your insurance.

Many insurance providers offer homeowners and other types of insurance in addition to auto insurance. You often can save money on your Mercedes E class insurance (or vehicle insurance in general) by bundling it with other insurance products you’re going to buy anyway, although you need to shop around to see what’s actually cheapest.

Consider lower horsepower.

In general, the majority of Mercedes E class vehicles offer 300 horsepower or more. Considering that a typical car offers somewhere in the neighborhood of 200, you’re going to get more oomph out of these vehicles. That said, there’s a lot of variance in the engines. If you’re looking for a sedan, for instance, the 2014 E250 BlueTEC offers a modest 195 hp, while the E63 AMG 4Matic has 550 hp. Insurance companies associate higher horsepower with higher speeds, because statistically, people who drive these types of cars do drive faster and, therefore, are at a higher risk of an accident. If you are buying a Mercedes, think critically about the amount of power you’re really going to use and need and you can save on your premiums by toning it down a notch.

Install a security system and use your garage.

Similar to safety features, security systems on vehicles lower premiums. Installing one in your Mercedes E class vehicle provides a greater deterrent against theft and vandalism, reducing risk for your insurance provider. In the same way, putting your Mercedes in a secured garage lowers risk by reducing the direct access people have to the car. It also lowers the odds that the vehicle will be damaged by natural events such as a tree falling in a storm or hail.

Take a class.

Most insurance providers now provide a discount on vehicle premiums if you take a defensive or safe driver class. These apply just as well to Mercedes-Benz vehicles as others. More specifically, however, you can look for a course from Mercedez-Benz or another luxury vehicle manufacturer designed specifically for luxury cars. These classes do offer defensive driving strategies, but they focus more on teaching you to handle the horsepower in your car properly, ensuring that you have the right attitude about how and when to use the vehicle.