How to lower your auto insurance costs?

I am beginning the process of looking for a new car.  Other than the obvious thoughts of; do I want a car or SUV, new or used, etc… I decided to look into the insurances aspects as well.  I have been fairly comfortable with my rates on my current vehicle, but when I called my insurance company and asked about insuring a particular vehicle I was interested in, I got “sticker shock”.

So what can I do to get some discounts for auto insurance?
One thing is to reconsider the deductible.  By requesting my deductible increase from $250 to $500, my quote went down by about 15%. If I went to a $750 deductible, it would decrease by another 10%.
Keeping the car and homeowners insurance on one policy was also a strong option, but… it couldn’t hurt to shop around and compare costs.
I also found out my credit rating helped determine my rate.  My particular insurance company asked for a particular minimum credit score, so I’m in the process of actually finding out what my credit score is.  Just because I think I have paid all my bills on time, doesn’t mean I have good credit.  There could be some surprises out there that will keep my credit score down, so once I get the report back, I suppose I can address the issue at that time.
I found out that by driving a lower than average number of miles for my area could also provide a good discount.
There are also the various car safety ratings that apply and whether or not the vehicle is high on the “theft” list.
So now that I have some homework to do, looking for a new vehicle is not as easy as just getting what I want if I am looking for some discounts for auto insurance.

Basically what I found out is that, good credit, higher deductibles, no accidents or moving violations for a few years is optimal for getting the lowest possible rates, but there is also the option of taking a state approved defensive driving course to help just a little bit more.