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Which Cars Cost More to Insure?


Often when people shop for a new car they can get caught up in the moment. For most people, buying a new car is an exciting experience. However, that excitement can sometimes mean that we don’t always make the best decision for our own situation. It’s important to remember that when the “new car smell” goes away and the shine is off the wheels, you still have all the costs and expenses associated with your purchase.

As such, it’s important before you buy to consider things like how good of gas mileage the car gets, what the repair statistics are for that particular model, what the sticker price is, the costs of financing, and, of course, how much it will cost to insure that vehicle.

The truth is that car insurance costs can be a big factor in the overall cost of a vehicle. Statistics say that only about one in 20 car buyers actually purchase insurance before they buy their car and many buyers never even consider how much insurance will cost until after they have purchased a vehicle.

There are many sources on the web for you to find out if your car is going to cost more to insure in the event of an accident. One source is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The IIHS tracks many statistics about vehicle safety, insurance costs, and more. If you are considering purchasing a certain vehicle, it’s a good idea to research it on the Internet to see if it will be an expensive car to insure. You can access the IIHS website at www.iihs.org.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the best vehicles (for the 2005 to 2007 period) to insure in terms of their cost to repair following a collision are as follows:

Lowest losses: Collision Size/class Rating
GMC Acadia 4dr 4WD Large SUVs 30
Saturn Outlook 4dr Large SUVs 33
Jeep Wrangler 4dr Midsize SUVs 33
Lincoln MKX 4dr 4WD Midsize luxury SUVs 38
GMC Acadia 4dr Large SUVs 39
Jeep Wrangler 2dr 4WD Small SUVs 44
Jeep Wrangler 4dr 4WD Midsize SUVs 46
Mini Cooper Mini two-door models 46
Jeep Patriot 4dr 4WD Small SUVs 48
Ford Edge 4dr Midsize SUVs 51


On the other hand the highest cost vehicles to insure in terms of their cost to repair after a collision are as follows:

Highest losses: Collision Size/class Rating
Lotus Elise Mini sports models 435
Maserati Quattroporte 4dr Very large luxury models 429
BMW M5 4dr Large luxury models 317
Subaru Impreza WRX 4WD Small four-door models 275
Bentley Continental GT 2dr Very large luxury models 266
Lexus GS 450h Hybrid 4dr Large luxury models 243
Bentley Continental Flying Spur 4dr 4WD Very large luxury models 239
Cadillac CTS-V 4dr Large luxury models 236
Aston Martin DB9 Large sports models 225
BMW 6 series 2dr Large luxury models 223


Is an expensive-to-insure car in your future?
Now, even though most of us are not going to be buying a Lotus or a Bentley anytime in the near future, the point is that the type of car you drive can dramatically affect your cost of insurance. In fact, the difference in cost to insure certain vehicles versus others can be thousands of dollars annually! You might be surprised at many of the cars on the “expensive-to-insure” list. Many mainstream vehicles are considered “higher risk” by insurance companies.

The reason for the dramatic difference is that individual premiums are calculated by using statistics, models, and tables that take into account many different personal factors and then those statistics are combined with what is called the “loss experience” of the vehicle or vehicles being insured. The “loss experience factor” means that, as a group, the owners of certain types of vehicles end up with far fewer or far less expensive insurance claims than the owners of others.

In fact, there is a statistically supported theory that certain vehicle types tend to attract certain driver types. What that means to you is that even if you are a great driver with a perfect driving record and a great credit history, you’ll still be paying more for car insurance if you choose a vehicle model that is in a “high loss experience” group. The moral of the story is to know what you’re in for before you purchase by doing research on the cars you’re interested in. You’ll be glad you did.

It pays to look at the costs of car insurance before you buy a car. QualityAutoInsurance.com has helped many customers get cheaper car insurance by giving them instant, online quotes from top tier carriers. So take a few minutes and fill out our simple form. You’ll probably get a better deal on your car insurance no matter what type of car you want to buy.