If you’re buying a car, the usual priorities are creature comforts and impressive engines. But you should also think about how much you will have to pay for auto insurance. When you’re looking around for North Carolina car insurance quotes, you have to realize that the vehicle you drive will affect your monthly premiums.
If you’re buying a high-end luxury car, you’ll deal with higher price tags and higher insurance premiums. That’s because it will be expensive to have it repaired, and it will cost even more to replace them if the vehicle gets wrecked. So if you’re going for a Mercedes S Class, be prepared to pay up for higher premiums as well.
A sports car is also not a good idea from an insurance perspective. The faster a car can go, the more likely it is to get into an accident. Insurance people are aware that the drivers of sports cars are more likely to get into an accident than drivers of regular models. These drivers are mostly teens and young adults, and as a demographic they don’t have the safest of driving records.
A large car can also be costlier to insure. That’s because its size can cause much greater damage to other cars and people on the road. Get into a collision while you’re driving a BMW X5, and you may find that you’ve caused a lot of damage to the other car. The passengers there may also be more likely to get serious injuries. All these are covered by your liability insurance.
Finally, you should also try to avoid the cars that thieves like. Honda Accords and Civics are always among the top target for carjackers, along with Ford and Chevy pickup trucks. Thefts are covered by a comprehensive auto insurance policy.
So what cars and vehicles should you go for instead? If you want to pay less for insurance, go for the following:
| Model | Average annual insurance premium | Starting MSRP |
| 1. Honda CR-V | $1,146.89 | $24,985 |
| 2. Subaru Outback | $1,176.11 | $26,520 |
| 3. Jeep Cherokee | $1,182.32 | $24,790 |
| 4. Chevy Equinox | $1,209.21 | $26,445 |
| 5. Ford Escape | $1,217.75 | $24,645 |
| 6. Jeep Wrangler | $1,229.01 | $29,080 |
| 7. Toyota Highlander | $1,234.74 | $31,590 |
| 8. Toyota Tacoma | $1,282.17 | $23,820 |
| 9. Toyota RAV4 | $1,285.92 | $25,370 |
| 10. Nissan Rogue | $1,287.35 | $25,300 |
| 11. Chevy Silverado 1500 | $1,288.17 | $28,880 |
| 12. Ford Explorer | $1,313.94 | $32,105 |
| 13. Jeep Grand Cherokee | $1,325.04 | $31,400 |
| 14. Honda Accord | $1,332.84 | $24,030 |
| 15. Ford F-150 | $1,356.80 | $28,405 |
| 16. Chevy Malibu | $1,359.66 | $24,140 |
| 17. Toyota Camry | $1,377.65 | $23,955 |
| 18. Ford Fusion | $1,379.19 | $22,995 |
| 19. Hyundai Sonata | $1,388.73 | $22,435 |
| 20. Hyundai Elantra | $1,413.37 | $18,985 |
| 21. Nissan Altima | $1,431.61 | $24,755 |
| 22. Nissan Sentra | $1,433.65 | $19,440 |
| 23. Honda Civic | $1,436.89 | $19,615 |
| 24. Toyota Corolla | $1,437.51 | $19,385 |
| 25. Ram 1500 | $1,437.97 | $28,770 |
Why are these cars cheaper to insure? The most important factor here is that these are the models that historically have lower claim rates and lower repair costs. These tend to have less horsepower under the hood, so they don’t go as fast and thus less likely to get into a serious accident. The personality profiles of the people who tend to drive these cars also show a more responsible demeanor. Many of these vehicles are even considered “mommy-mobiles”!
You can’t really do anything about your age, but at least you can pick a car that won’t be terribly expensive to insure. Do the sensible thing and get one of these cars. They’re not just cheap to ensure, but they’re generally more affordable to buy and safer to drive. They may be boring cars, but at least you save a lot of money!