How to Buy a Car With Low Insurance

If you’re car shopping, you need to factor in auto insurance.

Before buying a car, always call your insurance company for a quote. You don’t want to get stuck with an insurance bill as high as your car payment.

If you’re a money-saver, you may be wondering how to pick a car with a low insurance quote.

A lot of factors affect your insurance premium:

• Age
• Accident history
• Credit score
• Where you live
• Who’s on your policy

This post will look at one factor in particular: the kind of car you’re buying.

If you’re trying to pick out a car with cheap insurance, you’re looking for three things. You want to buy a safe, inexpensive, and old car.

1. Buy a safe car

The chief concern of insurance is managing risk.

What are the odds a driver will be in an accident? Do they have a history of accidents and traffic violations?

They analyze the driver. They also analyze the car.

Insurance companies collect data on makes and models. Do certain cars have bad track records?

Let’s say a particular sports car is in a lot of high-speed crashes per year. Insurance companies note this and they raise insurance costs on that specific make and model.

Let’s say a 4-door car with safety features is in significantly fewer accidents a year. The insurance company will see that as a safer vehicle and lower the insurance costs.

Airbags and seatbelts are givens. But here are other common safety features:

• Shatter-resistant glass.
• Anti-lock braking systems.
• Four-wheel steering for better control.
• Good bumpers to protect the body from minor bumps.
• Mirrors to see blind spots.
• Excellent headlights for driving at night or in the rain.

Also, 4-door vehicles typically have lower insurance rates than 2-door vehicles.

2. Buy an inexpensive car

The more a car costs, the higher the insurance costs.

For one, expensive cars are statistically more likely to be stolen.

Another factor insurance companies consider when insuring your car is the repair cost. If the car is damaged, how much would it cost to replace the parts?

If the car parts are expensive then the vehicle will have a higher premium. If it’s cheap to repair the car then the vehicle will have a lower premium.

In some cases, you don’t even have to guess which car will cost more to repair. Let’s say there’s a Honda Civic on your left and a Mercedes-Benz on your right.

Which do you think costs more to insure?

However, it’s not always obvious which car costs more to repair. There are cars that are cheap, but their parts are expensive to get.

For example, some foreign cars need parts from far away countries. That might raise the repair costs. In turn, that jacks up the insurance premium.

Always call your insurance company before purchasing a vehicle to get an insurance quote.

But generally speaking, you want to look at less expensive cars. They normally have lower insurance rates.

3. Buy an older car

Older cars usually have lower insurance rates than newer cars.

There are exceptions. If it’s a classic car or rare model, it may be more expensive than a new make and model.

There are a few reasons why older cars are cheaper to insure.

As mentioned in the previous section, car price matters. Newer cars cost more and have a higher market value.

That means it’ll be expensive to repair them if they’re damaged.

Newer cars also tend to have more add-ons:

• GPS
• Built-in computer screens
• Roadside assistance

The more bells and whistles a car has, the more the insurance company needs to cover.

Also, older cars have been around for a while. Therefore insurance companies have more data on these makes and models.

Let’s say an older model has a below-average accident rate. The insurance knows this from years of collecting data.

So the company gives the model a lower premium.

When a new model hits the market, an insurance company isn’t sure how safe it is. It may perform poorly in years to come.

The uncertainty may force the company to aim higher on premiums.

Always get an insurance quote

Those are the three things to keep in mind when shopping for a car with cheap insurance. You’re looking for a safe, inexpensive, and older car.

Keep in mind that there are exceptions to the rules. Don’t skip the step of calling your insurance company and asking for a quote.

But these three factors are a good place to start. Keep them in mind to narrow your search for a car.

They’ll give you a general direction when choosing a car. And they’ll save you money in the future.