How Much Does It Cost to Insure A....
The kind of vehicle you drive is the second largest factor insurance providers use when determining your car insurance price. Within the topic of the "kind" of vehicle you drive, the manufacturer of your vehicle ranks first of the overall pricing factors, thought being that certain sorts of OEM parts (parts produced by the Original Equipment Manufacturer) are more expensive simply because they carry the name a luxury brand (the second largest determining factor is the model year / age of a vehicle, followed by the body style / chassis in third.) As a consumer and, particularly before purchasing a new or used vehicle, it would behoove you to consider the price of that vehicle's insurance premium before you buy.
This guide should put you on the right path when selecting a make or model for future purchase. We've aggregated and averaged the average car insurance price by make and model so you can get a good idea of what you're looking at on a per make-model basis before you buy (or begin research for) a car or truck.
NOTE: The figures below are averages of quoted policy prices from various public and private sources. Your actual price will probably vary, and the use these figures for any purpose other than cursory research is not advised. Clean driving records are assumed, and the model-year of the car – which will move your price significantly – is not taken into consideration for the purposes of this cheat sheet. You should always get a quote for your specific vehicle before you commit to its purchase.
Acura Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,543.12 ($128.59/Month)
Acura ranks as the 16th most expensive make to insure (out of a possible 36.)
Current Models: ILX, MDX, RDX, RL, TL, TSX, ZDX
Previous Models: CL, CSX, EL, Integra, Legend, NSX, RSX, SLX, Vigor
Founded in 1986 and currently owned by the Honda Motor Company, Acura was the first luxury brand to come out of the Japanese auto market. As the make evolved over the past 25 years, its emphasis was expanded slightly to encompass not just luxury, but also performance. This makes the Acura ideal for any consumer in search of a high-performance vehicle with all the trappings of a high-end or luxury brand.
In the insurance business, "performance" is often viewed to be a codeword for "racing." The type of owner attracted to a "performance" vehicle may be predisposed to a higher insurance premium price since racing or aggressive driving often results in multiple citations or tickets. Just like the myth surrounding red cars and higher insurance prices, so too might the cost to insure an Acura (above) suffer from a disproportionately high occurrence of drivers who like to race; therefore, you could expect better rates than what is displayed if you have a clean driving record (and keep it that way.)
Aston Martin Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $2,784.81 ($232.07/Month)
Aston Martin ranks as the 1st most expensive make to insure (out of a possible 36.)
Current Models: V8 Vantage (has Roadster Option), V12 Vantage, DB9, DB9 Volante, DBS V12, DBS Volante, Rapide, Cygnet, Virage
Previous Models: DB2, DB4, DB5, DB6, DBS, V8 Zagato, DB7, DB9, One-77, Lagonda, Bulldog, and many others
*DB stands for (Sir) "David Brown," who is widely viewed to be the post-WWII savior of the brand
The Aston Martin brand was started in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford in Aston Clinton, a village partly between Tring and Aylesbury in England. As one of the few British manufacturers of automobiles, Aston Martin enjoys the notoriety of being the most valuable single-brand manufacturer in the United Kingdom (ahead of Jaguar singularly, which has several other subordinate brands.) While the ownership of the company has varied drastically over the years (it was wholly owned by Ford Motor Company from 1994 - 2007, and Ford still maintains a significant financial interest to this day) the racetrack-born heritage of the company has managed to survive the ages. The Aston Martin brand was popularized in the United States by the Ford Motor Company in a series of cameos in spy flicks, such as an appearance of the Aston Martin Vanquish in the 2002 movie Die Another Day from the James Bond series.
While the odds are you're not driving around an Aston Martin (and if you are, please send us photos) we added the approximate cost to insure an Aston Martin to our list to give you an idea of how your vehicle stacks up against the single most expensive make to insure in the United States. Though closely trailed by the Rolls Royce, the Aston Martin is a hair away from double the median annual insurance cost ($1,525.29) for most vehicles on the road. Look with your eyes and not with your bumper when you encounter these beauties in traffic, as a car accident involving an Aston Martin will set you and your insurance company back significantly.
Audi Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,842.82 ($153.57/Month)
Audi ranks as the 9th most expensive make to insure (out of a possible 36.)
Current Models: A1, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, TT, R8, Q3, Q5, Q7, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, TTS, RS3, RS5, TT RS
Previous Models: 100, 200, 50, 80, 90, A2, Cabriolet, Coupé, F103, Quattro, RS2 Avant, RS4, RS6, S2, Sport Quattro, V8
The Audi brand can trace its origination all the way back 1909, when August Horch founded Horch Automobil-Werke Gmbh. (This was his second car manufacturing company; he was muscled out of the first one by a militant supervisory board.) The first Audi – a Type A Sport-Phaton – was produced in 1910 but, like the first company he started, he was forced out of his second company and once again started anew. The following company (and the three after that) all bore some permutation of the name Horch, which is German for “listen;” the Latin word for “listen” is “audi” and… well, no further explanation is needed. The four rings unique to the Audi brand represent the four companies with which Mr Horch would later band but, much like the legal woes of Mr Horch himself, the company would face an unsuccessful lawsuit brought by the Olympics commission because the rings closely resembled those of the international brand.
Audi is a wholly-owned, luxury-branded subsidiary of the Volkswagen family and it enjoys the prestige of German reliability. Audi was the first mass-market manufacturer to produce vehicles made of 100% galvanized steel, which prevents the vehicle from experiencing common forms corrosion from the elements and minimizes the cost of wear and tear. The unique combination of high-quality production materials and innovative luxury amenities (Audi was among the first to expand the role of on-board computing systems, aggressively competing with BMW for recognition in this category) places Audi in the top quartile expense category when it comes to insurance cost, as these items are not cheap to replace in the event of an accident.
BMW Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,966.82 ($163.90/Month)
BMW ranks as the 7th most expensive make to insure (out of a possible 36.)
Current Models: Compact (E46/5); 1-Series (E81, E82, E87, E88); 3-Series (E90, E91, E92, E93); 5-Series (E60, E61, F07, F10); 6-Series (E63, E64); 7-Series (E65, E66, E67, E68, F01, F02, F03, F04); Z-Series (Z4 E85/E86/E89, Z8); Sport Activity Series (E70, E71, E83, E84)
Previous Models: 8-Series, M1, New Class, 3200 CS, 3XX, each with numerous sub-codes
*The "E" stands for "evolution" and "F" for "future," indicating either the re-engineering of a previous chassis or development of a new chassis; the following two-digits are usually the displacement of the engine in cubic centimeters divided by 100 (ex: E68) or as an indicator of their performance index (ex: 116i).
BMW, which stands for Bavarian Motor Works in English, was founded in 1917 and is the parent company of the Mini and Rolls-Royce models. Unlike other manufacturers, whose flagship branded vehicles are typically designed for a more "average" consumer, BMW is the only company with two makes to occupy the top quartile of our average insurance price index. BMW was the automotive wing of the Rapp Motorenwerke company, which originally manufactured both an aircraft and motor vehicle engines, but the company was ordered to cease the production of its aircraft engines by the Versailles Armistice Treaty following the conclusion of World War I. Though forbidden to produce plane components to this day, the tradition of aviation-themed inspiration heavily permeates the company in advertising and promotional materials. In fact, the BMW logo incorporates the colors of the Bavarian flag (blue and white) and the center placement of cross-shaped dividing line, which is meant to represent propeller blades.
BMW produces an average of 1.2 million vehicles of varying models each year and has been called one of the most customizable luxury brands on the market (due to the numerous types of engines available for each make.) If you count each model/engine combination as a unique vehicle type, BMW has the most models on the road by a long shot. The customizability of the brand translates to an expensive replacement cost and, when combined with BMW's propensity for including cutting-edge technology in its interior configuration, makes this make one of the top 10 most expensive insurance costs in the United States. Still, figuring out how much it costs to insure a BMW model is not as hard as most think since all model/engine combinations are produced in limited quantity, thereby preventing any one model from being more expensive to insure. Price will fluctuate based on the body style of the vehicle, of course, but this luxury brand's value retention over time generally keeps its insurance premium price quite consistent.
Buick Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,433.23 ($119.44/Month)
Buick ranks as the 26th most expensive make to insure (out of a possible 36.)
Current Models: Verano, Regal, Lucerne, LaCrosse, Enclave
Previous Models: Century, Century Wagon, Electra, Estate Wagon, LeSabre, Park Avenue, Rainier, Reatta, Rendezvous, Riviera, Roadmaster, Roadmaster Wagon, Skyhawk, Skyhawk Wagon, Skylark, Terraza
Buick is the luxury or premium brand produced by General Motors (GM), and is the only vehicle which can truthfully lay claim as oldest active American make currently in production. Don't let the American brand association fool you, though – Buick's largest market per capita sales belong to the Chinese, with the Chinese population purchasing over 2 million Buicks to-date (or approximately 35% of total demand for the Buick brand.)
In addition to being the oldest (and arguably the most stable) American luxury brands on the market, it also has the distinction of being the least expensive car make to insure according to our insurance price index. This has everything to do with the annual volume produced and overall demand for vehicles manufactured by Buick; this makes the replacement parts typically required post-collision more available and the cost more accessible to all consumers, regardless of their home country. Indeed, GM has one of the sturdiest track records for producing parts for vehicles that are make-agnostic, meaning that the parts most commonly needed for a Buick can be obtained easily in the event of an accident. This significantly reduces how much it costs to insure a Buick, making this all-American vehicle an attractive option for luxury-minded shoppers worldwide.
Cadillac Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,605.96 ($133.83/Month)
Chevrolet Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,441.76 ($120.15/Month)
Chrysler Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,171.97 ($97.66/Month)
Dodge Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,576.20 ($131.35/Month)
Ford Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,591.91 ($132.66/Month)
GMC Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,513.59 ($126.13/Month)
Honda Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,378.68 ($114.89/Month)
Hummer Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,513.59 ($126.13/Month)
Hyundai Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,398.93 ($116.58/Month)
Infiniti Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,996.30 ($166.36/Month)
Jaguar Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $2,594.67 ($216.22/Month)
Jeep Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,250.71 ($104.23/Month)
KIA Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,436.24 ($119.69/Month)
Land Rover Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,873.75 ($156.15/Month)
Lexus Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,794.68 ($149.56/Month)
Lincoln Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,693.48 ($141.12/Month)
Mazda Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,365.22 ($113.77/Month)
Mercedes Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $2,248.68 ($187.39/Month)
Mercury Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,296.36 ($108.03/Month)
Mini Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,400.93 ($116.74/Month)
Mitsubishi Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,556.32 ($129.69/Month)
Nissan Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,492.73 ($124.39/Month)
Porsche Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $2,342.87 ($195.24/Month)
Rolls Royce Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $2,734.20 ($227.85/Month)
Saab Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,539.26 ($128.27/Month)
Scion Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,425.68 ($118.81/Month)
Subaru Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,514.23 ($126.19/Month)
Suzuki Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,422.50 ($118.54/Month)
Toyota Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,408.07 ($117.34/Month)
Volkswagen Insurance | Average Annual Cost: $1,468.27 ($122.36/Month)
