Written by Q. If I buy a used car will my insurance be cheaper than if I purchased a new car?
AIS Answer: Normally when dealing with less expensive used vehicles, yes. However, keep in mind if you purchased a 2003 Ferrari F360 Spider, just because it’s “used” doesn’t mean that you’re going to pay less (unless you’re trading down from a more expensive Ferrari). If you’re looking to lower your rates, buying an expensive used car is not necessarily the answer.
We’ll use this example. If you want to purchase a $25k used vehicle (say an 98 BMW 740 il) and you would have bought something like a 2008 BMW 330 instead, but you like the luxury of a higher end vehicle that has encountered depreciation, then in this instance you might save a bit of money on your car insurance because the BMW 330 would be new with plenty of depreciation to go and the 1998 BMW 740 il would be used and would have likely seen a lot of depreciation. However there are SO many factors that go into your personal insurance rates that it’s impossible to list all of them here. A good rule to follow would be the price of the vehicle. If it’s new and expensive it’s going to cost quite a bit to insure if you are a high risk driver. If it’s older and expensive, it’s going to be pretty much the same. If you can find a relatively inexpensive used vehicle that isn’t high on the list of stolen vehicles (Honda Civic/Accord, Toyota Camry, Cadillac Escalade, etc) you could very well save money.
If you really want to know the difference between used car insurance and new car insurance, speak with a licensed insurance agent or contact your current insurance provider. You may also want to get a free quote online and see if you can save money.
