Buy a BMW M8 Gran Coupe instead of a Subaru Crosstrek, and you’ll pay about $4,445 more a year to insure it, before you’ve put a mile on either one.
That gap comes from CarInsurance.com’s latest analysis, which used sample rates from Quadrant Information Services for a 40-year-old driver with full coverage, $500 deductibles and liability limits well above state minimums.
The sticker price is only the start of what a car costs you. Insurance and upkeep follow you for as long as you own it, and the models that are cheapest on one count aren’t always cheapest on the other.
The cheapest cars to insure
SUVs dominate the low end of the list. None of the top five tops $2,330 a year.
- Subaru Crosstrek: $2,299 a year
- Jeep Wrangler: $2,307 a year
- Honda CR-V: $2,316 a year
- Subaru Outback: $2,322 a year
- Volkswagen Tiguan: $2,329 a year
The cheapest cars to insure tend to pair high safety ratings with modest horsepower and low theft rates. None of them are built to be driven hard, and none are especially tempting to steal.
The most expensive cars to insure
BMW takes four of the top five spots, all performance versions of the M5 and M8.
- BMW M8 Gran Coupe: $6,744 a year
- BMW M5 Touring: $6,708 a year
- BMW M5: $6,593 a year
- BMW M8: $6,423 a year
- Audi e-tron GT: $6,291 a year
The M8 Gran Coupe hits nearly every factor insurers charge for. It starts around $140,000, makes 617 horsepower and is a frequent target for car thieves, CarInsurance.com says.
Just behind the top five are the Porsche 911 Turbo, Audi RS7 and Mercedes-AMG G63, each costing roughly $6,250 to $6,400 a year to insure.
Why the gap is so wide
Insurers price a car on what it costs to repair or replace, not just what you paid for it. A Crosstrek has inexpensive, widely available parts. An M5 pairs a twin-turbo V8 and 717 horsepower with specialized parts and repair bills to match.
Technology drives up the cost of even minor damage.
One insurance broker told CarInsurance.com that a windshield that once cost about $300 can now run $800 to $2,000 when rain sensors and heating elements are built in. Sensors in mirrors, headlights and bumpers also need specialized labor to recalibrate after a repair.
Electric performance cars land near the top for similar reasons.
The Audi e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan carry high sticker prices, and their battery packs are expensive to replace. EV batteries alone can cost five figures. Replacing one in a Tesla runs $10,000 to $15,000, according to CarInsurance.com.
When repairs get that costly, a modest crash is more likely to end in a total loss.
Theft risk factors in too. Models that thieves favor cost more to insure, no matter how carefully their owners drive.
The same model can cost more or less to insure depending on the trim. The base version of a model is usually the cheapest to insure, and premiums climb as you move up to bigger engines and pricier finishes.
Paint color, on the other hand, doesn’t factor in.
Consider more than insurance
Maintenance costs follow a similar pattern. In Consumer Reports’ ranking of 10-year maintenance and repair costs, based on member surveys, European luxury brands such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche landed among the most expensive.
Buick and Lincoln were the cheapest, with 10-year costs about one-fourth of those for Land Rover, the most expensive brand.
Subaru shows why it pays to check both. The Crosstrek and Outback are two of the cheapest cars to insure, but Subaru lands in the costlier half of Consumer Reports’ maintenance ranking, behind brands like Toyota, Honda and Ford.
Steven Elek, who oversees auto data analytics at Consumer Reports, recommends checking a model’s predicted reliability before you buy. Consumer Reports also suggests pricing insurance at the same time.
Get a number before you sign
None of this makes a pricier car a bad purchase. But you should look into insurance before you buy. Your rate depends on your age, driving record, ZIP code and the exact trim, so it can land well above or below these averages.
Compare car insurance quotes for each model you’re considering, using the same coverage limits and deductibles for every quote.
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