Buying a vehicle, nowadays, can be a costly venture, but the price goes far beyond just the cost of the car. Insurance can add a few thousand dollars more, every year, just so you can have peace of mind when something unforeseen occurs.

Insurance rates, however, take many factors into account, not just your driving record or age. The vehicle you buy will play an important role in how much you end up spending to insure it. Value Penguin analyzes many types of vehicles and shows you which ones are the cheapest to insure. 

Cheapest to insure by type of vehicle

Minivans and SUVs are your best bet when it comes to getting low-cost insurance rates. That’s because they’re generally driven by responsible people and have plenty of safety and anti-theft features built in to protect a family.

While they’re known for being the cheapest to insure, not all of them will be cheap in the long run. The least expensive minivan to insure is the Chrysler Pacifica, which is approximately $2,416 annually. The most expensive is the Toyota Sienna, which is about $2,746 a year. The cheapest SUV to insure is the Honda CR-V, $2,346 a year, which is significantly less than the Ford Explorer at $3,587.

As a whole, pickups are generally cheaper to insure than cars, according to insure.com. Factors that contribute to that include being cheaper to repair, and they usually have fewer claims reported than cars.

The cheapest truck on the list is the Ford F-Series, at $2,471 annually. The most expensive is the Chevy Silverado, which costs $4,743 a year. When it comes to cars, the Ford Fiesta is the least expensive to insure at $2,621 and the most expensive is the Tesla Model S, which will cost you about $4,743 annually.

Cheapest to insure by vehicle brands

When you break the list down by car brands, there are interesting facts that come to light. Vehicles like Mercedes-Benz are notorious for expensive repairs, so they generally bring higher insurance rates than something like a Dodge minivan.

Also, the more bells and whistles the vehicle has the pricier it gets for both repair costs and for insurance. The cheapest to insure when it comes to vehicle brand is the Honda which has a yearly rate of about $2,736.

The most expensive is the Tesla, which costs about $4,743 a year. However, Elon Musk, announced, according to CNBC, he wanted to change that for Tesla owners by offering his own insurance to offset the costs for drivers. The insurance, at this time, is only for California residents, but they plan to expand it to other states sometime in the future.

Which vehicles to consider that will give you the cheapest insurance rates

One thing to consider is the price of the car. The vehicles that cost $30,000 and up are going to be the most expensive to insure. The ones that fall in the cheapest range would be vehicles that range from $25,000 to $30,000, which average about $2,871 a year. The cheapest cars and trucks that fall in the $10,000 to $15,000 range, will cost you $3,039 a year.

Another thing to consider is the type of vehicle you have. Minivans and small pickups are going to cost significantly less than subcompact cars and large sedans.

Try to steer clear of high-powered sports cars, unless you’re prepared to pay the high insurance rates they bring, due to their likeliness of getting into an accident. Also, car-theft plays a role in insurance rates as well. If your vehicle happens to be one that’s had several stolen, your rates will be higher regardless of whether yours was taken or not.

Of course, there are more factors that go into play when companies determine your insurance rates. Your age, driving record, and sometimes your credit score will raise or lower the rates as well. Steer your buying decision to a vehicle that doesn’t cost too much or isn’t known for expensive repairs and you can find one that’s the cheapest to insure for your situation.