markan

I'm in the process of buying a car around the 5K mark. Iv'e contacted many insurance companies for quotes and although I new it was expensive, as I owned a Taurus 2 years ago, the new quotes are diabolical. Would anyone know which type of car would be not quite as expensive to insure as others, make or model etc. Thanks

wizzard

I just bought a car recently and had a hell of a time finding a reasonable quote. Usual issues with getting UK history recognized but then also I have been living in Toronto for several years but never bothered with a car before, just renting etc. so I had this huge gap in insurance history. I managed to fill that with adding myself as a named driver on my wife's parents policy and then found a company that would accept my UK history as well.

Anyway, I spent a while talking to several brokers and the history aside they said the other factors were your postal code so I am not sure where in Toronto you live but it does make a difference and then the make, model and year of the car. The same make and model can vary depending on year as some years are more stolen than others plus any specific year with reliability or recall issues. They basically run of insurance institute ratings which I think you can find on line if you look. He said his experience was that VW are usually cheapest as far as specific cars go as they have the best safety ratings etc. Then he placed Subaru next.

I ended up buying a 2010 Hyundai Sonata and the rate was actually slightly higher than my second choice which was a 2005 Audi A4, despite the Audi being the luxury model which you'd think was more expensive to insure but they have a better safety rating. I skipped the Audi in the end based on maintainance costs etc. with it being out of warranty.

So anyway check the ratings on the cars, it makes much more difference than the value. It is all about personal injury claims and medical costs and liability than replacement car values. You could buy a Ferrari for the cost of medical liability although the ratings regarding them being stolen can be significant too. My friend was looking at a new Honda Civic but discovered after checking with the insurance company that it would be only a few hundred dollars more expensive in total to buy the more expensive Accord and insure that just because the Civic is the most stolen car in Canada.

dbd33

My Beetle costs $5400 a year to insure using an address in the middle of nowhere, using my Toronto address would add 25% or so to that. As noted here before, I don't believe that the make of car is a major factor, perhaps you could save 10% by changing brand of car if the cars were the same year and value.

What you really have to fix is your age, sex (yes, I know it's illegal to set rates by gender, but then everything's illegal in Ontario) and driving history in Canada.

Auld Yin

With all due respect I think you're guilty of a sin of omission here. If after so many years of driving in Canada you would be paying $6750 to insure a VW Beetle because you lived in Toronto, I strongly submit there's much more to the story as to why it's so high.

Partially discharged

When I lived in Toronto I was told that the postal code has quite an impact as that is what they use for theft reports etc.....however, when you look at it, a postal code (say M5W) has quite a range of areas from cars parked on the road, to cars in underground apartment garages to cars on driveways to cars in private home garages....another key factor is the theft record of particular cars (Honda Civic being a favourite) to your driving record to the replacement value of a car.

If an ex-pat was in the insurance industry he/she would be a good person to get a quote from as they may have sympathy with your plight that a UK driving record isn't being taken into account.

ireland2canada

Ah! This may explain why these things are most likely to try and write me off on the road or mow me down as a pedestrian. They seem to be exclusively driven by blind people who have nervous twitches in their right feet. But if they are the joyrider's favourite then that makes sense too.

Partially discharged

I think with Honda Civic's being so popular and the fact that they don't really stand out they are a favourite of joy riders and people who want to steal a car and sell it on.

SAW 04

We live in Mississauga and have a 2010 GTI and a 2011 Audi A4 Avant. Been in Canada 5 years and are both in our late 30's. Both cars cost $1900 a year each with Johnsons.

dbd33

It's high because I drive a lot. The point of interest is that it would relatively higher with a different address but not especially with a different car.

vickyandneil

We live in Mississauga too and we have a 2006 Kia Sportage and we pay $193 a month with Johnsons. They take into account your UK history and they are very helpful.