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Here’s an unsurprising fact: older cars are cheaper to insure. You probably already knew that, or could have guessed, but do you know which old car is the cheapest to insure? You will soon, thanks to Insurify, which recently released its list of the 10 cheapest vehicles to insure in 2021.
Based on 2020 data, the list is full of model names from the automotive past, none of which are still being built today. While repairs and maintenance are often more expensive when dealing with older cars, at least the insurance savings might let you put away a bit of money for those costs.
There are plenty of other factors that affect how much you pay for your insurance, including education level (the more you know, the less you pay is the general rule, Insurify found) and where you live (four of the 10 places with the highest average costs are in southeastern Michigan, followed by three cities in Maryland and three in Florida). The states with the cheapest average car insurance prices in the U.S. are spread across the country, from Hawaii to Maine, Vermont to Iowa.
When you’re talking about average insurance costs for new vehicles, the 10 most popular cars cost between $1376 and $1652 a year to insure, Insurify found. For trucks, the numbers range between $1476 and $1527. The overall most expensive car to insure is the Maserati Ghibli, at $3705 a year.
Insurify’s numbers represent the average for a spread of model years for its list of 10 cheapest cars, with the older vehicles unsurprisingly costing less than newer ones. Insurify also did not have enough data on the newest models that are currently sitting at dealerships, but if you’re looking for cheap, that’s not where you’re shopping anyway, most likely. So, with some pennies in your pocket and the nostalgia glasses ready, here are the 10 cheapest to insure in 2021. The dollar amounts you’ll see on each page are the average cost per year to insure these old—in some cases classic—vans, minivans, and sedans.
Mercury Villager $726
Mercury’s first minivan earned itself a spot on our list of the 10 weirdest minivans of all time (well, the Nissan Quest rebadge did, anyway). The Villager was sold from 1993 to 2002 before being replaced by the Monterey in 2004. For an example of the insurance cost spread, Insurify told Car and Driver that the 1993 and 1994 models cost an average of $632 to insure last year, while the 1995-1999 models cost $872.
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Chevy G20 $722
There were three generations of these classic Chevy vans built over three decades, and examples from the 1990s are not difficult to find today in case you want to drive a large family around in conversion van style. The $722 will help recoup your cost if the van is totaled, but for any tapes eaten by the cassette deck or smelly shag carpeting might not be covered.
2003 Chevy Express Review
Buick Riviera $703
There’s a bit of a trend in growing in this list, and it’s this: if GM made a lot of a particular model for many decades, there’s a pretty good chance it doesn’t cost much to insure today. The Buick Riviera certainly fits that description, as it was built almost continuously from 1963 to 1999. The Riviera comes with the added bonus of classic good looks, depending on your point of view and the vehicle generation, and the name is being kept alive at GM through concept vehicles now and again.
Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera $702
Coming in at just about the same annual insurance cost as the Riviera, the Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera didn’t have quite as long a life span (it was built from 1982 until 1996), but it has found a solid home in the LeMons circuit, in case you buy one and want to spend the insurance money on funky accessories and fun modifications.
From 2013: Cutlass Ciera at LeMons
Chevrolet Metro $700
Chevy sold this small sedan with both a three-speed automatic transmission and a three-cylinder engine as options (thankfully, you couldn’t get them both in the same car), so it’s clear this was never going to be a powerhouse. But you can still find warm nostalgia for the Metro today, like this heartwarming story from 2019 when a teenager traded some video games and labor for a 1999 Metro for his mom because she needed a car.
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Plymouth Grand Voyager $691
The minivan segment would not have happened were it not for the ultra-popular Chrysler minivans. While SUVs and CUVs are more popular today, Chrysler keeps the minivan alive with the high-tech and increasingly green Pacifica. But if you’re looking to save money, one of the old versions should do you just fine. And if you thought the Metro still had its fans, just read our comparison test between the 1984 Plymouth Voyager and the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica.
2017 Pacifica vs. 1984 Voyager Compared
Mercury Tracer $664
Built between 1988 and 1999, the high-end Tracer took the Mazda 323 and made it more American, while still selling it for a reasonable price back in the day. The end result was good enough to make our list of “decent transportation for less than $10,000” list in 1988. It costs a lot less today, and has an insurance price to match.
From 1988: Tracer vs. Golf, Civic, More
Oldsmobile Ciera $676
Leave out the Cutlass name and save $25 a year on insurance, apparently. The Ciera was offered as both a wagon and a sedan and shared a platform with a number of GM vehicles, including the Buick Century, Pontiac 6000 and Chevrolet Celebrity. The low annual estimated insured cost does not apply, we assume, to the last Ciera ever built, a 1996 model year version that was auctioned off in 2017 for an undisclosed amount.
Plymouth Breeze $658
Introduced in 1996, this mid-sized sedan was good enough to be considered one of the best vehicles in1996 and 1997. The model was successful enough to keep on going until 2000 when Chrysler did away with the Plymouth name, and if you can find one today you’ll be driving the second-cheapest vehicle to insure in 2021.
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Ford Aerostar $647
Finally, we come to the best of the best. Or, actually, the cheapest of the cheap. Instantly recognizable, the Aerostar was Ford’s first minivan. Originally sold between 1986 and 1997, the Aerostar managed to snag Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year award in 1990. Snap one up now and show your friends who knows how to save money on the best of from three decades ago.
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