NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Personal Finance

Here's why choosing a popular car could put a hole in your pocket

Tamsyn Parker
By Tamsyn Parker
Business Editor·NZ Herald·
14 Jan, 2016 02:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Subarus are popular cars for many young drivers, but owning one can push up annual insurance costs by as much as $300. Photo / Wairarapa Times Age

Subarus are popular cars for many young drivers, but owning one can push up annual insurance costs by as much as $300. Photo / Wairarapa Times Age

Young drivers could be costing themselves a packet in insurance by picking some popular car models over others.

While Toyota Corollas and Subaru Impreza's both make the top five most quoted car models for drivers under the age of 25, through AA Insurance, buying an Impreza could cost $300 extra a year to insure.

Read also:
• Japanese cars do best in insurance industry safety rankings
• Four tech trends we're watching
• Insurers frustrated over car theft payouts

An online quote from AA Insurance for a 1.8L 2005 Toyota Corolla for an 18 year old with a clean driving record living in Auckland would cost $1215 a year for comprehensive cover with an excess of $500.

But a 2L 2005 Subaru Impreza would cost $1529 per year with the same conditions.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A spokeswoman for AA Insurance said the type of car a person chose to drive could affect their premium.

"Our data shows that some cars are involved in accidents more often than others, while some are stolen more often than others.

How to cut your car insurance costs
• Choose a lower value car with a small engine size
• Avoid cars that may be expensive to fix such as European models
• Avoid cars that may be attractive to thieves or have accessories which may mean it is more likely to be broken into
• If you are considering different cars check out the insurance costs before you buy through an online quote
• Shop around - different insurers may take different factors into account

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"These events can be attributed to the driver as well as the type of vehicle they choose to drive.

Subarus are popular cars for many young drivers, but owning one can push up annual insurance costs by as much as $300.  Photo / Wairarapa Times Age
Subarus are popular cars for many young drivers, but owning one can push up annual insurance costs by as much as $300. Photo / Wairarapa Times Age

"Based on this information, which is constantly refined, we can calculate an individual's vehicle insurance premium."

Younger drivers - those aged under 25 and lower excesses - also tended to increase the premium costs, she said.

"This is because claims data shows younger drivers, with less experience, are more likely to make a claim."

Discover more

Personal Finance

The 10 biggest money blunders

13 Jan 03:40 AM
Banking and finance

LDC Finance accused of being reckless

13 Jan 04:00 PM
Business

VW's emissions cheat headache just got worse

17 May 01:40 AM

But the spokeswoman said there were a number of ways young people could keep their insurance costs down.

Top 10 quoted vehicles for main drivers under-25 and cost to insure:

• Toyota Corolla -Low
• Subaru Legacy - High
• Suzuki Swift - Low
• Honda Civic - Low
• Subaru Impreza -High
• Mazda Axela - Average
• Honda Accord - Average
• Volkswagen Golf - Average
• Nissan Primera - Average
• Nissan Pulsar - Low
Source: AA Insurance quote data 1 November 2014 - 1 November 2015

"Lower value and older cars will typically cost less to insure, as will cars with lower levels of performance, generally with smaller engines.

"It's also worth noting that European vehicles tend to cost more to repair and this is often reflected in the cost to insure them."

Judith Harvey, general manager product personal lines pricing and underwriting at IAG which owns insurance brand AMI, said smaller cars with smaller engines were generally cheaper to insure.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"This is because cars with larger engines tend to go faster and have more power than cars with smaller engines, and consequently can be less forgiving of mistakes or lapses in concentration leading to more accidents or greater damage when accidents do occur.

Older cars generally have less sophisticated security and are therefore more prone to theft than newer cars

Judith Harvey

Picking a mass produced car could also result in cheaper insurance as parts typically cost less, she said.

"Parts cost and complexity of repair also play a large role in premium level and in this case newer cars can be more costly to insure as they can include more high-cost technology in parts (such as sensors and cameras in bumpers) and require specialist repair methodologies and materials."

Harvey said car shoppers should look to avoid makes and models that were more likely to be stolen if they wanted to keep costs down.

The likelihood of a car being stolen may also influence the cost to insure.

"Additionally some makes and models, particularly higher performance cars, are more appealing to thieves than and consequently present an increased risk to the insurer.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Harvey said a break down of the most insured cars also found males were more likely to insure larger cars than females.

She said that could be linked to the ego boost associated with males driving a certain type of car while for many females a car was more about getting from A to B.

Harvey said it always paid to get a quote before buying a car to know what the premium cost could be.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Personal Finance

Premium
Business|personal finance

Waipareira Trust battles deregistration in High Court over charity status

09 Jul 11:00 PM
Premium
Technology

Video game sector jobs up 20.5% with tax rebate, but half of funds unclaimed

09 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Personal Finance

People fear pensioners falling for scams but also admit 'oversharing' online

08 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Personal Finance

Premium
Waipareira Trust battles deregistration in High Court over charity status

Waipareira Trust battles deregistration in High Court over charity status

09 Jul 11:00 PM

The High Court heard Waipareira's judicial review in May; a ruling is pending.

Premium
Video game sector jobs up 20.5% with tax rebate, but half of funds unclaimed

Video game sector jobs up 20.5% with tax rebate, but half of funds unclaimed

09 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
People fear pensioners falling for scams but also admit 'oversharing' online

People fear pensioners falling for scams but also admit 'oversharing' online

08 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
$30 billion blast-off: Why Rocket Lab just hit an all-time high

$30 billion blast-off: Why Rocket Lab just hit an all-time high

08 Jul 03:33 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP