The Dailies

Eyeing that 2007 Mercedes S Class with all the trimmings? Be prepared to pay through the nose for it.

And for the insurance.

It should come as no surprise that the more expensive the car, the more it will cost to insure it. But just how expensive may come as a shock. For modest coverage ($500 deductibles on collision and comprehensive coverage, $100,000 each for personal and property coverage and $25,000 each for medical and uninsured coverage) on this year’s $135,400 Mercedes SL, owners will pay about $22,536 a year.

For pricey cars like this, 20% of the base price is typical. But for those with low monthly payments on high-end cars, that could mean spending more on insurance than on the car itself.

“The cost of the vehicle is primary when setting the price of a policy,” says David Wurster, president of Vincentric, a Detroit-based automotive data firm that studies car- insurance costs. Vincentric gets its data from state agencies and averages these figures in compiling its list of most expensive yearly rates. “But there’s also the type of vehicle it is. Sports-car owners tend to drive them a little more aggressively.”

This, in turn, leads to higher-priced policies. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that racy offerings from Mercedes, BMW and Porsche make for some of the most expensive cars to insure.

Never mind then. I will settle for an Isuzu SUV anytime, thank you very much.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 16th, 2007 at 10:18 pm and is filed under Infotainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.