Do you consider the cost of insurance before you buy your dream car? You should. The Highway Loss Data Institute analyzes the cost to insurance companies from theft, collision, and injury claims as they relate to cars. They look at the color of the cars, how many doors they have, and even break them down type.



The Highway Loss Data Institute is a nonprofit public service organization. It is closely associated with and funded through the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is wholly supported by auto insurers. HLDI gathers, processes, and publishes data on the ways losses vary among different kinds of

vehicles.

4-Door cars have a 93% less chance of having a claim related to theft than their sibling 2-Door cars. Buy a Buick LeSabre and have relatively no chance of a theft loss. Compare that to the convertible Chevrolet Corvette that has over 5 times the average theft rate. You may have known that. However, did you know that the Toyota Celica has a 67% higher chance of theft than the Toyota Camry?

In addition, even though the 2002 Lexus IS 300 gets a "best pick" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for its performance on crash tests, previous years' models of the same car are some of the most costly in terms of collision claims.

"One of the factors that come into play there is the cost of repairing an expensive vehicle," says Russ Rader, with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

What about safety? You may be surprised at some of the results. For example, the Porsche 911 has a 67% less chance for injury

claims than the norm. Go figure. The mitsubishi Lancer has almost double the injury claim rate over the norm.

Where does you car fit for injury theft and collision? What about your dream car? Take a look at this run down based on 2000-2002

HLDI data:

Models that are among the most expensive for theft claims

include:

Cadillac Escalade four-wheel drive

Chevrolet Corvette Convertible

Lincoln Navigator four-wheel drive

Jeep Cherokee four-door

BMW 3 series Convertible

Models that are among the least expensive for theft claims

include:

Buick LeSabre

Buick Park Avenue

Volvo V70 Station Wagon

Mercury Grand Marquis four-door

Models that are among the most expensive for injury claims

include:

Suzuki Esteem four-door

Kia Rio four-door

Mitsubishi Mirage two-door

Kia Sepectra four-door

Models that are among the least expensive for injury claims

include:

GMC Sierra 2500 two-wheel drive

Chevrolet Silverado 2500

GMC Yukon XL 1500 four-wheel drive

GMC Sierra 2500 four-wheel drive

Chevrolet Tahoe two-wheel drive

Models that are among the most expensive for collision claims

include:

Subaru Impreza WRX four-wheel drive four-door

Lexus IS 300 4 door

Hyundai Tiburon two-door

Porsche 911 Coupe

Acura RSX

Models that are among the least expensive for collision claims

include:

Ford Excursion two-wheel drive

GMC Safari four-wheel drive

GMC Sierra 2500

GMC Yukon XL 1500 four-wheel drive

Source: The Highway Loss Data Institute