[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by soundman98

he's not talking about the insurance crash rating, he's talking about the monthly insurance premium.

color really doesn't play much of a part in insurance either.

as an example-- in 2014, when i started looking at a new car, i was comparing the brand new 2014 brz vs. a 2008 infiniti g37 coupe. the infinity was about $200 more per month to insure over the brand new brz.

as a new driver, sports cars are generally always going to carry a cost premium over a more 'boring' vehicle like a tacoma or rav4. important considerations.

the 86 is a great car, as long as you pay attention to it, it can teach you something. they're a riot in 3" of snow with snow tires, but they do count as a sports car, so insurance will likely be higher.

trucks are, well, trucks. with no weight over the rear axle, most tend to have a strong desire to want to make the rear swap ends with the front in slippery conditions--not great for a new driver.

i would highly recommend a ford ranger as a first vehicle if you're looking at the tacoma. they're relatively simple reliable trucks, and much of the parts are interchangeable from 1998-2011, making it extremely easy to get parts. if you look at the flare-side version, they generally carry a $2-4k discount due to the bed being narrower-- they can't carry a full 4x8' sheet of material flat, so no one wants them for typical truck duties.

the extended cab/access cab trucks are going to be the ideal version-- most want the 4-door version, which will tend to have better road manners, but commonly suffer from the shortened 5' bed. the extra seating in the 4-door version will likely carry higher insurance premiums.

i would be careful of any 2nd gen tacoma running that close to $10k though. most tacoma's don't drop below $15-20k until they're almost entirely used up.


i don't know anything about 4runners except they're generally priced high(toyota tax), and they have a ton of cargo space in them...

My grandson had a beat up old hand me down Mazda 5 that cost him $50 a month more than he was quoted for an FRS. The reason he was given was that it was a 6 passenger vehicle and as a new driver the was a higher risk of multiple passengers being injured if the car was full.