Insurance rates for teens especially are very costly, often in the $5000 range

You can expect to be heavily blindsided by insurance costs if you are high school teenager looking to buy a new car. Just try to get a quote on a Mustang, and if they don't laugh you out of their office, you'll see numbers like $5000. In fact, car insurance rates are usually higher on 2 doors cars than on 4 door cars, usually because of the sportier status of 2 door cars. They know you are likely to race. This is why you see a lot of younger kids buying these little 4 door cars for the lower insurance rates, then rigging them up to the hilt to make them go faster. Insurance rates also depend on what part of town you live in, your local population and how many miles you drive annually. You can shop around your auto insurance rates at sites like Comparison Market, GEICO and Progressive Auto Insurance. Your insurance rates may drop a bit if you have an alarm on the car, or if you keep it in your garage. You must include car insurance in your annual cost budget to see if you can afford to keep driving the car you bought. You cannot go without car insurance, it is illegal, and disrespectful to others on the road, who are relying on you having insurance should you cause a wreck. See if you can get in on your parent's auto insurance, of if there is an umbrella policy protecting the house and all cars. Either way, make sure you get full coverage including with high coverage amounts car loans.