Car theft affects your auto insurance rates in California

You may think you can get cheap California auto insurance because you have an older automobile. But that’s not always true.

People tend to think that an older car means cheaper auto insurance rates for them because older cars are less valuable and are stolen less often.

This is not true. People with more expensive cars tend to live in nicer neighborhoods. And nicer neighborhoods tend to have a lower crime rate. So theft on newer and nicer cars tens to be lower in California than theft on older cars.

Here is a list of the 10 most stolen cars in Golden State in 2005:

1. 1991 Honda Accord
2. 1995 Honda Civic
3. 1989 Toyota Camry
4. 1994 Nissan Sentra
5. 1990 Acura Integra
6. 1986 Toyota Pickup
7. 1993 Saturn SL
8. 1987 Toyota Corolla
9. 1990 Chevrolet Full Size C/K 1500 Pickup
10. 1997 Ford F150 Series

Notice that the newest model car is a 1997 ford.

So when trying to get the cheapest auto insurance rates in California, having an older car may not always be to your advantage.

Keep in mind that there are other factors that count for your auto insurance rate. Some cars tend to have more accidents than others. That could cause auto insurance rates to go up as well.