Reader’s Question:

Is insurance cheaper on a 5 speed manual or automatic transmission?

Paul

Portland, Maine (ME)

It will really depend upon the type of vehicle and rating system of an insurer however in general a 5 speed vehicle is cheaper to purchase than an automatic vehicle, and therefore it will normally cost less to insure for that fact.

Any part of a liability insurance rate that uses the car in the factoring, would take into account the number of occurrences, but the transmission type is not a factor. Any portion of the physical damage (comprehensive and collision coverages) insurance rate would use the value, but it does not look at the fact that the car is an automatic or 5-speed car.

One example is this: The Corvette and Porsche would be more to insure not because of the manual transmission but due to the sports car classification. Plus, high end sports car come with much higher repair costs than the Camry.