Buick Rainier Insurance on the Cheap?
Insurance premiums are set in part by comparing the features of a car like the safety rating, safety features and the chances of the car being stolen. Thieves usually prefer to steal SUV vehicles eight times over a smaller car. According to the Highway Loss Data Institute, the Buick Rainier is one of the few least likely SUVs to be stolen. Other factors that are taken into consideration when setting premiums include how a vehicle behaves in an accident and its repair costs.
The Bad News: Factors Making Buick Rainier More Expensive to Insure
The Rainier is a large vehicle and has the potential to cause major damage to a standard car in case of an accident. The insurance company takes into consideration the amount of money it may have to pay if the covered vehicle is involved in an accident. Due to the probability of higher payouts, if the Rainier is involved in an accident the insurance company will charge higher premiums. Another factor that affects premiums is that while a driver may feel safer in a large vehicle like the Buick Rainier, its chances of flipping over are greater when the driver is attempting to maneuver a turn at a high speed as compared to a smaller car. The Rainier’s higher center of gravity makes it more prone to flipping, which in turn means higher repair costs.
The average cost to insure a Buick Rainier is approximately between $1,400 ad $1,500. While this is a little lower than the national average for all 2010 models, as a general rule it should be kept in mind that a Buick Rainier will cost 10% - 20% more to insure as compared to a car.
The Good News: Insurance Discounts for Buick Rainier Models
It is possible to get discounts for a Buick Rainier by shopping around. For example, there are safe driver and senior citizen discounts available with some insurers. Additionally, it is possible to get up to 30% discounts when the car comes with factory fitted airbags and motorized seatbelts. If the Rainier is equipped with anti-lock brakes, a 10% discount is possible. Anti theft devices in a car also help to save on insurance for a Buick Rainier.
The Buick Rainier is equipped with many standard safety features including OnStar, stability control system and antilock disc brakes. Among the optional features are the head curtain airbags. While there are no side curtain airbags, the Rainier still got the high rating of five stars for both rear and front seat passengers in side impact crash tests. The higher the ratings, the safer the vehicle; this translates to lower insurance premiums.
Rainier History
The Rainier was a very popular car when introduced in 2004. It’s body-on-frame construction, rear wheel drive, and an optional 5.3L V-8 engines as well as the standard SUV size made it notable. While a comfortable ride, the Rainier was not very fuel efficient and there were complaints of poor handling. An advantage the Rainier was its power, as the SUV had the potential to tow 5,800 pounds. It was a large car, but Buick maintained it as a five passenger and concentrated on promoting a smooth ride and luxury features.
In 2007, the Rainier was phased out to be replaced by the Buick Enclave in 2008. Even though the Rainier came into the SUV market at the right time, its lack of continued development, features and unreliability lead to it being phased out. By the time production was coming to close, a majority of the handling problems had been eliminated or improved. For instance, the stability control system provided a much smoother ride in the later models.