Golf GTI Insurance - What to Know Before Insuring Your Golf GTI

When looking for insurance for a Volkswagen Golf GTI, there are a few things to consider. The Golf GTI is generally classified on the sportier end of the spectrum, sometimes referred to as a Hot Hatch or sports coupe. This classification lends itself to higher pricing depending on the exact specifications of your Golf GTI.

But, there are other Golf GTI features, on certain models, that could actually help to lower your insurance premium.

Here's what you need to consider when insuring a GTI:
1. 2-door vehicles tend to draw higher insurance premiums than 4-door models. As the 2-door option is the more popular model of Golf GTI, there is a good chance that your vehicle will fall into this category. If you're still shopping around for your Golf, you may want to consider a 4-door model as it can help reduce insurance without compromising vehicle performance.

2. While it is a popular belief that manual transmissions are more expensive to insure than automatic transmissions, this is largely a myth. It is instead the overall drivetrain that may impact your insurance premiums. All current Golf GTIs come equipped with a standard 2.0L 200 horsepower TSI (or twin-charged) engine. While smaller and more fuel efficient than the engines found in older models; this engine is as powerful as the V6 option available in older models and helps solidify the GTI's positioning as a sportier vehicle.

3. Companies take different approaches to underwriting vehicles. While all companies look at vehicle statistics such as theft and accident rates (where the GTI is favorably ranked) and average repair costs (which tend to be higher due to VW's proprietary technologies); some insurers focus more on your driving record. Some companies may even specialize in sportier or higher risk cars.

4. While the performance elements of the Golf GTI could make insurance more expensive, there is a certain advantage to it's relatively low price point. The less the car would cost to replace, the lower your coverage levels can be. A relatively loaded GTI will price out at around $27,000. This is considerably cheaper than traditional sports cars and muscle cars such as Corvettes, Mustangs, Chargers or BMW Z4. This means that the car is not only less expensive at the time of purchase, but that secondary costs (such as insurance) are also reduced.

Golf GTIs are especially popular vehicles for customization. If you are looking to find insurance for a customized Golf GTI, additional considerations need to made. For one, the cost of replacing or repairing one of a kind custom work can be trickier to calculate and insurance companies with experience in the area of custom cars will ask for additional information and may even request an in-person appraisal.

Since the primary purpose of auto insurance is to protect the investment that you make in your car, the expense of customizations will usually make you want to increase the coverage limits on the insurance for your custom Golf GTI. Conversely, if you are customizing your Golf GTI yourself, you may be able to lower insurance premiums by accepting a higher deductible and planning to perform minor repairs yourself.

The cost of insurance for your Golf GTI is going to come down to a lot of familiar factors. Do you have a clean driving record? How comprehensive do you want your coverage to be? Can you live with a higher deductible? Focus on these factors because, in the end, the same things that appeal to most people about the Golf GTI (its performance, handling and general "sportiness") are the same things that make it a higher risk vehicle to insure.

In the end, you want to make sure you do your homework, shop around and make the best decision for your needs and budget.