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Cranking down
the highway at 140 miles per hour behind the wheel of your Koenigsegg Agera R
sounds exciting to just about anyone but before you drain your bank account and
head to the dealership, be aware of the true costs of these cars. Exotic super cars
are not only expensive to buy but expensive to own. Insurance premiums and maintenance
costs can add thousands of dollars a year to your ownership costs.
Super
Cars Are Super Expensive
Buying an
exotic car is not for most of us. These cars cost more than many people make in
their entire working life. We are not talking about run of the mill Porches or
Ferraris but truly exotic vehicles. They are built in limited numbers, use
extremely expensive materials and are hand built putting them out of reach for
the majority of drivers.
Just how far
out of reach? A Bugatti Veyron Supersport has a 16 cylinder engine that will
push it over 200 mph and it will go 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. This car costs a
staggering $2.6 million dollars. The Koenigsegg Agera R is another example of a
truly rare car. It’s 1115 HP V-8 will hit 60 mph in 2.9 seconds as well but
cost a mere $1.7 million.
So what does
it cost to insurance and run one of these exotic cars? Tons of money.
Insurance
Costs
Insuring your
million-dollar vehicle can cost plenty. In the majority of cases super cars are
insured by specialty insurers. Mainstream insurers like Progressive or State
Farm have limits on the value of cars they will insure and most will not touch
a million dollar vehicle.
Collector car
and other specialty insurers such as Chub and Chartis issue policies called agreed
value. Agreed value policies let the vehicle
owner set the limit on the value of the car. In the case of a total loss, they
are paid 100 percent of the agreed value. Exotic cars depreciate quickly and this type of insurance makes sure you
recover full value of the car if it is totaled or stolen.
So what is
the premium on an exotic car?
According to
Autoblog, the most expensive car to insure is the most expensive car to buy.
Insurance costs for a Bugatti Veyron will run roughly $50,000 per year. The U.S
Census Bureau found that the median household income in 2010 was $49,445 so if
you plan on buying a Veyron be prepared to fork up more than most households
are living on, just for insurance.
Insurance is
just one expense that you will have to deal with; maintenance is where the real
money will be spent.
Maintaining
Your Exotic
While you
might think that paying $2000 for an oil change on a Lamborghini Gallardo is
expensive, that is a drop in the bucket when it comes to servicing a
Bugatti. A routine service on a Veyron
runs about $21,000 which means that for the cost of an oil change you could buy
a brand new very non-exotic car.
When it comes
time to put new rubber on your Veyron you will be looking at roughly $40,000
for a set of tires. Bugatti recommends that you replace the tires every 2500
miles so you could easily go through more than one set a year if you drive the
car on a somewhat regular basis.
While owning
an exotic car is a dream for many of us, the cost of insuring and maintaining
them can easily turn your dream into a financial nightmare.
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