We finally bought a new car to replace our eight-year-old minivan, which was becoming less and less reliable and more expensive to fix.

Like the many reports I've read since Cash for Clunkers, we found that with incentives and low interest financing, it was cheaper to buy the new car we wanted than to buy a used model. We tried to save enough to buy it free and clear, but only made it about half-way.

One thing we didn't factor when trying to choose between vehicles was the cost of insurance. But insure.com's latest research about priciest and cheapest cars to insure served a reminder that cars cost far more than the price you negotiate at sale.

Here's a list of insurance rates for 2011 models. It's common sense, really. Safety-focused parents driving sturdy minivans are less of a risk to insure than someone driving a fancy sports car.

2011 vehicles with the lowest car insurance rates

Rank

Make

Model

Avg. national annual premium

1

Chrysler

Town & Country LX

$1,092

2

Toyota

Sienna 4 Cylinder

$1,101

3

Toyota

Sienna LE

$1,108

4

Honda

Odyssey LX

$1,115

5

Nissan

Murano SL

$1,128

6

Jeep

Wrangler Unlimited Sport

$1,131

7

Honda

Odyssey EX

$1,138

8

Toyota

Sienna 6 Cylinder

$1,143

9

Ford

Escape XLS

$1,150

10

Toyota

Highlander

$1,154

2011 vehicles with the highest car insurance rates

Rank

Make

Model

Avg. national annual premium

1

Mercedes

SL65 AMG

$3,544

2

BMW

750i

$3,281

3

BMW

750Li

$3,281

4

Mercedes

SLSL63 AMG

$3,263

5

Mercedes

S65 AMG

$3,221

6

Aston Martin

DB9

$3,120

7

Mercedes

CL600

$3,114

8

Porsche

911 Carrera S

$3,092

9

Aston Martin

DB9 Volante

$3,089

10

Mercedes

G55 AMG

$3,086

Check out the site's tool for estimating the cost of insuring your 2011 model dream car.

We decided between a minivan and the Ford Flex, a 7 passenger crossover vehicle. We went with the Flex for several reasons - including a great price after $5,000 in incentives. But the annual cost to insure the Flex is about $400 higher than the minivans in Minnesota.

According to insure.com's latest survey of state insurance rates, conducted in July 2010, Minnesota ranked 29th out of the 50 states, with an average annual premium of $1,381.09.

Would we have made a different choice had we done the research ahead of time? No. I did think that I should check insurance rates before buying, but didn't get around to it. When your mind's made up, I guess.

Still, it's smart to consider the ownership costs of various vehicles before driving off the lot.