March 25, 2019

Consider Vehicle Safety and Repairability When Purchasing a New Car This Year

Smart Shopping Could Save You Money in the Long Run

When purchasing a new car, it is important to consider more than just the power, performance and styling. The vehicle’s safety and repairability after a collision can play a big role in the insurance costs and life of the vehicle.

The Insurance Industry for Highway Safety conducts ongoing reviews of vehicle safety and repairability to provide consumers valuable insight in the cars they are considering.

For 2019, the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ review of strong crash-test performance, collision avoidance systems and high-quality headlights enabled 30 vehicles to qualify for the top honors in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s initial 2019 model-year rankings. To qualify for 2019 Top Safety Pick+, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests. It also must earn an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good headlight rating.

The top cars included several models from Honda, Kia, Subaru, Hyundai, Toyota, BMW, Mercedes, Mazda, Lexus and Acura. For a full list of makes and models, visit  https://m.iihs.org/mobile/ratings/mobileratings/tsps.

“Vehicle safety goes far beyond the high-tech driver alert systems that many consumers want,” said Dean Fisher, COO of CARSTAR. “When purchasing a new vehicle, consumers should review the car’s structure, the materials it is made from, the roof and door panel strength and the restraint systems. Rankings like the IIHS Top Safety Picks are incredibly valuable in helping guide smart purchase decisions.”

Fisher added that consumers should consider the repairability of a vehicle after a collision in their decision when purchasing a new or used car. The safest vehicles will, in many cases, be more likely to be able to restore to pre-accident conditions than those that didn’t perform as well in testing and would potentially be totaled after an accident.

IIHS evaluates collision data on thousands of vehicles to compile its Insurance Loss report. This highlights the costs associated with a collision for hundreds of passenger vehicles grouped by class and size under six insurance coverages: collision, property damage liability, comprehensive, personal injury protection, medical payment and bodily injury. For a full listing visit https://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/insurance-loss-information.

“Our goal at CARSTAR is to keep people safe on the road, and when they have a collision, get them back on the road quickly in an expertly repaired vehicle,” noted Fisher. “We repair thousands of vehicles every year across North America and see firsthand how important it is to choose a vehicle that meets the highest safety and repairability rankings.”