3 Costs to Prepare for When Going From a Regular Car to a Minivan

Back in 2014, I was pretty much forced to buy a minivan when I found out I was having twins. I knew my toddler wouldn't be out of a car seat for a while, and there was no way I could cram two infant car seats on top of his into a single row of seats.

Trading in my sedan for a minivan dealt a pretty harsh blow to my wallet, since my old car was paid off and the minivan purchase required me to take out an auto loan. But adding a car payment to my monthly bills wasn't the only extra expense I incurred. If you're going from a regular car to a minivan, here are some costs to gear up for.

1. Higher auto insurance rates

A minivan purchase costs $6,489 more than a sedan purchase on average, according to The Zebra. And the more money your car costs, the more you're likely to pay for auto insurance.

When I bought my minivan, my auto insurance premiums increased by hundreds of dollars that first year. And this was despite the fact that my minivan included more built-in safety features than my sedan offered.

Then again, having extra safety features doesn't automatically translate to lower car insurance costs. Those fancy lane departure warning systems and backup cameras cost money to install, thereby adding to the value of your vehicle. So actually, despite being billed as features that may lower your likelihood of automobile damage, they can add to your insurance costs due to being features that are expensive to repair or replace.

2. Higher gas costs

Minivans are larger cars. And because of this, they tend to be less fuel-efficient than a regular car.

I can say from personal experience that my minivan basically guzzles gas. And while it does a little bit better on highways, I typically only get somewhere in the ballpark of 20 to 24 miles per gallon at maximum efficiency.

As such, since getting a minivan, my gas costs have increased. And while I do my best to save money on gas by filling up at Costco, which is the cheapest option in my town, it's still a big ongoing expense.

3. Higher maintenance costs

My minivan doesn't have a ton of high-end features. In spite of this, I've found that it costs about 20% more to do regular maintenance on my minivan than my old car. It also, for many years, cost more money to maintain my minivan than it did for my husband's old hybrid car.

Of course, one thing you should know is that many auto shops are well-equipped to perform maintenance on a minivan, so don't feel compelled to use your dealership's services for tasks like oil changes. Unless your dealership throws in free maintenance as an incentive at the time of your purchase, a regular mechanic might leave you spending a lot less.

For me, driving a minivan isn't really a choice. I need a larger car to accommodate my family (not just the kids, but our 70-something-pound dog, too). At this point, I'm used to the added expenses that come with owning it. But you don't want those to throw off your budget early on, so make sure to plan for these extra costs if a minivan purchase is in your future.