BLOOMINGTON - How much does your car cost you?

Annual vehicle ratings released recently by State Farm Insurance Cos. compare the costs of collision coverage and comprehensive insurance for different vehicle makes and models.

Through the ratings, car buyers can evaluate the safety, durability, repair costs and other characteristics of vehicles before making a purchase.

Owners of Mitsubishis and Volkswagens, for example, can pay above-average premiums because the vehicles tend to cost more to fix, while Volvo and Toyota drivers pay less for repairs, according to State Farm's ratings.

Those manufacturers all receive significant discounts for vehicle safety, however.

"Most of the premium is based on factors other than the car you drive," said State Farm spokesman Dick Luedke, noting that driving records, age, credit histories and other factors also play significant roles in insurance costs.

"That being said, the difference between driving a Ford Focus and a Lexus obviously is significant," he added.

"Obviously if a Lexus gets stolen, we're going to replace that. We'll replace the Ford Focus too, but it's going to cost us a lot more to replace a Lexus than a Ford Focus."

That's an extreme example because people pay to insure the value of the car.

Comparing similar-priced vehicles is more difficult. Unlike past years, manufacturers now engineer vehicles so that repair costs and insurance costs are comparable to competitors, said Kurt Zimmer, owner of Kurt's Auto Body Repair Shop in Bloomington.

"I really think those (costs) are balanced now," he said.

"I know there have been efforts by auto manufacturers not to make a car that will be put into a higher insurance bracket."

Mike Mavec of Mike's Collision Center in Bloomington agreed.

"You really can't cookie cut it," he said of lumping damage costs by averages. "No two collisions are the same."

More notable, the two auto experts said, are vehicle safety ratings.

To compile the ratings, State Farm evaluates its claims experience for every make and model of vehicle to determine the premiums for each. Results could sway the opinions of some car buyers, Luedke said, particularly in the category of injury claims and medical payments.

A vehicle-safety discount, for example, "is a measure of how safe you are while sitting in that vehicle," Luedke said.

The company even factors in the amount of hurt a vehicle puts on the other vehicle involved in the crash.

"Some vehicles cause more damage to other cars than some do," Luedke said.

Car owners can see how their vehicles stack up at http://www.statefarm.com /insurance/auto_insurance/ratings.asp.