How old are you and what all is on your driving record?

Insurance on a Civic isn't really that great. I know, I owned one. Safer cars will have lower insurance costs. A few years ago I got quotes on a bunch of new cars and the Civic was one of the highest.... $100's more than my MINI. Also, Civic's have a decently high resale value, they should be easy to get a loan on as long as you don't pay too much for one.

Midsize cars make for lower insurance costs.

Not sure what you guys are doing to get such high rates though, my insurance has never been anywhere near my car payment and my driving record has not always been very pretty. I know there is a difference between costs for male and females but I didn't realize it was that much.