Auto insurance rates are skyrocketing, impacting car buyers across the U.S. The hosts discuss how rising vehicle prices lead to higher repair costs, forcing insurance companies to increase premiums. They analyze data from Consumer Reports on which carriers are raising rates the most and explore state-by-state insurance costs, revealing Maryland and D.C. as the most expensive. The conversation also touches on the implications for car affordability and the overall market, suggesting that many consumers may struggle to keep up with rising costs.
Today on CarEdge Live, Ray and Zach discuss auto insurance rates getting out of control. Tune in to learn more! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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"[336.0s] What would be a reasonable discount to buy a loaner 2025 Chevy Silverado versus a zero-mile"
Chevy is a popular car brand that makes trucks and cars people use every day. It’s known for being reliable and affordable.
Chevy is the colloquial name for Chevrolet, a major American automotive brand known for producing trucks, SUVs, and cars that emphasize value and practicality.
"[336.0s] What would be a reasonable discount to buy a loaner 2025 Chevy Silverado versus a zero-mile"
The Silverado is a big truck made by Chevrolet that can haul heavy loads and has new features in 2025. It’s popular for work and family use.
The Chevrolet Silverado is a full‑size pickup truck known for its durability and towing capacity. The 2025 model year includes updated styling, technology features, and improved fuel efficiency compared to earlier years.
"[336.0s] What would be a reasonable discount to buy a loaner 2025 Chevy Silverado versus a zero-mile"
A loaner vehicle is a free or discounted car that a dealership gives you while your own car is being fixed, so you can still get around.
A loaner vehicle is a temporary car or truck provided by a dealership while a customer’s own vehicle is being serviced or repaired. It allows the customer to maintain mobility without purchasing a new car.
"But if we were, then we would talk about the total cost of ownership for a vehicle when you're purchasing a vehicle."
Total cost of ownership is the full amount you’ll spend on a car, from buying it to keeping it running, like gas, repairs, insurance, and how much its value goes down.
Total cost of ownership (TCO) refers to the complete expense of owning and operating a vehicle over its lifetime, including purchase price, fuel, maintenance, insurance, taxes, depreciation, and any other related costs.
"[607.0s] buy cars are what is referred to in the industry as payment buyers."
These are people who mainly care about how much they will pay each month for a car, not the overall price or other costs.
‘Payment buyers’ refers to consumers who prioritize the size of their monthly car payment over other factors like total cost or vehicle features. They often choose a model that fits their budgeted payment rather than the best value.
"[613.0s] all they're concerned with is what their monthly payment is."
It’s the amount you pay every month when you buy a car on a loan or lease.
The monthly payment is the amount a buyer pays each month to finance or lease a vehicle. It’s calculated based on loan terms, interest rate, and vehicle price.
"[626.0s] forget to check what the insurance is going to be on whatever new car they're looking at."
This is the money you pay to an insurance company to protect yourself and your car from accidents or theft.
Insurance costs are the premiums paid to cover potential damages or liabilities related to owning and operating a vehicle. They vary by coverage level, driver profile, and location.
"[636.0s] insurance costs are part of the overall cost of ownership."
It’s the total amount you’ll spend on a car, not just the price tag—think of it as all the money that goes into keeping the car running.
Overall cost of ownership (OCO) includes all expenses associated with owning a vehicle over its lifetime: purchase price, financing, insurance, fuel, maintenance, and depreciation.
"[641.0s] 10 percent rule as to how much you can afford to spend for a car"
It means you should try not to spend more than 10% of what you earn each month on car costs.
The 10 percent rule suggests that a buyer should spend no more than ten percent of their monthly income on car expenses (payment, insurance, maintenance). It’s a budgeting guideline to avoid financial strain.
"[790.0s] 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe calligraphy, $51,710 MSRP."
The 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy is a fancy, top‑level version of the Santa Fe SUV. It has extra luxury features and a stronger engine compared to lower trims.
The 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy is a high‑trim version of the mid‑size SUV, featuring premium interior materials, advanced tech packages, and a more powerful engine option. It represents Hyundai’s top‑tier offering for the Santa Fe line.
"Here's the thing that you have to realize. When you lease a vehicle, you need higher limits of liability because the lender insists upon it, since they're the ones buying the vehicle on your behalf."
When you lease a car, you pay a monthly fee to use it for a few years and then give it back or buy it later.
Leasing a vehicle means you pay monthly to use the car for a set period, after which you return it or buy it at a predetermined price.
"When you lease a vehicle, you need higher limits of liability because the lender insists upon it, since they're the ones buying the vehicle on your behalf."
Leased cars need more insurance coverage so the company that owns the car is protected if something bad happens.
Insurance policies for leased cars often require higher liability limits to protect the lender's financial interest in case of an accident.
"[1363.0s] You know, I think the number of uninsured motorists in many areas will go up dramatically [1371.0s] because people just can't afford to pay for these more expensive insurance rates."
Uninsured motorists are people who drive without car insurance. If they cause an accident, the other driver’s insurance has to pay for damages, which can make insurance more expensive for everyone else.
Uninsured motorists are drivers who do not carry liability insurance, meaning they cannot cover damages or injuries caused in an accident. Their lack of coverage can lead to higher insurance premiums for insured drivers as insurers spread the risk across a larger pool.
"[1414.0s] because they can't afford it.
[1424.0s] You know, would it be better if the average cost of a car was considerably less than it is today?"
When cars and insurance are expensive, fewer people can afford to buy or keep a vehicle. This makes the whole car market harder for everyone.
The discussion highlights how high vehicle prices and insurance costs can make owning a car difficult for many consumers, affecting overall market demand.
"[1535.0s] And I can't wait to see what that translates into as far as the seasonably adjusted sales rate."
Seasonally adjusted sales rate means the numbers have been tweaked to ignore regular ups and downs that happen every year, like more cars sold during holidays. It helps people see the real trend in sales without those predictable bumps.
Seasonally adjusted sales rate is a statistical measure that removes predictable seasonal patterns—such as holiday spikes or winter slowdowns—from raw sales data. This allows analysts to compare year‑to‑year performance on a like‑for‑like basis, revealing underlying trends without seasonal noise.
"[1662.0s] You then have Hyundai-Kia dead flat.
[1664.0s] Yes."
Hyundai-Kia makes cars that are usually cheaper and have good technology, like safety cameras and efficient engines.
Hyundai-Kia refers to the South Korean automotive joint venture that produces vehicles under both Hyundai and Kia brands, known for affordable cars with modern features.
"We saw them do that earlier this year with the CX-90 when it wasn't selling."
The CX‑90 is a big SUV from Mazda that can seat up to eight people and comes with different engine choices, some of which use a small electric motor to help the gas engine.
The Mazda CX‑90 is a large crossover SUV that debuted in 2023, featuring three rows of seating and a range of powertrains including gasoline and mild‑hybrid options.
Select text to request an explanation
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It's noonish here in Ventnor City, New Jersey, and this is Car Edge Live for Tuesday, December 2nd, with your hosts, me, Ray, and, well, that handsome T-shirted young man sitting next to me, Zach.
Sorry, I'm screaming.
It's just the way I do this show.
How are you today, handsome?
I'm doing fantastic.
Happy Tuesday, everyone.
It's a miserable weather day here on the East Coast, but you know where it's much better, Dad?
Back at CarEdge.com.
The weather's good.
That's what I've heard.
Yeah, it's like going to—you know what people say about CarEdge.com, Dad?
No, tell me.
They say it's like going to Hawaii and being by the beach.
That's how pleasant it is.
That sounds like you've got to pay too much.
No, no, no.
But it's a good value.
Anyway, folks, today's show is brought to you by CarEdge.com.
We did just end our Black Friday special, which was $300 off our car-buying service
and 15% off—excuse me, 30% off CarEdge Pro.
We are continuing to run, however, $150 off the car-buying service and 15% off CarEdge
Pro for at least another couple days here and—
Couple?
That's just 12.
And I didn't tell the team this.
This is in typical Zach format.
Yeah.
If you want to buy today and you still want to get the $300 or the $30, ask them.
Ask them.
Maybe they'll say yes.
They'll probably say yes.
Anyway, folks, today's show, we're going to be—
Wow.
Wow.
Today's show, Dad.
Yes.
We're going to be talking about auto insurance.
Yeah.
And the reason we're going to be talking about auto insurance is because we have prices
of auto insurance going through the roof.
So our insurance costs hit as U.S. buyers get a break on car prices.
I don't know what Reuters—
That was from a year and a half ago.
We're just talking about here.
A year and a half ago, we've got insurance prices going up.
Then we've also got data from Consumer Reports that shows us which insurance carriers are
actually increasing their prices the most year over year.
We're going to spend some time over on Insurify looking at insurance rates broken down by
state.
But we're going to start here first, Dad.
Yes.
Are auto insurance companies out of control?
And are they, in some ways, wrecking the car market because of how expensive it is
to actually get insurance for a vehicle?
No.
All right.
Here's your take.
They're not the ones wrecking the car market because vehicles have gotten so expensive.
The manufacturers have wrecked the car market because they've built nothing but expensive
vehicles.
And the more expensive the vehicle is, the greater the cost of repair if there is damage
done due to an accident.
And because of that, insurance companies have had to raise the rates.
So when you add manufacturers have raised prices, tariffs have added to manufacturers
having to raise prices.
So insurance companies correspondingly have to raise rates because the cost to repair
when damage occurs has gone up.
If this is just a supposition on my part, I'm not an economist.
But if the average price of vehicles were to actually go down, then the cost of repair
might go down because, well, the cost of the vehicles are considerably less.
Maybe, just maybe, insurance rates would hold steady because you know those guys, they're
not going to want to lower the rates.
We've got the data there, Dad.
We see auto insurance premiums, the red line here, going up.
Again, this is data from last year, but it is still directionally accurate.
Auto insurance premiums have been going up, whereas we've seen new car prices fluctuate
but honestly get a little bit flat where they are.
They've gone up a little bit as MSRPs have gone back up this year.
Used car prices have stayed kind of flat, gone down a little bit.
But insurance rates, Dad, up 22.2%.
I'm going to put you on the spot here.
In our community on the spot here, there are certain states, Dad, which I can't really
reconcile and understand.
There are certain states where it is astronomically more expensive to insure a vehicle than others.
The worst offender would be your previous home state, my previous home state, Maryland.
We're going to look at the data here in just a second.
You want to have the most expensive auto insurance in the United States?
You go to Maryland.
After that, Washington, D.C.
I'm like, wait, we're in the wrong states, man.
There's some issues there.
New Jersey's pretty high, too.
New Jersey's pretty high as well, so we'll look at those in a second.
I see a thoughtful contribution that has come in.
I just want to acknowledge this.
We're going to come back.
Actually, let's do it right.
I'll put mine down.
From Break My Wallet Motorsports.
Thank you.
What would be a reasonable discount to buy a loaner 2025 Chevy Silverado versus a zero-mile
brand-new 25 or 26?
What type of discount is a customer seeking out on a loaner vehicle versus a brand-new
vehicle?
Then we're back to insurance.
15% to 20% because it's a loaner.
I mean, I believe you can probably get 15% to 20% off with incentives right now on a
brand-new one with no miles.
So there needs to be a huge concession for whatever miles are on the vehicle, or it needs
to be a certified pre-owned vehicle from the manufacturer so that it gets the extended
warranty attached to it.
But you have to be several thousand dollars less than a brand-new one with no miles.
There you go.
15% plus is what you're shooting for.
Delta difference between the new one and the loaner one.
Again, another contribution.
Contributions are the way to break our stride, and that is a-okay because this pays for coffee
after the show today, which we appreciate.
From Softball By Fat.
Love that.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Is it common for the APR percentage to change from the deal you worked out with the salesman
to the finance manager, or is that a dealer scam?
What a great question.
Then we're back to insurance.
Well, why would the interest rate change?
The only thing that could impact interest rates is if they've been quoting you interest
rates based on you being top tier, and then it turns out that your credit score doesn't
qualify for top tier.
That could impact interest rates.
Or they're just trying to close you on a payment using a specific interest rate, and then they
break it to you gently in the finance office.
You didn't qualify for that rate, or your rate's slightly higher, and then you have
to start the negotiations all over again.
I would say it is pretty common for this to happen, because we see a lot of out-the-door
quotes that have interest rates on it, but the customer's never submitted a credit application.
They have no clue what they qualify for, versus you get to the finance office, you've submitted
the credit application.
The dealership's probably marking up the interest rate now in the finance office, making some
extra money there.
So that definitely happens pretty frequently.
Back to insurance, though.
Yeah.
Back to insurance.
Yes.
It continues to go up in price.
Yes.
This is some of the information that we got from Consumer Reports.
Let's look at this.
This is the percentage of increase, the percentage of carriers that have seen their prices increase,
whether it be $200 or more, between $50 to $199 year over year for these different auto
insurance carriers.
And we're looking right now at the bottom of the list, which is good.
Yeah, these are the carriers that impacted the smallest percentage of their currently
insured.
With a price increase.
Yes.
And it's still 37%.
Yes.
That is the lowest.
The best on this list is Erie Insurance, that carrier.
Yes.
And they only increased their rates on 37% of their customers.
Yes.
37% is still an awful lot.
Yeah, but it's considerably less than everybody else.
I mean, look at what's going on here.
NJM, 43%.
Hanover, 52%.
CSAA, 53%.
Look at Progressive, Dad, one of the first really big national providers here.
Over half of all Progressive customers saw their rates go up.
Yeah.
56%.
56% of them saw their rates go up year over year.
USAA, Allstate, Plymouth Rock.
There I am, GEICO.
GEICO, 62% at GEICO, Dad.
And we're still not even near the bottom of this list in terms of who had seen their auto
insurance premiums go up the most.
Why do these keep going up?
And are they taking people out of the market?
And before you even get too deep into that, we do have, folks, an insurance marketplace
back at CarEdge.com.
Go to CarEdge.com, click on Insurance Saved Money.
That is tried and tested.
It's like the way to save money is you actually just swap from carrier to carrier because
they're all desperate for your business.
But why are we seeing such significant price increases year over year?
And what does that do to the car market?
Well, it drastically impacts the car market because, you know, we talk about it all the
time.
We never talk about any of it.
Yeah, you're right.
We never talk of anything of any importance.
But if we were, then we would talk about the total cost of ownership for a vehicle when
you're purchasing a vehicle.
And we know that the vast majority of people, 84, 85 percent of all customers who actually
buy cars are what is referred to in the industry as payment buyers.
In other words, all they're concerned with is what their monthly payment is.
And is that comfortable enough for them to fit in with the rest of the items that they
have budgeted on a monthly basis?
And people oftentimes forget to check what the insurance is going to be on whatever new
car they're looking at.
So insurance costs are part of the overall cost of ownership.
And whether you use my 10 percent rule as to how much you can afford to spend for a
car or because things are so expensive, you think to yourself, well, it should be 15 or
20 or 25 percent.
And if you're thinking that way, I think you're out of your mind.
But that's just me.
You have to factor in all the costs.
You have to factor in the cost of maintenance.
You have to factor in the cost of fuel.
You have to factor in your cost of insurance premiums, which continue to go up.
So if you combine increased insurance premiums with increased car payments, and the average
car payment today is 750 bucks, then all of a sudden, when you start adding all that
together, it becomes unaffordable for people.
I'm sure you've seen it in your career, the car payments less than the insurance payment.
Oh, yeah.
No, I've encountered that where somebody's bought a car and then they got in touch with
their insurance company and then they were really shocked to find out, oh, my God, I
wasn't expecting my insurance to go from $150 a month to $300 a month.
That has an impact on what I can afford.
I bet it does.
Dad, I want some guesses from you and the community.
Which insurance carriers do you think year over year increase their rates on the most
number of customers?
We're going to look at that data in just a second here.
Consumer Reports compiled that after 40,000 survey responses.
So it's really interesting data that we have access to.
And your points around total cost of ownership are exactly what I was hoping we'd hit home
today.
If you think you can afford a $50,000 new car and you're financing that, let's, you
know, I love doing my examples.
Yeah.
Let's do a real example.
Yeah.
Let's shop for a new car.
Yeah.
That's 50 grand.
That's 50 grand.
OK.
What do you, what's a 50?
Every brand now has a $50,000 car.
Name a brand.
What do you want to look at?
Let's do a Hyundai of some kind.
Shocking that Hyundai has $50,000 vehicles, but they do.
OK.
And this is the point.
Like, we do not script this at all.
The first results for Hyundai are $77,000, $74,000, and $69,000.
There's something wrong there.
WTF.
OK.
We were looking for, we were, do the ionic thing.
I don't even want to do an EV.
Let's do a non-EV.
Do we see?
Yeah.
Yeah.
There you go.
The first page of results for Hyundai are all like very expensive vehicles.
That's crazy talk.
2026 Hyundai Santa Fe calligraphy, $51,710 MSRP.
Dealer invoice price on this, $49,279.
Dealer would love to sell it at MSRP.
What I'm interested in.
Yes.
Two things.
First, I want to look at the monthly payment calculator.
Yeah.
Let's say I get it at the out-the-door price, $56,166.
Don't put any money down.
I'm financing it for 60 months, which is very honestly good in today's world.
Most people are doing 70 plus months.
Yeah.
8% interest rate is realistic.
I'm spending in that world $1,138 alone just on my car payment.
Let's now scroll down to the cost of ownership right below it.
Insurance.
This is showing me insurance over the first five years of owning this vehicle.
The estimate is $12,200.
Let's do some math here.
$12,200 over five years.
That's 60 months.
Wait for it.
We're talking about an additional $200 a month.
That's the estimate.
Yes.
We're not factoring in depreciation.
We're not factoring in maintenance.
We're not factoring in fuel, and we're not factoring in interest rate.
That's captured in the loan up above.
Yes.
We're talking about an incremental, coming back up here, 20-ish percent in your monthly
payment.
Yes.
For a freaking Hyundai.
Are you ready to spend $1,400, $1,300 a month?
Between $1,300 and $1,400 a month on a Hyundai?
What?
No.
I guess I feel somewhat fortunate that I pay $490 a month all in on my lease on my Mazda,
including insurance.
Here's the thing that you have to realize.
When you lease a vehicle, you need higher limits of liability because the lender insists
upon it, since they're the ones buying the vehicle on your behalf.
Your insurance is normally higher on a lease than it would be on a purchase.
I don't know.
I'm at under $500 a month payment for insurance and lease.
I don't know how anybody would spend $1,300, $1,400 a month and think that they're doing
something smart.
To each their own, obviously.
I asked a moment ago, Dad, which insurance carriers do you think have had the largest
percentage of their customers have their prices increased year over year?
We've had some guesses in the chat here.
We've got Liberty.
Yeah.
Liberty.
State Farm.
Isn't that their jingle?
Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.
I skipped it.
State Farm.
Liberty, Liberty, State Farm.
Liberty, Liberty.
Stop.
I'll have to look at the data.
Here we go, folks.
American families, 64% of customers have seen their insurance rates go up year over year.
Nationwide, 65%.
Hartford, 66%.
Farm Bureau, 67%.
Amica, 67%.
Auto Club Group, 68%.
Farmers, 68%.
Travelers, 68%.
Auto Owners Insurance Group, 70%.
There's Liberty.
Wow.
Seven out of every 10 Liberty customers, the latest data we have, have seen their prices
go up year over year.
That emu needs to be fed.
That emu needs to be fed.
And there you go.
You can see it.
Whoops.
Let me get the chat off the screen.
There you go.
Yes.
91% of their PEMCO customers.
Saw a price increase, a rate increase.
And 53% of them were more than $200.
So the good news is they probably bring you in on a cheap initial premium, and then they
sock it to you, like they used to say many, many years ago.
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I feel so proud that we offer the insurance marketplace.
That is the way to save money.
These folks, all of these companies here, they all compete with each other to get you in
and then increase your rates.
You've got to do your shopping.
You've absolutely got to do your shopping.
And I thought that data was pretty doggone crazy.
Now, Deb, let's look at it broken down by state.
There's all sorts of interesting information here.
Let me look at it by state.
Whoops, I've got to pull up the right information.
Reports.
Reports.
Here we go.
This comes from our friends over at Insurify.
Let me click on this right here.
Car insurance rates by state.
Let me scroll on down.
Do, do, do, do, do.
Okay, I've got to find it again.
So we're going to go in a different direction for a moment while I find the actual state
data.
But that is-
Where's the state?
I want to see what it is.
It was fascinating.
Yeah.
Maryland was the most expensive state, followed by Washington DC, which I couldn't really
reconcile.
Why do you think those states might be in that situation?
Congestion, more congestion, more accidents.
When you look at especially the congested areas of Maryland, the Beltway, I mean, how
many accidents per morning drive and afternoon drive are there just on the Beltways around
Baltimore and Washington DC?
And then Washington DC is, it's an older city.
Yeah.
So pretty narrow streets last time I checked, last time I was there.
And then the rates of stolen vehicles and things like that impact insurance rates.
Yeah.
It makes a lot of sense.
Yeah.
Yeah, dad.
I mean, there's a couple of states, for example, I'll pull this up here on the screen.
There we go.
From our friends over at Insurify.
$130 a month, $156 a month, $154.
But I can do that right there.
New Hampshire, only $85 a month.
North Carolina, $91 a month.
Washington DC, $308.
Maryland, $275.
New Jersey, $259.
I need to move.
So state by state, your auto insurance.
What is it to your Nevada?
Oh, it's not that much better in Nevada.
What about, do I need to go back to Arizona?
Not about you moving.
Why?
Or maybe it's not so much why, it's the impact that auto insurance can have on the car market
can be disproportionately impacting certain parts of the country versus others.
Yes.
If you're in some of those states right there that had very low auto insurance rates, New Hampshire, great.
The impact that auto insurance premiums are going to have on the car market there,
less than DC, Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada, where already it's so expensive to insure a vehicle.
Yeah.
How was it in Arizona?
We used to live, was that a relatively inexpensive state?
I don't see Arizona there.
I don't see Arizona there.
Let's see, let's see, let's see.
Looks like Arizona is smack dab in the middle.
Okay.
Well, you know, there's some nice areas in Arizona.
This is not about you moving.
Not about you moving, man.
Not about you moving.
I'm sorry.
Okay, so what's your big broad take, and then we'll switch off insurance.
What's your big take on what's going on with auto insurance and how that impacts both the car market
and also just consumers in general?
I think it's going to get worse.
Really?
Yes.
And the reason I say that it's going to get worse is we have a dramatic affordability issue
for a lot of people in this country where they have to make tough choices.
And sometimes those tough choices might be whether or not to actually insure a vehicle or not.
You know, I think the number of uninsured motorists in many areas will go up dramatically
because people just can't afford to pay for these more expensive insurance rates.
So if there's more and more uninsured motorists on the road and there's more and more accidents,
then those of us who are insured are going to see our premiums go up to cover all those who are uninsured.
And so I don't see this getting better anytime soon.
I know there's many states where there's laws, it's mandatory to carry insurance, and people don't
because they can't afford it.
And so that's going to impact insurance costs for all of us for the foreseeable future.
You know, would it be better if the average cost of a car was considerably less than it is today?
That would help.
Will the insurance companies actually decrease their rates if that were to be the case?
I doubt it.
They've proven that the customers will pay it because, well, they have to.
So I just think it'll get worse in the near term only because of the affordability issues for a lot of people.
Yeah, I think you could be on to something.
And again, the way to get your insurance rate to go down is you just shop these folks against one another.
That's why we have the marketplace back at CarEdge.com.
Dad, from Rich earlier in the show.
Thank you, Rich.
Stop bothering the Shevskas with donations.
They're busy working.
Hey, we really appreciate it.
Yes.
No, interrupt us all you'd like.
It means the world to us, and it's awesome that we're able to help folks.
Now, the other story I want to talk about today, we have the latest, at least initial data set for sales
coming out of the month of November for the car market.
Toyota Kia sales rise in November.
Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda slip.
EVs continue their slide down.
So we've got some mixed results here.
We'll look at the numbers in just a second.
But a lot of brands that actually saw their sales in November decrease, which is not too surprising.
We've been talking about that for a while now.
And for those manufacturers who saw the increase, they are the exception.
They are not the rule.
I don't know what the total numbers are going to look like yet for November.
I know the preliminary guess was that November sales were going to be down 8%.
I can't wait to see what that is.
And I can't wait to see what that translates into as far as the seasonably adjusted sales rate.
My guess, it'll be in the lower 15 million range as opposed to when we were tracking for 16 and a half
or 17 million car sales this year, new car sales.
You know, the winners are going to be limited and the losers are going to be an expanding group.
All right.
So let's look at the data here.
We've got, Dad, foreign sales down 0.7% year over year.
So negligible in November.
Honda, Dad, down 15.3%.
That's a surprise on this list.
Honda sales alone down 16.8.
Acura down 1.4.
So Honda really struggling, which is interesting because they actually have a decent amount of inventory right now.
So this could be a sign that as we come into December that Honda is going to be more aggressive than other brands
with their incentives and trying to move the metal.
You don't want a 15% year over year decline in sales.
No business wants that.
We don't want that here at CarEdge.
Honda doesn't want that there.
And HondaLand, expect and anticipate, is my read on this, that you'll see better Honda deals here as a result of this.
Yeah, well, you know, Honda had a tough quarter.
They lost money in the quarter due to their bet on EVs and some others.
And so that they actually lost money, which could impact how much money they have to put towards incentives.
But, yeah, they don't want to see a continuation of that type of sales decline in the month of December.
No.
Put yourself in the shoes of the executives that work at Honda.
You're looking at a chart that shows a 15% decline in sales year over year.
You're going to pull levers and make sure that you get sales up in December.
And watch the way we talk about all the time.
It's the price.
Yeah.
It's the price.
So they're going to do better incentives.
Obviously, to be clear here, y'all, we are compiling all of the December and year-end incentives right now.
And we'll probably talk about that tomorrow on the show once all that data is compiled today.
So that's over at Honda.
You then have Hyundai-Kia dead flat.
Yes.
So nothing too crazy over at Hyundai-Kia.
Mazda sales down another 1.5%.
So Mazda continues to struggle.
And this is a brand that we've talked about for a while now that has to offer strong incentives to sell their grow-in.
And this was a brand that at the beginning of the year had hoped to sell well in excess of 400,000 new units in this country.
I think they were hoping to do somewhere around 450,000.
And apparently, they'll do slightly over 400,000.
They're going to fall well short of their objective for the year.
Well, I wouldn't be surprised if they come out guns ablaze in here in December with big, big, big incentives to move the metal.
We saw them do that earlier this year with the CX-90 when it wasn't selling.
Yes.
They put a $10,000 or was it a $15,000?
$10,000.
$10,000 lease cash incentive on that thing.
And we've seen Mazda dealers be very aggressive as well.
Speaking of which, we're going to have Joe Lewis back on the show later this week.
He runs a Mazda dealership.
He'll be talking to us about his experience.
But Mazda sales, that's another group where you don't want to go into another meeting and say, okay, we know sales slipped in November.
But don't worry.
They only slipped more in December.
No.
No one wakes up and wants to go into that meeting in that way.
They're going to have to increase incentives.
Well, if you want to become unemployed, you go into that meeting that way.
Dan, Lexus sales were actually up 6.2% while Toyota sales were up 4.4% buoying the brand.
I'm surprised to see Lexus sales down 6.2% year over year.
That is shocking to me.
Well, yeah, that's surprising.
And perhaps they just couldn't get enough Lexi into the country or into production.
And maybe that's why their sales were off.
And you can see of all the brands that are reporting so far, for the month, it's 2.1% off.
Yeah.
And the unfortunate reality is it won't be until January when we see what some of the other brands were doing because some of the brands, a lot of the brands, most of the brands.
Excuse me, report quarterly and not monthly.
But the expectation is that to your point, at least a 5% drop in sales for the month of November could be closer to 8% or 10%.
And that is it continues to be good news for those who are shoppers, although you didn't watch yesterday's show.
Every day is a whole conversation around.
It is a good time to be a shopper.
It also means that when you do go shopping, you add demand back into the marketplace, which should prop prices back up.
But no matter how you slice it, when we see declines in sales, that's good news for shoppers and bad news for the industry.
There's no sign that that's going to change here in December unless there's big incentives.
Again, that's the data that we're compiling right now to bring out and share with everyone.
We had 42 0% financing offers last month.
What do you think is going to be the number of 0% financing offers in December?
I mean, we're compiling the data right now.
I don't think it will be as high as the total number of Ford recalls for the year.
But I wouldn't be surprised if the number were to go up from 42 into the 50 somewhere.
That seems to be the lever that most of the manufacturers are trying to pull at the moment.
The cheap interest rates and the, in many cases, 90 days to first payment.
Now, here's what you need to realize when they do a 90 day to first payment.
You are accruing an extra 90 days worth of interest that will be collected on that loan once you start making those payments.
Unless, of course, it's a 0% interest loan.
But otherwise, whatever rate is attached to that loan, there is interest accruing for those 90 days.
You're just not paying it yet, but you will be.
That's a good point.
All right, folks.
Again, a friendly reminder, if we can help you out with anything, CarEdge.com.
We have a promo going on right now.
Can I go over one thing?
Sure.
I received an email from one of our followers yesterday, and he was talking about when he was much younger and working.
And at that time, he worked for one of the manufacturers, and one of their programs was that you could actually have your car payment deducted from your employment payment.
Your payroll.
And they were taking out money every week.
And he decided that he was going to increase the amount that they would take out every week.
And as it turned out, he was many, many months ahead.
And so the whole point of this is that regardless of what your payment is, if it's $400 a month, if it's $800 a month,
if you can pay an extra $10 a month or an extra $50 a month, whatever it is, that extra is going to go to principal.
It's going to go to reducing the principal, which ultimately reduces the amount of interest that will be paid,
which ultimately reduces the number of payments it will take to clear that loan.
So you don't have to share that information with the dealer when you're negotiating that you would consider doing that.
But financially, it could make sense for you as a customer to do that so that you can pay off the loan quicker and pay back less interest.
I just wanted to...
That's a good point. You can pay more than your monthly payment and pay down the principal on your auto loan.
That's a great, great point.
Yes.
Again, folks, if we can help you out with anything, CarEdge.com, $150 off our car buying service, 15% off Car Edge Pro.
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There's so much good information here back at CarEdge.com.
And then CarEdge Pro would be the tools.
That information that you were just showing, how much do you have to pay to see that information?
To sell our services, that info is free, of course.
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CarEdge Pro, there's information you pay for.
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All right, folks, we're calling it a show.
We have to eat some lunch and then we have to film some videos.
So we're excited to do that.
Yes.
And we'll be back here tomorrow.
That's my plan since I live here.
We've got guests Thursday and Friday, two different dealers joining us both days.
So stay tuned for that.
And we will see you tomorrow.
Yep, absolutely.
Thank you, everybody, for being here.
And we look forward to seeing you all back here tomorrow.
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Mientras los quienes de Villaquien reían y comían,
el Grinch, desde su guarida, su plan definía.
Pensó, ¿cómo arruinar sus cenas festivas?
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