Report: 1 in 5 Car Dealerships Will Close Soon?
photo credit: ttar
continued from car week…
“Nearly one in every five car dealerships in the U.S. will close this fall, consulting firm Grant Thornton said.”
“An estimated 3,800 auto dealers will go out of business in coming months, Melville said, up from a previous estimate of 2,700.”
more: US Auto Sales Plummet (MSN Money 10/2/2008)
The article also [...]
Time To Run The Numbers On Car Buying, For Real
photo credit: footloosiety
DW’s fully-depreciated car finally racked up a four-figure repair estimate.
Time to look for a newer vehicle… and take inventory of our experiences.
My experience: bought a new Saturn sedan in 1997. Saturn = I did not negotiate. I also did not consider 3rd-party financing. Basically, I was a huge fish. The only things [...]
Credit-Based Car Insurance: The Research
One thing that bugs me is when people say things like "everyone spends 12% more with credit cards, no matter what" without actually reading any of the studies. This can lead to a telephone game where people use a study to support their pet causes 100% — nevermind the conclusions, assumptions, methodology, limitations, etc.
Part of [...]
Credit-Based Car Insurance Rates… A Bad Idea?
Shan at The Apostle of the Turtle wonders,
"Is it just me, or is it a stretch to assume that your FICO score—which measures your loyalty to the act of borrowing money—is an accurate barometer for determining how well you drive?"
As I found in By The Numbers: Credit Scores and Car Insurance, most insurers use credit [...]
Big 3: Squeezing Efficiency From Existing Designs
via Marketplace,
GM, Ford and Chrysler are tweaking their existing models. They’re changing tires, adjusting transmissions and exhaust valves in hopes of getting one or maybe two more miles per gallon.
Better late than never? Hopefully all this tweaking does not upset reliability.
Your State’s Resources for Car Insurance
After the eye-opening research on car insurance in Missouri, I wanted to provide similar resources for people in other states. So here is the list of state government page that deal with car insurance. They are of variable quality, so some people will be overjoyed to find this list, and others will be sorely disappointed. [...]
By The Numbers: Credit Scores and Car Insurance
Did you know your credit score can influence your car insurance rates?
You probably answered a big "YES" if you read personal finance blogs.
If not, here are five quotes to explain what is going on, by the numbers…
"According to a study by Conning and Co., more than 90% of auto insurers use a credit scoring system [...]
Prius Owners: Are They Bad At Math?
Lately in the mainstream media and on personal finance blogs, I’ve have seen comments that people are uninformed or have poor math skills if they buy expensive hybrids. Hmm… why do people say Prius owners are bad at math, but not people who own Hummers?
Is it assumed that the H2 owners derive so much pleasure [...]
The Anatomy of Car Insurance
We are always hearing about the huge differences in auto insurance rates.
"I just saved a bundle on car insurance"
"Save up to $300 by dealing direct."
"People who switched saved an average of $353"
"Save up to $500 by switching to us."
Then there’s the real world examples of savings at FreeMoneyFinance.com.
Read enough examples and it is clear some [...]
Locking-In Low Gas Prices vs. Locking-In High Fuel Efficiency
Lately, there’s a buzz over programs to "lock in your gas prices" (Chrysler, MyGallons, etc) But are the program focusing on the price-per-gallon designed to treat the symptom instead of the problem?
These charts illustrate the total cost at gas prices from $2 to $7, if you drive 12,000 miles per year. The green line is [...]
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