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Does it seem that your car is in for repairs more than it’s in your driveway, or more to the point, for the same repairs, over and over again? If that’s the case, lemon laws might apply to you. Simply put, lemon laws are meant to give you some legal leverage to seek a refund for the purchase price of your vehicle (or replacement) and…
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Podcasts,Cadillac,Fisker,GMC,Lamborghini,Nissan,Porsche,Subaru,Toyota,Volvo,Coupe,Crossover,SUV,Electric,Hybrid,Luxury,Off-Road Vehicles,Performance,Supercars,Sedan
Plus some sad discontinuation news and rumors
Continue reading Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato and GMC Acadia driven | Autoblog Podcast #837
Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato and GMC Acadia driven | Autoblog Podcast #837 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Jun 2024 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Insurance rates are increasing, but vehicle owners aren’t sitting still waiting for the situation to change. A new study from LexisNexis showed that more people are shopping around for car insurance, switching companies to save money and get better coverage options.
The study showed that more than 40 percent of insured drivers had shopped for a new policy in 2023, up almost 5 percent from the year before. Insurers spent less on advertising, which could have played a role, but the main driving force is that people want to save money, and they are not hesitant to make a move when they find something better.
This situation presents some challenges for insurance companies, even the ones that are taking on more customers than they lose. There are more multi-generational households as families move in together to save money. That has driven up the number of drivers on each policy while reducing the number of new policies. Beyond the potential lost revenue, insurers could miss risk factors for people in multi-driver households.
Because of that shopping around, insurers have seen a drop in their customer renewal rates, with the average renewals dropping from 83 percent to 80 percent. Many of the customers making moves between coverage options are those with clean driving records and low-risk drivers, leaving insurers with “the rest” of the driving population that costs more to insure. LexisNexis pointed out that insurers need to focus on pricing and satisfaction for the lower-risk vehicle owners to avoid ending up with a pool of expensive-to-insure drivers.
If you’re considering changing insurance companies, doing plenty of research up front would be wise. Consider your current deductible, coverage limits, and benefits before making a move. If you save a few dollars on insurance premiums but end up with a larger deductible or fewer coverage options, you won’t have saved anything if you get in a wreck.
We’ve been hearing about rising car insurance rates for a while now, but while it’s easy to blame corporate greed for the increases, some of the blame lies in the fact that insurance claims have become significantly more severe over the past four years. LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ recent study found that the costs for bodily injury and property damage claims have climbed steadily in recent times, contributing to the rise in premiums.
Since 2020, claims for bodily injury have risen in severity by 20 percent, while material damages coverage increased 47 percent. Parts and labor shortages contributed, as did increases in the costs of medical care. As LexisNexis pointed out, the more severe accidents have raised questions about minimum coverage limits and whether they are adequate to cover the increased costs.
There are 43 states plus Washington, D.C., that require $25,000 or less in coverage, while four states have $30,000 minimum coverage limits. Three others have minimums of $50,000, barely covering the average new vehicle price in the United States.
Total loss claims have increased 29 percent since 2020, and over a quarter of collisions in 2023 resulted in totaled vehicles. These claims are more expensive for the insurer and can be customer service headaches for drivers. Almost half of the people surveyed said they were dissatisfied with their experience following a total-loss accident, and 40 percent said it took a month or longer to receive payment for their claim.
Another factor contributing to the severity of claims is the fact that a greater number of people are getting legal help from an attorney. A majority of study respondents – 85 percent – said an attorney had approached them after an accident. Around 60 percent had been contacted by two or more lawyers, and more than half of the people who obtained legal help received more money from their settlements.
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Continue reading 2025 Buick Enclave changes trim names and pricing
2025 Buick Enclave changes trim names and pricing originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 2 Jun 2024 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Government/Legal,Green,Plants/Manufacturing,Buick,Lincoln,Volvo,Polestar
Continue reading Biden’s tariffs likely won’t impact Americans already driving Chinese-built cars
Biden’s tariffs likely won’t impact Americans already driving Chinese-built cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 May 2024 10:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Green,GMC,SUV,Electric,Off-Road Vehicles,Performance,Road Tests
Continue reading 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV Second Drive Review: Moab made easy
2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV Second Drive Review: Moab made easy originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 9 May 2024 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Road rage on its own is bad enough, but things move to a whole new level of stress and danger when firearms are involved. While drivers in some states see very little traffic-related gun violence, a handful show alarming numbers of incidents that could make driving an actual life-or-death situation for some.
ConsumerAffairs dove into the data, finding the states with the most and least road rage, but the most interesting data points in the study come from its look at gun violence. There have been 2.08 incidents of gun-related violence per 100,000 residents in New Mexico, making it the worst state on the list. The “top ten” states with the most gun violence per 100,000 residents include:
It’s important to take these numbers in context, as the population varies wildly between some of the states on the list. New Mexico had just over two million residents in 2022, while Texas had a shade over 30 million. That could make New Mexicans look like gun-crazed lunatics due to the sparse population, and Texans look less dangerous, despite the fact that there are 15 times more people living there.
ConsumerAffairs shared some pointers on avoiding road rage, which are especially important in these shockingly violent times. If you’re sharing the road with an aggressive driver, back off and give them as much space as possible. Move over when you see someone tailgating, as it’s best to get out of the way rather than provoke them by brake-checking or slowing down.
Always be aware of your surroundings, and don’t hesitate to call the police if you’re experiencing harassment or if someone is following you. Remember, arriving alive is better than getting a few moments of satisfaction from responding to an aggressive driver or, worse yet, seeing the business end of their firearm.
Gas prices have climbed to record highs in some places, but the data show that vehicles with internal combustion engines are still cheaper to drive than EVs. In fact, according to a recent iSeeCars study, the 15 most expensive vehicles to drive per mile are all plug-in models.
iSeeCars looked at the number and cost of miles driven by different fuel types between November 2022 and April 2023. EVs were driven the least and were the most expensive to drive 1,000 miles. Gas cars were driven the most but were slightly more expensive to operate over that same mileage cycle. Breaking things down further by model, the most expensive vehicles to operate on a per-mile basis were all plug-ins, with the Porsche Taycan being the priciest.
The higher purchase price, combined with the fact that higher-end luxury vehicles tend to be driven less, pushes their average cost per mile higher than other models. That point becomes more apparent when looking at the two Porsche’s average new prices, which land at $138,914 and $111,985 for the Taycan and Cayenne PHEV, respectively. They’re also the only two in the study with six-figure average price tags.
Hybrids, on the other hand, comprise most of the 15 cheapest vehicles to operate per mile. The Honda Insight had a per-mile cost of just $1.46, followed by the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid at $1.81 and the Toyota Corolla Hybrid at $1.86. iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer said that hybrids are becoming more attractive for buyers as the cost gap between them and traditional gasoline models continues to shrink.
Automakers are increasingly stepping back from EV-only product roadmaps in favor of more hybrids and PHEVs, and recent driving cost data between November 2022 and April 2023 from iSeeCars shows that this might be good for buyers in more ways than one. While electric vehicles can save money on gas, they cost more and are driven less, which makes the cost per mile much higher than that of other fuel types. Hybrids were found to be much less expensive to drive, dominating the list of the cheapest cars to drive per mile.
The Honda Insight was the least expensive in the iSeeCars study, at $1,463 per 1,000 miles, or $1.46 per mile. Other vehicles on the list include:
Hybrid vehicle pricing continues to fall, making them more comparable with gas models. Those more reasonable purchase prices, combined with in-town fuel savings, make them appealing for buyers looking to put some miles on the clock, driving down their average cost per mile. Only one PHEV made the top 10 list, with two in the top 15, including the Toyota Prius Prime in 12th place at $2.71 per mile.
EVs are more expensive to buy than other fuel types, and high-end models tend to be driven less, giving them some of the highest per-mile costs in the study. The Porsche Taycan was the priciest vehicle in the study, at $22.02 per mile. The Porsche Cayenne PHEV, with its six-figure average purchase price, was second most expensive at $14.68. iSeeCars attributes many of the higher prices to the cars’ extreme average purchase prices, all of which exceeded $48,000. The BMW i3 was the cheapest, while the Taycan was the most expensive, at almost $140,000 on average.
