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Auto insurance feels like one of the products inflated slower than it should have; mostly that so may drivers were under insured despite laws requiring insurance, that uninsured motorist insurance became a large part of policies.

Add in cash for clunkers, then pandemic spending on autos. And moving from 4 year to 6 year loans.

Most states don't have road inspections either, so a dangerous tint, bald tires, non existent brakes, broken suspension, and a check engine light likely accompany the underinsured motorist.



> Add in cash for clunkers

Huh? Cash For Clunkers ENDED nearly sixteen years ago. Trying to paint that as a reason why auto insurance is higher now is a poor justification. Cash for Clunkers resulted in not just removing fuel inefficient cars from the road, but they ended being replaced with newer, generally safer vehicles.


no - here in California there was an unsolicited notice sent out last week for a 1991 Toyota IIR .. they offer some hundreds of dollars in print, from some agency of the State of California

secondly the auto in question is a simple 4-cylinder design, manual shift and no electronics in the two doors. A definition of safety that includes feedback msgs while driving, or constant location tracking.. is something about which reasonable people may disagree.


Don’t muddle terms, cash for clunkers specifically ended in 2009. Cite the Californian program if you’re referring to that.


Sounds like it's probably the Consumer Assistance Program Vehicle Retirement [0] .

[0]: https://www.bar.ca.gov/consumer/consumer-assistance-program/...


Are you claiming with a straight face that the only vehicle safety improvements in the past third of a century are "feedback messages while driving and constant location tracking"?


The program certainly achieved those things.

The 10-15 year range (a large group getting new vehicle credits) is likely relevant in second hand ownership and used car markets, so it is likely highly relevant.

"Generally safer" is a detail to dig deeper into, do the cars have more safety features and are they better performing, no doubt. Has the US seen fewer pedestrian deaths, fewer collisions, no. Cost to repair also went up significantly.

Possibly worth mentioning is the financing model changes of car manufacturers over the last 3 decades.




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