Tariffs are about to hit car parts, insurance, and repairs. 
Auto Tariff Blues
Trump reset many tariffs back to 10 percent, but Auto Tariffs Are Still On and Would Raise the Cost of Just Owning a Car
Although Trump paused certain tariffs on Wednesday, those still in place are expected to raise the prices of a range of products. Tariffs on cars and auto parts in particular would in turn push up the cost of insurance and repairs, analysts said.
Those increases might not be as sharp as the thousands of dollars that tariffs are predicted to add to vehicle prices, but they would reach far more consumers. That means drivers’ best strategy for dodging auto tariffs’ biggest financial impacts—holding on to their existing cars—is about to get more expensive.
The costs of car repairs and insurance have already soared 27% and 53%, respectively, during the past three years, far outpacing overall inflation, according to Labor Department data.
If you already know your car is in need of a repair or maintenance, Moody said it would be wise to get the work done soon, and not just to save money. Tariffs could make some parts harder to come by as producers adjust their output, which would put cars out of commission for longer periods.
When cars cost more and fixing them costs more, insurance companies’ expenses increase, so tariffs are expected to raise auto-insurance premiums as well.
Pleasant Thoughts in Unpleasant Times
Just remember that when your insurance bill or repair bill goes up, and when there is a delay in getting parts, Trump says this is a tax on China and Mexico, not you.
The same applies to food, washing machines, tools, and clothes.
It might seem like prices are going up, but they aren’t. It’s all in your head. Trump is collecting tariffs from China, Vietnam, Mexico, and Canada, not you.
Now that you know who’s really footing the bill, I sure you will feel better about these price hikes.
Retail Sales Surge in March Led by Tariff Front-Running of Autos
On April 16, I noted Retail Sales Surge in March Led by Tariff Front-Running of Autos
Forecasters accurately predicted tariff front-running would accelerate durable goods sales.
Also note Fed Chair Powell Warns of Higher Inflation and Slower Growth Due to Tariffs
At the Economic Club of Chicago, Jerome Powell makes a cautionary speech.
It seems Powell and everyone buying a car before prices go up fail to grasp Trump’s idea that prices wont go up.
Mish will be fine his trenchant personality will get him through this brief blip
A good book during your brief recovery https://a.co/d/ckaOR0T
F China, chicoms, and anyone else that doesn’t like America. Trump up haters down! Get well Mish
Mish, hope you are feeling better and out of the hospital soon.
mish get well. You can’t die yet. you are the only blogger i still read after approaching 20 years. GET BETTER!!!
Yep, if you feel like an elephant is sitting on your chest or if you feel a tingling in your fingers, those are the classic signs of a heart attack. You aint gonna like it. They are gonna put you on ice for weeks to rest. Perhaps you will have time to rethink the folly of libertarianism. 🙂 Next time walk around that Mormon neighborhood of yours twice a day for an hour each time … at a minimum.
Sounds like you had to save your own life. Respect to you and a cautionary for others about the state of US ‘healthcare’. Best wishes to you!
Sorry to hear that Mish. Praying for a speedy recovery. 🙏
Glad to hear your recovering well Mish!
Get well soon. As someone with heart worries I know how you feel. See you soon!
Mish, sorry for the tough news but so very very glad you got the surgery in time!
Old colleague of mine died last week of heart attack, age 66. Way too young, had only just retired, everyone shocked.
Thoughts and prayers are with you Mish. Get well soon!
Get well Mish, always need your commentary and analysis on the global goings on!
@Mish Im glad you got the care you needed and I hope your recovery is smooth and rapid. Thanks again for all your effort at highlighting financial items of interest and covering them with common sense and clarity.
Just yesterday I ordered a new battery for a hybrid – I opted for an OEM version (more expensive, yet I expect better quality). The current battery isn’t dead but I can tell it will be soon. They told me they only had 3 more left in the country. They said that the OEM had doubled the price so they were moving to produce batteries in the US but they wouldn’t be available until June (and I’m guessing that is optimistic).
Usually when the economy tanks, people move towards repairing their existing vehicles – but it’s a great question “What happens when there are no more parts?
This is why I will never own an EV. I said it when I heard they were coming, because I had spoken to a friend that said: “You will never fix your own car again”
Not sure he will be right or not, but I have always been able to, and often did and especially in my younger Days. I Swapped/Pulled engines and trannies. Had a blast! For little money and tools you can fix most casual issues that arise. Get parts at a scrap yard (many are gone) if you can for cheap.
I will stop driving before I buy an EV. Maybe a Hybrid?
Nate, please share the details. Make/model of the car and how many miles on the battery. That really sucks to hear. OEM doubling the price of stuff sounds more like profiteering with lack of competition. A real problem beyond the scope of your comments.
Hope you feel better Mish – You’re an American hero and we need you’re ass!
Thank goodness you found a doctor worth a shit.
You’ll be on Statins.
I know you like vitamins.
So be sure to take CoQ10.
Look it up.
Statins interferes with CoQ10 and is responsible for the majority of statin muscle pain side effects that can be devastating.
The good news is statins can work like a charm and you may never have another issue.
One of my good friends was put on statins without any heart issues just poorly conducted office blood pressure tests – proper tests need to be over night BP monitoring. He became crippled and immobilized with severe leg pain that I diagnosed as a CoQ10 deficiency and statins he did not need. Overnight blood pressure testing proved me right.. It took several months of no statins and adding in the CoQ10 but he’s back 100% now.
The medical system is just as likely to cripple and kill you as heal you. The statistics are not good…. Count your blessings. My friend was sent home from the ER with chest pain and and then had a massive MI and then got a heart transplant at Stanford 4 months later?
MISH LIVES
hydrogenated fats, seed oils, inflammation and poor stress management are our hearts enemy
Buddy, get well soon!! Glad you’re on the being fixed recovery side of things. Health/age serious problems started out of nowhere for me last year too. Sucks. I’ve long called this “The Zero Option Plan”.
VERY glad you cover the big other car costs increases (insurance and parts), because they will not be pretty. Inflationary too bot.
Trump is handling this trade stuff like a blind bull in a packed China shop.
Kind of ironic that phrase “China shop” comes from the LONG WITHSTANDING custom of China making, well, china! And w that IS THE OBVIOUS Additional implication WE DON’T HAVE TO MAKE EVERYTHING!!
We don’t have to have everything either…
couple day ago posted here …
====
there is another problem w/
lets say USA cuts off china imports, so China will have huge surplus of goods, so what is solution??/ DUMP THEM ON MARKET!
USA IS ONLY 3% of world ppl , and 20 % of wold gdp! mostly financed by debt
so, what will happen next ? global deflation!
=====
AND HERE WE ARE. TOP STORY ON ZH
==
A Chinese Deflationary Tsunami Is Headed For Europe
========
I can’t read the story but Europe is already planning to pass more anti dumping laws.
jesus! get well Mish. it is some kind of irony
=Hints of this started last August, hiking in the Great Basin np when I had pain in my arms while hiking.
====
privet from Russia!
Hey Mish, get well soon. I’m glad you’re on the mend!
Get well soon, praying for a quick recovery
Best wishes for a speedy recovery and good health Mish
Good luck and good health, hoping for a full recovery and soon you’ll back to your mean old self (grin).
Take it slow and get back up to speed, and consider modifying your diet, it influences your health to a huge degree. No need to get crazy small changes can produce large results just like compound interest.
make sure you are getting sufficient minerals, ie zinc,magnesium,copper, in proper ratios, and Vitamin D is extremely important in good health.
Well happy to know you are on the mend. A brush with our own mortality makes one more philosphoical.. Looking forward to new insights…
He could take a look at Hawthorne berry too. One can make a tea from the dried berries or take a supplement. Great cardiovascular benefits!
Get well soon Mish. Thanks for the update.
PapaDave
Hey Mish….
Wish you a speedy recovery, I’ll make the rounds with the usual deities and put in a good word for you.
someone posted mish in hospital? i missed that. get well mish. sunday is easter, 4/20 and adolph hitler’s birthday. most likely means the rapture is 3 days from now. mars is inhabited with musk bastard children. they’ll live.
THERE IS a huge blue sticker at top of page!
and you thought dwarf stars are dense….
I don’t see any blue sticker or notification on any post, with or w/o an ad blocker.
So what was the issue?
Please stop with the fearmongering Mish. This is a long term process and no one really knows how things will turn out. Seems like you write the same article every day about the latest WHAT IF. Who cares! Relax and let the process work itself out.
why not start your own blog and choose the topics you write about?
without a breadth of opinions, discussion is pointless. If we all agree about everything, its just a cult.
you posted who cares in middle of own post.
“you posted who cares in middle of own post.” is this english? if so what does it mean?
Who is fear mongering? Given Trump has put 100%+ tariffs on China and the rest of the world (on/off) it is perfectly reasonable to assume that the price of parts will go up. If that happens insurance will go up because parts are more expensive.
If it gets bad enough there will be shortages.
If YOU are afraid then you should be, you wanted this and now you reap what you sow.
This is all 100% on Trump and his cult and no one else. 100%
every day is fear mongering, a single event is always extrapolated to its most fearful massive effect and taken as a reasonable model.
That is just hype, not logical.
So you’re saying Trump will cave and all will return to normal? What was the point of tariffs?
The point of tariffs is purely personal for Trump:
“it accelerated the approvals for a $1.5 billion Trump resort“
A quote selected from: Vietnam fast-tracks approval for Trump resort in mad dash to stave off tariffs: report
Does the US Treasury get a cut of any deal made while Trump is president? We should.
How many tds pills did you take?
Things weren’t normal under Biden.
ZH: “Bessent’s Grand Strategy: Use Tariff Negotiations To Isolate China From The Rest Of The World”
I think we can give Mish a pass given what he was headed for medically. Huge amount of personal stress!
Re “ it is perfectly reasonable to assume that the price of parts will go up”
That’s the problem with people who don’t actually study economic history, who think they were actually taught reality in class instead of an academic model with no real/world validity… people who assume all other things will stay equal when they never, ever do. And who never admit they were wrong.
Tariffs did not cause inflation in the 1930s: why not?
Because they were part of an economic policy disaster that ended up with the deflationary Great Depression of a decade
Which many of us are concerned Trump is steering us towards with his tariff and other unorthodox policies. Thanks for the economic ‘history lesson’ LOL
We agree that the policy environment in which tariffs are applied is a stronger determinant of inflation than tariffs themselves.
If the economic scenario in which tariffs become a reasonable policy choice is inherently deflationary, then the tariffs will not cause inflation. They might perhaps mitigate deflation?
Agree but the fault is on the Dems too, their and the Republicans selling out the USA with money printing interest rate manipulation massive debt is what eventually leads to messy undesireable situations. Its the result of ignoring problems for decades instead of facing them like responsible real leaders should.
My point is that the end game will look nothing like anyone thinks it will. This will take years to play out. Things will change dramatically on both sides. No one knows what the endgame will look like so what is the point of fear mongering about things that could happen?
Thetenyear needs to show us his Sherriff badge, or something else that gives him sovereignty over Mish’s posts. Or you can take a hike. Dude lands in hospital and you show up just to spit in his face. Some houseguest you are.
Mish’s news was not yet posted, when Thetenyear posted above.
you made me laugh and got my upvote vote.
Seems like you write the same article every day about the latest WHAT IF. Who cares!
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jesus! not only you dont like mish posts, and-or freq of ones.
you posted = who cares= LITERALLY .
APPARENTLY YOU DO CARE!!!
=========
ARE YOU REALLy comprehend meanings of words? or you are some kind of random word AI bot generator?
Seems like we have a Russian bot in our midst.
why russian?
grammar, lack of understanding of basic concepts of english language. etc.
Your blog is a testament to your dedication to your craft. Your commitment to excellence is evident in every aspect of your writing. Thank you for being such a positive influence in the online community.
Why don’t you guys book a zoom session to discuss. Instead of focusing on what’s actually happening, you are being deluded into oblivion by some lame economics.
—
Nazi Skynet: “Powering the Kill Chain”
What could go wrong with the PayPal Mafia’s ‘Golden Dome’?
Nevertheless, in Trumpian fashion, this idea has been transformed into the “Golden Dome” and the PayPal Mafia have seized the opportunity to profit from suffering and death.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX and two partners have emerged as frontrunners to win a crucial part of President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense shield, six people familiar with the matter said.
Musk’s rocket and satellite company is partnering with software maker Palantir and drone builder Anduril on a bid to build key parts of Golden Dome, the sources said, which has drawn significant interest from the technology sector’s burgeoning base of defense startups.
It is hard to imagine a more terrifying prospect. Palantir was founded by the living embodiment of the Antichrist Peter Thiel with the cooperation of George W. Bush’s CIA. It has infiltrated huge swaths of the government and likely has more information on the population of the planet than any other entity, including US intelligence.
Drone technology company Anduril was founded by Thiel’s minion and Matt Gaetz friend, anarcho-capitalist troll Palmer Luckey, who made a fortune plagiarizing other people’s work in virtual reality and selling his fraudulent company to Facebook — which was initially funded by Peter Thiel as well.
The details of this plan are absolutely bonkers, and there is nothing — and no one — in the administration who will stop it.
The three companies met with top officials in the Trump administration and the Pentagon in recent weeks to pitch their plan, which would build and launch 400 to more than 1,000 satellites circling the globe to sense missiles and track their movement, sources said.
A separate fleet of 200 attack satellites armed with missiles or lasers would then bring enemy missiles down, three of the sources said. The SpaceX group is not expected to be involved in the weaponization of satellites, these sources said.
One of the sources familiar with the talks described them as “a departure from the usual acquisition process. There’s an attitude that the national security and defense community has to be sensitive and deferential to Elon Musk because of his role in the government.”
If the prospect of Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Palmer Luckey controlling a network of hundreds of “attack satellites” circling the globe doesn’t concern you, consider what these people are doing right now.
Three million Black and brown children are going to starve to death in the next few months because Elon Musk chose to let them die. And we’re going to give him billions of dollars to put “attack satellites” in space?
But the proposal to enable a network of satellites which can murder people from space isn’t even a sale, they want to rent it to the US government via a “subscription service.”
In an unusual twist, SpaceX has proposed setting up its role in Golden Dome as a “subscription service” in which the government would pay for access to the technology, rather than own the system outright.
The subscription model, which has not been previously reported, could skirt some Pentagon procurement protocols allowing the system to be rolled out faster, the two sources said. While the approach would not violate any rules, the government may then be locked into a subscription and lose control over its ongoing development and pricing, they added.
In other words, white supremacist genocidal oligarchs want to be able to rent their satellite murder service to any country they want.
Skynet was the fictional company that launched AI that took over the world and destroyed humanity in the Terminator series. It used “attack satellites” as well as humanoid robots, a project Elon Musk is obsessed with.
This is the future we are facing, a techno-tyranny enforced by evil men who literally believe they are entitled to choose who lives and dies. A minuscule fraction of the billions they want to build Nazi Skynet would save the lives of three million children. Elon Musk could save them with an email — but he never will.
It is not an exaggeration to say that this project represents the end of the world as we know it. We must take all necessary measures to stop it.
Keep Terminator fiction.
https://www.mind-war.com/p/nazi-skynet-powering-the-kill-chain
TLDR, gonna wait on the movie, it will probably be shorter…
Tariffs are a tax on consumption. Its about time for obese, stupid americans to start to save. Bye bye federal reserve…like to see the next magic trick lol
Mister Mish, fortunately the Chicoms only accounts for 10% of automotive parts imports to the USA.
https://automotiveaftermarket.org/automotive-parts-imports-country
The future of transportation in America: horses, buggies, push–carts and bicycles.
Trump: we’re making America Great Again, by reducing air pollution from vehicles!!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Powered vehicles are so over-rated anywya.
Recession dead ahead. Many people have delusions of grandeur
Yes, we will finally get to see & feel the effects of the recession that we have been in for years now. It started right after Covid, and has continued unabated, BUT, it has all been papered over. When money is printed and free flowing to everyone with a heartbeat, it eventually takes its toll.
Free this and Free that, because your an illegal alien, a parent with a child, a kid who spent their college money on fun, healthcare for the kids who wants to shirk responsibility and live with there parents until they are 27, and the list goes on and on.
If you are not forced to grow up, then you won’t. Now we have millions of illegals living for free, so good luck getting rid of them. We have parents busting out babies for the extra checks, we have indoctrination in our schools passing of as education, but rather it’s just a slow burn of brainwashing, we have kids who should be getting there first job, and learning how to behave, act, work, and become a productive member of society, but they are just walking through life in a hazy fog of uncertainty, living rent free, getting meals at home, but in there uneducated, and indoctrinated minds, they are the best and brightest, that we are hanging our futures on… oh brother, yep I have 1 too, and he is way past learning, and never did. The system pays his way through life, and it’s enough for Him, and many just like Him!!!
Including you.
Been stocking up wear parts, filters, tires, timing belts, etc. for quite some time over supply chain worries. Oldest car is 43, newest of the 3 is 15. Maintaining these vehicles is still way cheaper than the new vehicles. Okay, so I don’t look as cool, but that’s alright.
I long got over driving an old car, mines a 25yr old VW.
No one will remember, or care, in 5ys time what car you were driving.
Another positive is I don’t get precious every time I leave it in a car park.
The only reason I can think of to drive my money around is ego and/or insecurity. I proudly drive a beater 22 yr old car, thinking about replacing it with a 2015 model
25 years old is a new car in my thinking.My oldest is a 1991, my new car is a 2003.
The old man said you should know how to fix the things you own. I’ve lived by that motto..
Exactly, and wait until these EV Owners have car problems. We think fixing our older cars (2012 & 2014) is a hassle at times finding parts. Also our labor and parts are a lot less than todays mechanics charge. I spent many hours in jump yards looking for old car parts to repair hand me down old cars when I was young.I thought it was fun, and quite educational.
junk yards are museums to consumer madness.. Enjoyed strolling them as a teenager, seeing all those old cars from the movies, in various states of dis-array. Loved those late 1940’s early 1950’s cars.
I have a 27 yo Camry with only 63000 miles, runs great.
Horse buggies are exempt from tariffs. A clear loophole they didn’t about.
Horses pollute carbon from the inpipe and the tailpipe.
there is a reason the townhomes and brownstones in towns had huge stairs to enter the main living quarters. the piles of horse manure at street level.
didn’t realize you were that old, congratulations on figuring out how to work a computer..
We call them horsies “coal rollers”
Need anything from China? Too late now.
Knowing the tariffs were coming, I placed an order from Temu about 2 months ago. Simple things like copper desoldering braid and USB cables that aren’t even made in the US anymore.
Well, Temu uses a third party US shipper that I’ve never heard of. The shipper claimed they could not find my address (I guess it’s hard if they can’t read numbers.) I contacted the shipper and asked them to redeliver. They never did.
The package was sent back to Temu as undeliverable. I did get my money back.
Goodbye cheap Chinese goods. I’ll have to wait until they start making them in the US again or pay scalper prices.
TLDR: A lot more than car parts are about to become scarce and more expensive.
I run a small campground and need solar batteries and components, and a seemingly endless stream of small engine parts like filters, carburetors, etc. None of which is actually made here anymore. So yeah, it’s going to be a frustrating and expensive summer season.
standarize your systems, and buy in bulk.
Well, American brains became scarce en masse decades ago. The chickens come home to roost.
Products create sales channels, just be patient.
Car repairs going up? Parts scarce? Insurance going up? Oh no! If only someone commenting on this blog had warned about the ever growing and escalating cost of “car ownership” had warned us!
Oh wait, that’s me and warning about it for years and now we’re here.
Next up: electric utilities. Wait until transformer and grid parts aren’t available to repair the electric grid. All brought to you by Trump & the GOP – 100%.
Six Sigma Jack, once the darling of CNBC –
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/22/business/ge-will-close-transformer-unit.html
what about us folks that don’t use fancy autos. i walk 2 miles one way to grocery shop, too. i’m almost 65 and wear out my sneakers. i remember having some sandals made out of jeep tires from my brother in nam.
Is it uphill all the way, in both directions?
you reap the savings.
2x4s and some old garden hose for the straps = free flip-flops!
you must realize that there is only 1 standard image of the american. McMansion, Huuuuge Cadillac SUV, short, fat and stupid.
There has been a subtle and now not so subtle campaign to denigrate the “american” to demoralize ourselves and our abilities to change our world. We are a clever bunch. They can’t kill us with weapons, so they attempt to destroy us with mindgames.
Keep doing what you do. Its what makes you, you, and that in turn keeps the machine confounded.
“Next up: electric utilities. Wait until transformer and grid parts aren’t available to repair the electric grid. All brought to you by Trump & the GOP – 100%”
We already know there is a shortage of these after Hurricane Helene this past year wrecked Georgia and the Carolinas and it was revealed that Biden had already shipped off all the spares to Ukraine. Can’t blame the shortage on Trump.
No No Tim,
We were told only MAGA could make everything better with the most amazing president and his amazing deals and amazing awesomeness so Americans CAN and WILL blame Trump & Co. 100%
I do hope the MAGA crowd and El Presidente don’t try and buck pass when the SHTF as it will do, sooner, or later
That’s a foregone conclusion. Republicans screw up the economy then wait for adults in the room to fix the problem. We’ve been through this with Bush Sr, Bush Jr, Trump I and now Trump II.
You have a choice, passing the buck or gaslighting, you can pick either one
You know they will, they NEVER take responsibility, NEVER. Fuc-ing snow flakes and stupid cult zealots.
Nonsense. Necessities the mother of invention and demand will create supply as long as the government doesn’t intervene and mess things up for the new manufacturers
you so smart. you should start a blog so you can buy a lectern and tell everyone how smart you are. then you could feel even better about yourself.
Should the U.S. just submit to China?
That which can’t continue, won’t. Trump understands that better than you. Thus Trump is reacting to China’s global ambitions. We are in the 4th Turning. WW2 was a 4th Turning war. That’s why Trump is pushing on shoring of industrial manufacturing capability. You can thank Trump later, for doing that.
By the way, it isn’t Trump that off shored American factories to China. You are thanking the wrong people for what is happening now.
Trump sucks.
Heavy.
There is always uber
The best thing to do is not build your life around needing cars but people will learn the hard way soon enough. With so many options between DoorDash, Instacart, Uber, Hertz, Avis, grocery delivery, etc to get most things done there really isn’t any need unless you’re in a rural area and that’s a lifestyle choice that will soon become very expensive to maintain.
vast majority of people that live in rural amerika don’t live off the land. they are just rich folks playing farmer.
Mostly just factory farms now.
Someone is going to build a car that will blow people’s minds. It will run on a cell phone battery and recharge in 20 minutes and have a 500 mile range.
Sounds like a job for Musk to handle. he seems to be excellent at doing far out stuff like that. We know it won’t come from the car manufacturers, that’s for sure…
LOL chemical energy storage doesn’t have that kind of energy density. You’re dreaming about the Mr.Fusion on the DeLorean from Back to the Future.
anything compacted enough to store that much energy, can be considered a bomb or explosive. Most people can’t control their own thoughts and desires long enough to safely handle high explosives.
The idea of every “consumer” driving a bomb, is disconcerting and unlikely to ever happen. Hell they can’t even handle gasoline.
High explosives don’t actually have the highest energy density. What makes them explosive is the ability to detonate, that is to burn all at once from oxygen within the system, rather than simply catching on fire and burning as more oxygen arrives from the air.
And what do you imagine the drivers for all those services drive?
Can they switch to horseback?
Starvation, it’s a lifestyle choice.
Glad you asked, they drive cars however because those cars are being used for a business activity they get to take depreciation and write off all the expenses on the vehicle the way I do it for my rental properties.
In theory, if they do the math and accounting right, they drive for free and with additional tricks they can actually get tax credits but that’s a story for another day.
If you don’t have the tax write off then you’ve got a money pit.
they get depreciation, because they depreciate the vehicles by driving so much, its not a gift from the IRS. Most people driving delivery services are in debt up to their petoooties, gears in a system,flawed gears, in an precariously complex system. Complex systems fail more frequently
Delivery services do not substitute for owning a motor vehicle, they merely exagerate your dependence on other’s vehicles. And you pay for this dependence in money and in lack of independence and preparedness. Nothing is free.
iPhones make for a good snack
You misspelled “build your COUNTRY around needing cars”
so so smart. you should start a blog/cult so you can have others tell you how smart you are. then you could feel even better!
Unless you live in an obsolete pre-automotive city with excess population density beyond natural human psychological tolerance limits, a car exemplifies personal freedom, the ability to go wherever you want, whenever you want, without being dependent on anyone else helping you out. That foundational value is deeply rooted in the original American frontier spirit.
I have a Toyota and a Subaru, both with extended warranties from the manufacturer (8 years, 75,000 miles). I bought them because of all the new electronic equipment and collision avoidance systems but the tariffs really will make the extended warranty pay off if there are repairs. Hopefully Toyota and Subaru will honor them without a tariff surcharge.
fancy pants with 2 autos.
You need a little more self esteem and not measure yourself with the number of automobiles (or anything else) that you have.
Check those extended warranties, are they actually with the manufacturer or are they after-market sold by the dealer? Extended warranties by after-market companies are not nearly regulated as vehicle manufacturers and don’t have the need to avoid negative review as manufacturers work to maintain positive reviews only.
extended warranties are god’s way of making sure the less intelligent don’t accrue wealth by giving them a meaningless way to squander their wages on something that gives them nothing in return.
Perhaps there is a bright side to this in that insurance companies may have to stop completely totaling cars, especially EV’s, simply because repairing the battery or electric circuits may be difficult.
Otherwise, welcome to Cuba!
best mechanics on planet earth are cuban taxi drivers. median age about 16
That do that sh*t in the UK too, consequently lots of spares from salvage yards for tesla’s etc
almost as if life on an island, makes one realize how precious and few some resources are…
A recent accident caused 11k in damage to a car. $3500 of that cost came from replacing hood airbags – basically they’re struts that raise the hood in a frontal collision if the car thinks you may have hit a pedestrian. The car didn’t hit a person. While the struts are repairable, the repair shop would not install refurbished and tested struts, even though they were $3000 less than buying new ones.
When I told the shop I would sign a waiver liability to use the cheaper struts, they said that Toyota would not authorize the repair.
A few questions arose that the shop could not answer:
1). Why is Toyota dictating what parts are used on a car I own?
2). why is my insurance company bending the knee on this when they should be advocating for their ratepayers?
3). Is there a relationship with the company making ‘authentic’ Toyota hood struts and Toyota?
As with most industries with money sloshing around, this type of flat out corruption needs to be addressed. It’s a big contributor to the cost of insurance and auto repair.
I can imagine that the manufacturer (Toyota) might be involved if the car was still under warranty.
As is usual in our modern world, everyone is worried about being sued, so do everything “with an abundance of caution”.
Just changed radiator, alternator, battery and back shocks in the 28 year old 4Runner. Gonna be good for awhile.
Auto parts and bananas. Next week an inevitable 3 Feb 2025 SPX/QQQ/ACWI 8/19/20/9 of 13 day equivalent (trading halts possible) :: x/2-2.5x/2.5x/1.6x crash is coming and is coming regardless of the tariffs and the more expensive auto parts. What will the headlines be over the weekend? Powell fired, Iran threatened with bombing or bombed, US leaves NATO, most favored nation status negotiated with Russia? It should be good.
Today, I took in a car in for an oil change and to check a rattle. Turns out the rattle is a cracked strut. The car would still be fine to drive for a while and the repair will be a few thousand, but the uncertainty about future parts availability made me pull the trigger. So Mish: a real life example of your headline.
A few thousand? What kind of vehicle are you driving?
The strut isn’t “a few thousand”. I bet 90% of your cost is labor.
You’re getting ripped off big time.
I changed the struts on my Toyota Camry for $200.00 plus tax (that’s CAD, that would be about $150 US$) for 2 cheapo Chinese struts (last year) and doing it myself. Those low-grade struts may not last that long, the car may not last that long, who cares.
basically two bolts (maybe 3), and whatever you need to do to get access to the area to deinstall and reinstall. Man you should of got a 2nd opinion,or watched a youtube video and did it yourself.
if you’re paying 4k for a strut, you’re either driving an incredibly complex and expensive S class or Porsche with airbags and magnetic shocks or you are getting incredibly ripped off. Shop around.
I drive a 2023 Lexus ES 350 with just over 10,000 miles on it. Given my prior experience with Lexus (drove a 2007 ES 350 for 16 years) it will be a long time before any parts or major repairs are needed.
smart man who values getting from point a to b.
walking is easier. or lyft in a crunch.
FOR YOU. if you commute daily to work, school, clients, etc. uber makes no sense.
Oh man you really just jinxed yourself.
You never make statements like that – believe it yes, but once you put it in writing, Murphy’s Law applies and will prove you wrong.
Put another way – sometimes they don’t make them quite like they used to!
Will prices go up? Yes.
But, “inflation” has been defined on this site as an increase in the money supply. Isn’t it?
This is not say I’m not troubled by the expected price increased and potential shortages.
I don’t think Mish has ever defined inflation as a increase in money supply. He can correct me if I am wrong. But he has talked alot about price inflation, and asset inflation.
This is an almost-nothing burger for nearly everyone. In my experience, when getting an auto repaired, the parts cost is <<< labor cost.
FYI, last night I priced out the car that I want to buy in a few months. It’s the latest model of a similar vehicle bought in 2021. Nothing fancy, a standard SUV whose name everyone would know.
The current (yesterday) MSRP is somewhat above the 2021 MSRP, but the cost increase from 2021-2025 is well below the overall inflation from 2021-2025.
If the MSRP changes further by the time I buy, I’ll post it here.
Ditto for any incentives etc.
Why not list the model so we can verify your numbers?
It’s not about my taste in cars – what I wrote is true of most models, see the data.
If there really is meaningful car price appreciation, we’ll know soon enough.
If Wall Street expects car price appreciation then actual domestic manufacturers should be seeing their shares surge. Are they?
ummm, knod of hard to repair the vehicle when the parts aren’t available.
Of course there will be large labor savings, as no labor will be being performed.
You are a genius, Trump should hire you
Where did you get the notion that parts would not be available? If you own a common model, and it needs parts, someone will find a way to make parts for you (and a profit for themselves), provided the government doesn’t prohibit it.
Save the planet- put it up on blocks.
Ride a bicycle. It made China great!
MAGA becomes MAME
Make America More Expensive
MPGA: Make Prices Great Again
Someone should ask Trump what he thinks about this new acronym! [lol]
This is only the tip of the iceberg as compared with what is to come.
(he said ominously… cue Jaws music)
Prices up 27%, 53% … But if the parts are made in China and we experienced inflation as a monetary phenomenon here, why did parts go up here? Nothing to do with tariffs … Hardly any inflation in China, 2.5% coming out of the pandemic.
Questions, questions.
Perhaps it’s like when Gas prices go up on one Station, the others soon follow. They got their gas in the ground for less perhaps, but why not make some additional profit?
They all take turns in the bunches that exist, as it’s a natural occurrence for them all. It makes up for the spikes in gas, which they must share at times, so it goes in the other direction. They can’t simply charge $1 more, or it just won’t sell.
Not sure myself… but this has merit perhaps?
or, gas stations will be closing, as there is no point in being open, when there are no vehicles running, who needs gas?
I don’t think you have thought this through, just like Trump, shoot from the lip first, deal with the immense blowback later