03.10.25 Airline Safety & Discount Fares / Used Vehicle Price Update

Summary

The Clark Howard Podcast Summary Episode: March 10, 2025 – Airline Safety & Discount Fares / Used Vehicle Price Update

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Introduction

In the March 10, 2025 episode of The Clark Howard Podcast, host Clark Howard delves into two primary topics: airline safety amidst recent incidents and strategies to secure discount fares. Additionally, Clark provides an insightful update on the used vehicle market, addressing the ongoing effects of COVID-19 on car prices. Throughout the episode, Clark engages with listener questions, offering expert advice on travel and automotive concerns.

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1. Airline Safety Concerns and Statistics

Clark opens the discussion by addressing the rising apprehension about flying following several high-profile aviation incidents earlier in the year. Referencing the tragic crash in Washington Reagan Airport and the near-miss of a Delta commuter plane in Toronto, Clark acknowledges the understandable nervousness among flyers.

Clark Howard [00:49]: "When you look at the stats, it is clear as could be that flying commercially is crazy safe, unbelievably safe."

He emphasizes that statistically, commercial air travel remains one of the safest modes of transportation, significantly safer than driving. Clark reassures listeners by comparing the risks, stating that choosing to drive puts one in greater danger than flying.

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2. Experiences with Discount Airlines and Cost-Saving Tips

Transitioning to the topic of discount airlines, Clark shares his personal experience flying with Spirit Airlines. Faced with high fares from major carriers like Delta and American Airlines, Clark opted for Spirit's enhanced first-class offering, which included free beverages and snacks at a significantly reduced price.

Clark Howard [04:30]: "I voluntarily flew on Spirit Airlines... it was a really great flight across the country. It was like a real comfortable, big first class seat. Everything was as advertised."

Clark highlights the competitive landscape of the airline industry, noting the consolidation of major carriers and the growing market share of smaller discount airlines like Allegiant, Frontier, Breeze, and Avelo. He encourages listeners to explore these alternatives when traditional fares are prohibitively expensive.

Additionally, Clark promotes Southwest Airlines' Companion Pass program, which allows travelers to bring a companion for free, emphasizing its value for frequent travelers.

Clark Howard [07:10]: "The best deal going out there is the Southwest companion pass, where all year long you can bring somebody with you for free."

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3. Travel Deals and Newsletter Enhancements

Krista, a member of Team Clark, mentions the expansion of travel-related content on Clark's platforms. The website clarkdeals.com has increased the frequency of its travel newsletters to meet high demand, catering to the ongoing enthusiasm for travel post-COVID.

Krista [08:49]: "They also are sending out special travel newsletters now with lots of airfare and other deals. And then they've just increased the frequency on that."

Clark agrees, attributing the sustained interest in travel to what was initially expected to be a temporary "revenge travel" surge post-pandemic.

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4. Listener Questions: European River Cruises

Listener Clifton from Missouri inquires about European river cruises, seeking recommendations for a specialized and luxurious experience tailored to active, food-loving travelers in their 60s.

Clifton [09:36]: "We're active 60 plus year olds and foodies and we like special and unique treatment... So which one would you Recommend?"

Clark advises Clifton to consult with cruise specialists or experienced travel agencies that can provide detailed insights into various river cruise options. He underscores the importance of researching different cruise lines, as there are significant differences in offerings despite appearances.

Clark Howard [10:18]: "There are real significant differences. They need to sit down and watch those [YouTube] videos and inform themselves..."

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5. Listener Questions: European Travel Documentation and Tipping

Listener Chris from Texas asks about necessary documents and financial preparations for a European cruise, including ETSA/EDSA requirements, cash needs, and tipping etiquette.

Clark provides a comprehensive checklist:

• Passport Validity: Ensure passports have at least six months remaining from the date of entry into Europe.

  Clark Howard [12:44]: "Make sure that your passport has six months remaining on it from the first day you land in Europe."

• ETSA/EDSA Requirements: Stay updated on the latest European travel authorization requirements to avoid entry issues.

• Currency and Payments: Advise obtaining euros via ATMs in Europe and using credit cards that do not charge foreign transaction fees. Emphasize the importance of selecting transaction currency as euros to avoid additional fees.

  Clark Howard [14:00]: "With credit cards, you want to know which credit cards don't charge that you have already a foreign currency junk fee."

• Tipping Culture: Recommend carrying some euros for tipping crew members at the end of the cruise.

Clark wishes Chris and his wife a wonderful trip, endorsing their chosen itinerary from Rome to Barcelona.

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6. Car Rental Insurance for European Travels

Listener Vicki from Alaska seeks advice on obtaining rental car insurance for a European road trip, questioning whether third-party insurance is sufficient compared to purchasing from rental agencies.

Clark outlines the benefits of using premium credit cards like Capital One Venture X or Chase Sapphire Reserve, which offer primary rental car coverage, eliminating the need to involve personal insurance in case of damage. He advises verifying coverage details, especially regarding liability insurance, to ensure comprehensive protection.

Clark Howard [17:31]: "Capital One Venture X is primary, the Chase Sapphire Reserve primary... you don't involve your own insurance company."

He also cautions about adhering to local traffic laws to avoid fines, sharing his personal experiences with speed cameras and parking tickets in various European countries.

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7. Used Vehicle Market Update

Shifting focus to the automotive sector, Clark analyzes the current state of the used car market, attributing persistent high prices to ongoing supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. He highlights a particular bottleneck in the market for three and four-year-old vehicles, which have become disproportionately expensive due to limited turnover from leases.

Clark Howard [20:31]: "Used cars are suffering right now in my sweet spot in the market... there's a bubble in price right now on those three year old and four year old vehicles."

Clark forecasts a gradual normalization of the used car market by 2027, as new vehicle production stabilizes and the mix shifts towards more affordable models. Until then, he advises buyers to be cautious when purchasing within the inflated segment of the market.

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8. Listener Questions: Used Car Inspections and Insurance Programs

Listener Michelle from Krista's segment asks about the necessity of diagnostic inspections alongside Carfax reports when purchasing a used car, specifically concerning vehicles potentially affected by the North Carolina hurricane.

Clark emphasizes that while Carfax provides valuable information about a vehicle's history, such as flood reports, it may not capture all incidents. Therefore, he strongly recommends obtaining a professional diagnostic inspection to ensure the vehicle's integrity.

Clark Howard [26:49]: "If it does come up as a flood car, you're done. But if it doesn't, doesn't mean you're safe. So that's why you want that inspection."

Listener John from Florida inquires about USAA's Safe Pilot Program, questioning the program's assurances that monitoring will not lead to higher premiums and seeking clarity on the program's incentives.

Clark advises John to review USAA's official documentation to confirm the program's terms, expressing skepticism about the absence of punitive measures in usage-based insurance programs. He underscores the importance of understanding how data from such programs may influence premium calculations.

Clark Howard [28:12]: "If that's in writing you can be comfortable with it. But the reality is... it may not."

Listener Thomas from Georgia asks whether it's advisable to carry only liability insurance for cars older than ten years, using a BMW Z4 as an example.

Clark explains his general rule: when an insurance premium exceeds 10% of the vehicle's remaining value, it's prudent to drop collision and comprehensive coverage, retaining only liability insurance. For specialized vehicles like the Z4, considerations of mileage and market value may necessitate continued coverage.

Clark Howard [30:15]: "If you have an insurance premium that exceeds 10% of the remaining value of the vehicle... that's the point at which you've hit that trigger..."

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Conclusion

Clark Howard wraps up the episode by reiterating his commitment to empowering listeners with actionable financial advice. He encourages the audience to seek free one-on-one advice through clark.com and leverages various platforms to disseminate consumer-centric information aimed at helping individuals save more, spend less, and avoid financial pitfalls.

Clark Howard [30:04]: "Because everything we do... it's all about you being empowered with knowledge so you'll save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off."

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Key Takeaways

• Airline Safety: Despite recent incidents, commercial air travel remains statistically safer than driving.
• Discount Airlines: Exploring smaller carriers can yield significant savings without compromising comfort.
• Travel Preparation: Ensure all travel documents are up-to-date and understand local financial practices to avoid unnecessary fees.
• Used Car Market: Buyers should be cautious of inflated prices in specific segments and plan for gradual market normalization.
• Insurance Considerations: Utilize credit card benefits for car rental insurance and evaluate the necessity of comprehensive coverage based on vehicle value.

For more detailed advice and resources, visit clark.com and explore the full range of topics covered by Clark Howard and his team.

Transcript

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[Clark Howard]

It'S my pleasure to welcome you here to the Clark Howard Show. You know, our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you to make better financial decisions in your life today. You know I love to travel and after the tragic crash in Washington earlier this year, other instance many of you are nervous to fly. I had a call from a relative. Two friends also called me saying, hey, is this okay? Should I be doing this? I'm not a safety expert, but I got some stuff to say about that. Also. I want to tell you how you can save big bucks on discount airlines and I want to share my experience doing that. Also the latest on used car prices. There's some stuff you need to know. So as I said a second ago, I'm not a safety expert and obviously there's been a spate of things that have gone on in the air. The tragic collision at Washington Reagan Airport, then the Delta plane, wonderfully no loss of life when the Delta commuter plane landed and then skidded down the Runway upside down in Toronto. And you see that video and it's like, it's like a miracle that no one died in that. And a lot of people at base are nervous flyers. And so right now that's led to people calling me and saying, what? What? What? So all I can tell you is that when you look at the stats, it is clear as could be that flying commercially is crazy safe, unbelievably safe. What has made this suddenly a present issue is we hadn't had a fatal crash in the United States in a really long time going back TO I think 2009 near Buffalo. And I think that was when it was. So to have this stuff all happen in a compressed period of time obviously makes people nervous. But I can tell you when I make the decision to go out and get in a car and drive it, statistically I'm in so much more danger than I am any day in a commercial airline. It's not even close. So I can't speak to the specifics of what makes an airplane safe. My son is a pilot training to fly for the airlines. And I don't understand the stuff he talks about. I mean, it's just beyond my ability. I don't have a good science brain, but I can read the stats. I believe that it remains the safest way to travel. Although I read a rebuttal on this the other day from someone writing an editorial about why train travel is safer yet than airplanes, but we don't have a lot of trains in the United States. I did something the other day that I posted on our social media. Well, actually, I didn't. Grace of our social media team posted these things and it went crazy on social media. First video within hours had over a million views. Because of what I did. I voluntarily flew on Spirit Airlines from the east coast to the west coast. What happened was I had to make a quick trip with almost no notice on three days notice to Los Angeles and the market I was flying, which was Atlanta to Los Angeles. Delta dominates that market. Cheapest coach ticket I could get was 649. American flies non stop in the market. They were 559. And Spirit flies non stop in the market. And there's been publicity recently about Spirit having a new enhanced first class. They'd always had something called the big seat, which was the first class seat, but you got nothing with it. Now. They took that and they made it a beefed up product with free beverages, including alcohol, and not a meal, but a nice array of snacks and free carry on free checked all that stuff and it was $223 to. I'm sorry, 233. And I was like, wait a minute, 650 on Delta, 560 on American, 230 on Spirit and the Delta and American work coach class, crunch class. And I'm like, okay, I'm gonna. I'm gonna do this. So I expected, you know, with all the stories about Spirit, fist fights at the gate, everything goes on. I was like, okay. And I've flown Spirit in the past, but not in a good while because the experiences were not always so great. And shockingly, it was just one flight, one day, one event. It was a really great flight across the country. It was like a real comfortable, big first class seat. Everything was as advertised. So Spirit, you know, just emerging from bankruptcy, they've had a really rough ride, and they're trying to not be the airline everybody loves to hate. And time will tell, but more and more as American, United and Delta consolidate market share around the country. And then we've got, of course, Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest. A lot of the action for the lowest fares is going to these smaller discounters I've talked about, like Allegiant, Frontier that I still love to hate. Then Breeze and Avelo. These players are taking not huge market share, but more and more mind share and market share. And so when the fare is too high on the traditional players, it's worth it potentially to experiment. It's up to you. But it was a very good experience for me, and I am going to do it again. And by the way, I got to tell the Southwest thing. If you love to travel and you want to be really cheap, best deal going out there is the Southwest companion pass, where all year long you can bring somebody with you for free. I travel so much, I've had the companion pass from my wife. Now, this is the 20th year, so she's my carpool dummy. She always goes with me for $5.60 for the security charge or whatever it is, and that's it. Every flight, she can go with me free. And so right now, they have a deal through the end of March. If you get a variety of Southwest cards and you charge four grand on it the first 90 days, you then have a companion pass that's good to. I think it's till next year. Oh, through February 28, 2026. So, yeah, as soon as you qualify, you get a whole year, almost, maybe 10 months. By the time they validate that you can bring somebody with you every trip everywhere. Southwest flies for zip.

[Krista]

Also, I just want to mention our website, clarkdeals.com, they send out travel deals in their regular newsletter, but they also are sending out special travel newsletters now with lots of airfare and other deals. And then they've just increased the frequency on that, so.

[Clark Howard]

And why have they increased the frequency?

[Krista]

Because there's a high demand.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, because the open rate on those travel deals, huge. People are really into wanderlust, really into travel. There was a big belief after Covid that there would be this, what they call it, the post Covid bump, or whatever they called it the revenge travel, and then it would go back to normal patterns. It seems that once people got used to traveling a lot, they have continued to travel.

[Krista]

Well, speaking of that, I have some travel questions for you.

[Clark Howard]

Of course you do.

[Krista]

Clifton in Missouri says Clark, you are a seasoned traveler and expert. I have a question about European river cruises. We've never been on one but are planning a trip in 2026. There are so many out there and it looks like the ships are all about the same. We can spend as much as we want on the experience. So which one would you Recommend? We're active 60 plus year olds and foodies and we like special and unique treatment. I want a gym on board and my wife loves hiking and adventure outings. We've traveled a lot in Europe and know our way around. So it's really about the cruise experience now. Clark, don't go all cheapskate on me. You're not the one paying for it. I love the show and I really do value your opinion.

[Clark Howard]

Okay, so we gotta talk, Clifton, because this is a very specialized area and even though you're a very experienced European traveler, you've never done a river cruise. So you have Viking that dominates European river cruises and then a bunch of other smaller companies that are not generally names are going to be known to you and me. But if you go to a cruise specialist, maybe a cruise only agency near you in Missouri or a traditional travel agency that has a very experienced cruise specialist, they're going to know about a lot of the specialty river cruises and they're not all the same. I promise you there's real significant differences. There are cruise only agencies that post a lot of YouTube videos teaching you about various river cruises as well as traditional cruises. You need to sit down and watch those with your spouse, look at those videos, inform yourself and then go sit down with either on a what are the things people zooms video. I forget zoom now because people used to zoom all the time and now they don't anymore. But anyway, you know, a zoom meeting or better an in person meeting to discuss and talk about the options with different river cruises.

[Krista]

You've never been on one, have you?

[Clark Howard]

Yes, I have been on a river cruise. It's been a long, long time though, and I don't feel current.

[Krista]

Right.

[Clark Howard]

But more than a traditional cruise, with a river cruise you need that expert until you've been on a number of them.

[Krista]

Chris in Texas says, my wife and I are taking a nine night cruise for our anniversary later this year. It begins in Rome, stops in Naples, Florence, Portofino, Nice Provence and finishes in Barcelona. This will be our first time in Europe. Two questions. What type of documents, fees, etc do we need to complete before traveling and do you suggest we carry any cash? We don't know if everything we do we can pay for with our credit card as well as what the tipping culture is, where we're going. We're going to be spending some time doing excursions in some ports.

[Clark Howard]

Okay, first things first, make sure that your passport has six months remaining on it from the first day you land in Europe. Gosh, so many people have paid for cruises and lost the whole value of the cruise when they go to fly and their passport doesn't have six plus months of validity remaining on it. Second, you're going later this year. You don't say when. Later this year there's a new ETSA requirement. I think they're going to call it EDSA for Europe going into effect sometime the second half of the year. We don't know the exact date yet. It is possible it will be punted back into 26, but I can tell you the United Kingdom put theirs into effect already because it's not part of the EU anymore. So they did their own. And so many people are getting turned away that we're going to Europe and they didn't have their ETSA for England and they can't go. So you want to keep watching for that. That's as cheap. But it has to be done and has to be done in advance. And of course we will publicize at our end when the EDSA for Europe goes into effect like we did with the United Kingdom. For tipping crew, you're going to need euro to tip the crew at the end of the cruise. And you want to get those euro when you're already in Europe at an atm, you want to make sure that the ATM card you have allows you to do withdrawals in in Europe fee free and make sure you do not have them clear it in US dollars. That'll be a question. On most ATMs in Europe you want it cleared in euro. That's how you avoid a 10% junk fee. And with credit cards, you want to know which credit cards don't charge that you have already a foreign currency junk fee. The ones that don't are the ones you want to use. And again, anytime you're at a merchant and the terminal will ask you in many countries, do you want it cleared in euro or in dollars? Usually they default to dollars. You override that. You always want to clear in euro to avoid the 10% junk fee or approximately 10%. Did I miss anything?

[Krista]

I think that's it.

[Clark Howard]

And I've been on the cruise. I went the other way. I Went from Barcelona to Rome. It's great. The itinerary you've got. You're gonna love it. You should have an absolutely wonderful trip.

[Krista]

Vicki in Alaska says my 13 year old son is addicted to your show since we listened to you during our morning drive to his school. I hope you're enjoying your new schedule. And I wonder if Krista can make another program for Thursdays on another topic like travel so we don't have to find another podcast for our morning drive. A couple of people suggested that, but I am no travel expert for sure.

[Clark Howard]

No, why don't you do. Why don't you try to do this?

[Krista]

Okay. My family. Three.

[Clark Howard]

What is this?

[Krista]

Oh, I. You have qualified.

[Clark Howard]

Wait. You're CEO of our company. You've been at my side since 1997. Every day. 99. Right. I think you're trying to get me to shut up. I. I think it's worth a worthy experiment. We could do a special edition.

[Krista]

We'll see.

[Clark Howard]

That was a no. Did you. Can you tell when something said no? Especially on the YouTube show, seeing Krista's face?

[Krista]

If I felt I had value to add, I would try it. So I'll think about it. I will think about it.

[Clark Howard]

All right.

[Krista]

Vicki in Alaska's question to you is this. My family of three is making our first trip to Europe in May or in June of this year. A three week trip. We plan to fly to Frankfurt, drive to the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany and fly back from Frankfurt. We've booked a car and our itinerary is ready with all hotel bookings. Since it's our first trip, I'm unsure about the best way to get rental car insurance. I have a Capital One Venture X thanks to you. Getting insurance from the car rental place would be a rip off. Is there a better way to pay for car rental insurance? I read somewhere that I can get car rental insurance from a third party. I'm unsure how to do it or if they cover the several countries that I plan to visit. I couldn't find that info atclark howard clark.com and how can you. How do you handle car rental insurance when you drive in Europe? And we've had. There were other questions too. I couldn't fit in here, but people wondering what rental car company do you use when you travel to Europe? Like lots of rental car questions.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah. Again, this goes back to what I said at the beginning. People are traveling like mad around the world, around the US and especially Europe. Europe is seeing demand with Americans coming 12 months a year. There used to be much more seasonality to it than there is right now. Capital One Venture X is primary, the Chase Sapphire Reserve primary. When you use those for rental car coverage. American Express is premium products secondary. There is an enormous advantage with the Capital One Venture X that you have or for others who have the Chase Sapphire Reserve as travelers, and that the rental coverage they offer is primary. Meaning you don't involve your own insurance company. The credit card company handles whatever damage you may cause to the vehicle. Then there's the secondary question. What about liability with a car rental? Because although in Europe they're not suit happy like we are, you could always suffer from liability for injuries that you might cause to somebody else or damage to their car or whatever. Then you're usually still dealing with your own insurer. You want to make sure that your own insurer covers you with when you are temporarily in a rental car outside the United States. Most do, but most isn't a good enough answer. You need to make sure you're covered by your own rental car company for what Venture X does not cover you for. On clark.com I have guide to Car Rental Insurance how it works what you need to know I have another story on credit card car rental insurance on clark.com put those terms in the search bar to read our full briefing on this. Speaking of cars. Oh, and have a great time in Europe, by the way. I didn't say that. And watch your speed with the speed cameras because let's see, which of these countries have I gotten a ticket in for speed camera violations? Austria and Germany. Okay, and when have I gotten a parking ticket? Germany, France and the Netherlands. So everywhere except Belgium I've gotten a ticket for something when I've been there. Pay attention to those signs, Pay for that parking and be prepared for the possibility of getting a ticket for something. Coming up ahead though, I'm going to talk about something not funny. What's going on with used car prices? We got to talk this message comes.

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[Clark Howard]

The car market has been through such disruptions over the last five years as a result of the COVID supply chain disruptions. And here we are. How many years are we out of the COVID emergency and I'm talking about it still affecting car prices now five years later. Okay, odd reason. Oh, he got a couple of things going on. First, the new vehicle market. The mix of vehicles that manufacturers are sending to dealer lots are finally starting to become more affordable. The hottest part of the car market now are vehicles being sold below 30 grand. The slowest part of the market is anything skewed at the upper middle of the market, which is where the automakers were really cleaning up during the shortages of new vehicles that we had for a long period of time. And they were piggy. They kept making the product mix wrong even Once the supply of vehicles grew and now automakers have an uncomfortable average day supply of new vehicles. So the product mix of new vehicles is shifting to be at the more affordable side of that. So let's talk for a minute about used cars. Used cars are suffering right now in my sweet spot in the market. 3 and 4 year old vehicles. And the reason is there were such shortages of vehicles made in 21 and 22 that now coming off of. I'm going to cuss here. Coming off of lease, there's far fewer vehicles coming into the used car market off of lease. So even though used vehicle price, average price has come down a lot from the peak they were in because of COVID disruptions, there's a bubble in price right now on those three year old and four year old vehicles, making it much tougher right now for a used vehicle buyer, which is what, 80% of the market or something close to that in a typical year. So this is going to remain a difficult year. And when will all this normalize? It's a process and it will be gradual. The new vehicle market will continue to create a more affordable mix of vehicles. I don't doubt that at all. The new vehicle market will be a gradual process. The used vehicle market with this three and four year old vehicle bubble we're in will become more normal in 27. Doing the math, 27 is going to be the year that the used vehicle market will not have exceptions. Where I say, well if you're looking at this age of vehicle, the prices are still going to be inflated so you got to go younger or older. I won't have to say that two years from now. But next year will also be disruptive for what is historically been the sweet spot in the market, the three and four year old ones.

[Krista]

Krista, Michelle and Georgia says, I'm currently in need of a vehicle. I'm considering a used car. My question is, you recommend carfax as well as diagnostic inspections. I heard you're warning to beware of vehicles that have been resold that were involved in the North Carolina hurricane. Is the CARFAX data sufficient or is an actual diagnostic also required?

[Clark Howard]

Diagnostic required? The reason is, is that a CARFAX report, if. Okay, let's look at it this way. If a CARFAX report says that a vehicle has been flooded and you can see a CARFAX flood report for free, which is really nice, they make that available, then you know, I don't want that vehicle. But not all of the flooded cars are going to be reported on Carfax which is why if it, if it does come up as a flood car, you're done. But if it doesn't, doesn't mean you're safe. So that's why you want that inspection as part of the process of buying.

[Krista]

John in Florida says, I have a question about USAA's Safe Pilot Program. I've been very happy with their service over the years and I don't want to change carriers, but I'm looking for ways to save on my premiums. We have two young adult drivers, but even with good student discounts the cost is very high. I spoke with the USAA rep who told me there's a 10% savings just for signing up for SafePilot and up to a 30% savings at Rene renewal. I asked if the information could also be used to raise premiums and she said it will never go against you. Do you think that's true? And what benefit do they get from this if they don't use the information to raise premiums or drop coverage? Is it the people using the program are incentivized to drive more safely because they're trying to get a discount and know they're being monitored?

[Clark Howard]

Okay, so these programs are having the monitoring in your car are all about having usage based pricing. You accelerate quickly, you hit the brakes very aggressively, you do rapid lane changes, you speed. They're able to use all these to set rates. I don't know how the USA works that it only rewards you and doesn't have any punishment aspect that the rates become variable. I would read the briefing on USAA.com rather than trusting what you were told by the USAA rep to see if in fact it actually does say in writing that having the driver monitoring will only lead to lower premiums and will not lead to higher ones. If that's in writing you can be comfortable with it. But the reality is the take up rate of usage based driving systems is going up for a long time. It stayed in tiny numbers of people. I think we've gotten so used to not having privacy in our lives that people become more comfortable with having driver monitoring systems as well as monitoring for almost anything else. And that's why the take up rates higher. In addition, auto premiums have been escalating way beyond the rate of inflation for factors I explained last month. And so people are focused more on what they can do to get those auto insurance premiums down.

[Krista]

And we do have a whole article about [e-mail] it's should you allow your auto insurance to monitor your driving I'm.

[Clark Howard]

Glad it's a whole article, not a half article.

[Krista]

Well, you know, I'm just teasing. Thomas in Georgia says, do you still recommend carrying only liability insurance for cars 10 years or older? Even for example, a BMW Z4.

[Clark Howard]

Oh, what a fun car. You know what that is?

[Krista]

I don't.

[Clark Howard]

Oh, it's, it's a. Wow. Okay, so I love the way you phrase the question because as a general rule a car hits 10 years of age, that's the point at which the numbers will probably support you going liability only because your car will have fully depreciated out. You start looking at something like a Z4, though likely low mileage on it and may have a value in the marketplace that would make it worth continuing to insure. That's why the ten year rule is. Check this out. So my formula that you may have read, we have clark.com story on this. If you have an insurance premium that exceeds 10% of the remaining value of the vehicle premium per year for collision comprehensive, that's the point at which you've hit that trigger that it's usually a good idea to dump collision comprehensive and only have liability on the Z4, particularly if you're running low mileage each year on it. Because often a Z4 will be a what they call a weekend car, a good weather car. You may find that the premium is low enough versus the value to continue to insure, but that's the ratio that I look forward to make that decision. And I want to thank you so much for joining us today on our podcast and I look forward to serving you the next time. No, all week long we have free one on one advice for you. It's something we've been doing for more than three decades. To get free one on one advice, just go to clark.com cac that's the team Clark Consumer Action center. And you're able to see how to get that advice and what hours available to you for you to get that one on one free advice. Because everything we do, newsletters, website sites, what I do on tv, if you're in one of my TV markets, if you're in one of my radio markets, it's all about you being empowered with knowledge so you'll save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. Have a great rest of your day.