11.26.25 Booking Future Travel / New Vehicle Sticker Shock!

Summary

The Clark Howard Podcast

Episode: 11.26.25 – Booking Future Travel / New Vehicle Sticker Shock!

Release Date: November 26, 2025
Host: Clark Howard

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Clark Howard Podcast dives into two major financial topics relevant for consumers:

1. Smart strategies and warnings about booking future travel, especially given recent bankruptcies among travel suppliers.
2. Navigating today’s high new car prices (“sticker shock”), with tips for getting the best value if you’re purchasing a vehicle—new or used.
   Clark answers listener questions on travel booking risks, alternative airfare sellers, and practical car-buying scenarios, all in his trademark consumer-first, common-sense style.

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Main Discussion & Key Insights

1. Booking Future Travel—Financial Risks and Best Practices

[00:49 - 15:34]

• Clark’s Consumer Warning:
  Clark opens with a stern warning against paying for future travel (cruises, airline tickets, vacation rentals, tour packages) using anything other than a credit card.

  • Travel Company Bankruptcies: Recent failures among small cruise lines and airlines mean your money could be at risk.

  • The Cash Discount Trap:

    “I don’t want you being lured in by a tour operator or a cruise line saying, ‘hey, you pay us by check and we’re going to give you a 5% discount or a 7% discount...’” – Clark [01:38]

    • These are red flags that the company may be in financial trouble or under credit-watch, and seeking direct cash (via ACH/check) allows them immediate access while removing your protection.
    • If one of these companies fails, there is no way to get your money back if you paid by check or bank transfer.

  • Two Ways to Protect Yourself:

    1. Pay by Credit Card:
       • Offers an opportunity to dispute charges through your bank if the travel provider goes out of business.
       • Not always guaranteed, but much safer.

       “There’s a big financial incentive for the credit card industry to give you that money back.” – Clark [03:17]

    2. Trip Insurance (With Supplier Default Coverage):
       • Only some third-party trip insurance policies protect against supplier bankruptcy. “Protection plans" sold directly by cruise operators often do not.

       “Before you give up your period of review on the policy...make sure it covers what you’re really trying to protect yourself from.” – Clark [04:25]

       • You typically have a “look-back” period (15-30 days) to review and cancel the policy for a refund.

• Bottom Line Advice:
  Be highly skeptical of companies promising outsized savings for paying direct; stick to credit cards and double-check your travel insurance coverage.

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2. Travel Booking Listener Questions

A. Hotel Payment Shenanigans – Expedia Reservation
[06:09 - 08:45]

• Mike in California: Encountered issues where a “pay on arrival” hotel (booked via Expedia) tried to prematurely charge his credit card, and Expedia refused to help.
• Clark’s Take:
  • Expedia used to be reliable, but now often fails on customer service.

    “[They] have now become postgraduates of customer no service.” – Clark [07:11]

  • Recommendation: Cancel the booking if possible; attempt to resolve via escalated contacts (elliot.org lists executive contacts for companies like Expedia).
  • Chargebacks are a recourse only if your card is actually charged—Apple Card blocking the transaction protected Mike.
• Memorable Moment: Clark issues an open challenge for Expedia to defend its customer service on his show.

B. Best Time/Method to Book International Flights [09:20 - 11:40]

• Les in Florida: Planning a cruise from Switzerland to Amsterdam in 2026; best strategy for booking flights from Orlando?
• Clark’s Advice:
  • Orlando has many discount transatlantic flights out of Sanford Field—explore these for cheaper options (with flexible routing).
  • Conventional booking (Orlando to Zurich, Amsterdam to Orlando):
    • Start seriously searching in Feb/March before your trip (roughly 3-4 months in advance).
    • Set fare alerts using Google Flights for price drops.

C. Legitimacy of “Flybasis.com” (Frequent Flyer Points Sellers) [11:40 - 14:50]

• Elaine in Florida: Is third-party site Flybasis.com legit? Do you earn miles if you use it?
• Clark’s Cautious Stance:
  • Flybasis buys/sells points and sometimes uses price differentials from buying tickets abroad.
  • You usually don’t earn miles; there is some risk (being stranded, lack of recourse if things go wrong).

    “It is opportunity attached to hazard when you use one of these third party booking sources.” – Clark [13:34]

  • Clark personally avoids consolidators because of the emails he gets after things go wrong, not after good experiences.

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3. New Vehicle Sticker Shock – Current Car Market Realities

[17:40 - 21:03]

• The $50,000 New Car Era:

  • For the first time, average new car prices in the U.S. are over $50,000.

    “The first piece of real estate I ever bought...was $36,000. You can take inflation over the years...It would still be like probably $120,000...$50,000 for a vehicle?!” – Clark [17:51]

  • Why So Expensive?
    • Pickup trucks (once utilitarian and affordable) now trend as luxury items with sky-high prices.
    • “Ford Maverick” cited as a notable affordable outlier.

• Best Value Plays:

  • New Cars: Some sedans/cars are still available closer to $30,000.
  • Used Cars: Despite recent inflated prices, buying used remains significantly cheaper for most models.
  • Used Electric Vehicles:
    • “Used electric vehicles that have a couple years on them are still a steal of a deal.” [20:19]
    • Models like the Tesla Model 3 and Y depreciate rapidly; big opportunity for buyers.
    • They’re also much cheaper to run than gas vehicles.

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4. Car-Buying Listener Questions & Scenarios

A. How to Use a Pre-Purchase Inspection as Leverage [21:03 - 22:39]

• Ryan in Wisconsin: If an inspection uncovers minor issues on a used car, but not deal-breakers—is that bargaining power?
• Clark’s Strategy:
  • Absolutely. Use inspection findings (documented by your mechanic) to negotiate a lower price.

    “You use it as a negotiating tool with the dealer...I think I’d still like the car, but I’m not comfortable with the price anymore.” – Clark [21:52]

B. Special Concerns for Used Electric Vehicles (EVs) [22:39 - 24:50]

• Harvey in Nevada:
  • What should be included in a used EV inspection?
  • Who should perform it?
  • How to determine battery health?
• Clark’s Advice:
  • Focus on the battery—warranty status, remaining range, and manufacturer-provided battery diagnostics (degradation vs. original range).
  • Most major brands offer long transferable battery warranties (8-10 years, 100,000+ miles).
  • Also, have the car inspected for accident repair by a trusted body shop, as you would a newer gas car.
  • For finding independent repair shops: Seek certified EV mechanics (not just the selling dealer) where available.

C. Emotional vs. Financial Car Choices (Hybrid Regret & EV Temptation) [24:50 - 27:40]

• Katie in Washington:
  • Bought a 2022 RAV4 Hybrid at peak pandemic prices ($45,000), doesn't like it, wants to buy all-electric but doesn’t want higher car payments.
  • High income, substantial investments, but high cost of living and mortgage.
• Clark’s Response:
  • Given the high income, this becomes about lifestyle and emotion, not necessity:

    “If you hate the RAV4 and you can afford but not like making a payment, then go ahead and make the choice.” – Clark [27:15]

  • The RAV4 is worth more than the remaining balance and should be easy to sell (Toyotas depreciate slowly).
  • Warns that switching to the dream car (Rivian R1) will mean starting over with larger payments.
  • Suggests reading unbiased reviews (Consumer Reports) before buying any EV, especially new luxury brands.
  • Salutes her impressive financial turnaround from teaching to tech!

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On paying for travel by credit card:

  “I don’t want you being lured in...” – Clark [01:38]

• Skepticism about Expedia:

  “They have now become postgraduates of customer no service.” – Clark [07:11]

• Flybasis and Ticket Consolidators:

  “It is opportunity attached to hazard when you use one of these third party booking sources.” – Clark [13:34]

• Car price shock:

  “$50,000 for a vehicle?!” – Clark [17:51]

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Key Timestamps

| Segment | Time | |------------------------------------------|-----------| | Travel supplier bankruptcy warning | 01:00-06:09| | Expedia hotel booking issue | 06:09-08:45| | Booking international flights advice | 09:20-11:40| | Flybasis ticket consolidator question | 11:40-14:50| | Car price history and analysis | 17:40-21:03| | Used car inspection for negotiation | 21:03-22:39| | Used electric vehicle inspection advice | 22:39-24:50| | Hybrid car regret, EV temptation | 24:50-27:40|

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Tone & Style

Clark’s style in this episode is direct, practical, and occasionally playful (“Wayback Machine!”). He puts consumer protection ahead of everything, doesn’t mince words about companies that fail in customer service, and is clear about risk versus reward in financial decisions.

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Summary for Listeners

Whether you’re planning next year’s vacation or thinking about a new (or new-to-you) car, this episode is packed with actionable tips:

• Never pay for travel by check/WIRE to get a “discount”—protect yourself with a credit card.
• Question “deals” from lesser-known travel booking sites; the cheapest route isn’t always safest.
• When buying a car, especially a used one, use inspection results to negotiate a better price—don’t just walk away if minor issues pop up.
• Used EVs are the best deals in today’s market, but check battery health and warranty.
• If you’re unhappy with an expensive car you were forced to buy, balance the financial and lifestyle dimensions before making a change.

Clark stresses: Don’t be lured by “easy” savings. Do your research, know your rights, and use your financial leverage wisely.

Transcript

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[Clark Howard]

It's great to have you here on the Clark Howard show, where our mission is to serve you with advice and information that empowers you so you make better financial decisions in your life. And maybe traveling in your vehicle today, hope that means you're off to some really exciting place, family, friends or sightseeing for the Thanksgiving holiday. No traffic today on the roads. Yeah, right. But I do have a warning for you I'm giving about booking any future travel coming straight ahead, whether it's a cruise, a rental house, tour package, pretty much any, even an airline ticket. And later, speaking of driving, cars are so expensive right now. I'm going to give you my tips if you're in the market for a new one. So yet another smaller cruise line just filed for bankruptcy and I said another because there's been a plague of this smaller cruise lines that sail out of US Ports, those that sail overseas, tour operators, riverboat cruises. There's something that they're asking you to do that I don't want you to do. And, and by the way, while we're talking about companies going out of business, a number of small airlines around the world have gone bust and there are several in the United States that are not in great financial shape. So I want to talk about not having your money take a trip and you not get to take it. I don't want you being lured in by a tour operator or a cruise line saying, hey, you pay us by check and we're going to give you a 5% discount or a 7% discount or a 3% discount or whatever the discount is when the discount particularly is higher than their credit card processing costs, which are usually for a travel supplier that are doing big ticket items, going to be about 1 1/2 percent. If they're suddenly offering you a 5% or 7% discount for giving them your checking account number and letting them debit the money that way. Ach it. Here's what's going on. They may be on credit watch from the credit card operators. And there's a big, what's known as holdback. Some money paid in the tour operator, cruise line that's on credit watch doesn't have access to to most of that money you're paying in. They only have access to a portion of it. So in order to keep the ship going or the tours touring, they may try to get people booking future dates to pay by checking account. They get all that money right away. But here's the distinction that really matters. If that airline, cruise line, tour operator, vacation rental, if they go bust or fly the coop, whatever, your money's gone. There's no way for you to reclaim that money. No way to do it. Two possible ways you recapture that money. One is if you pay by credit card. Not ironclad and foolproof. But often the way you get your money restored to you, there's a big financial incentive for the credit card industry to give you that money back so that you have extra incentive going forward to pay for travel by credit card. And then they get all those credit card merchant fees. And so the second one is true trip insurance that covers supplier default. If you buy a policy direct from the travel supplier, it's usually not insurance. It's their protection plan. And you're not protected from anything if they go bust with real trip insurance, some do cover the supplier going bust, others don't. If that's something you're trying to protect against with a tour operator, cruise line, whatever you want to make sure that before you give up your period of review on the policy. Because in most states, because trip insurance is regular by the states, you will have a period of time, a look see period, maybe 15 days, 30 days, where you can say, thanks, but no thanks, I want my money back for the policy. Because it does not, as you look at it, does not cover what you're really trying to protect yourself from. And that's protect all your money you paid in from the supplier going bust. So just be aware and be wary when somebody's dangling a little discount from you for paying cash. They're not being your friend in the travel business at least.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

All right, we've got some questions for you that involve travel. The first one's from Mike in California. We're visiting our daughter this December in Austria. My wife reserved a hotel in Vienna through, should I say the website?

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, go ahead.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

Expedia. And it was listed as a pay. When you arrive at the Property and had listed dates where she could cancel for no cost. Then last week, the property tried to charge our credit card. Apple Card declined it. But now the property is reaching out to us to collect the full fee. Expedia has basically stopped helping us and says that the property can set different guidelines, even though that's not what was listed on their site.

[Clark Howard]

Oh, come on. That's. That is classic. Expedia contracted out customer no service. If you book the reservation is one that you pay upon arrival and that you had a period of time that you were eligible to cancel free of any cancellation fee. That's what you have. And that is ridiculous. What I would do is I would go ahead and cancel that booking. If that's going to put you in a position that doesn't work for you, I would get out of that and then rethink where you book. Now, a lot of times people book with Expedia and it goes by without a hitch. My experience with Expedia is when a problem pops up, that's where Expedia face plants on you and is not there for you. They have cheapened out so much on the customer service side that they have now become postgraduates of customer no service. So just know that Expedia comes up again and again in the travel industry with problems that consumers have that Expedia does not solve. And as I always say, when we name a company, if Expedia would like to have somebody come on the podcast and YouTube show and say what they why I'm wrong and why they actually do offer customer service instead of customer no service, I'm happy to have them here.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

And it sounds like toward the end, Mike says that they did try to cancel. I think they did try to cancel because it has bad reviews. So maybe they tried to cancel, but then they're being charged. So definitely it's good that Apple Card denied it. I think you might have to do a chargeback. Right? If they keep trying to charge well.

[Clark Howard]

I mean, if they haven't charged, then there's nothing to charge back.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

Right?

[Clark Howard]

But I mean, with Expedia, I can tell you they pop up a lot on elliot.org you know, stories about customer service. With Expedia, I would go to elliot.org and they've got contacts at Expedia as they do for other companies where people are in customer no service nightmares and use their contact sheet to see if you can get to an actual human who actually works for Expedia instead of some contract call center and get this solved and resolved.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

All right. Less in Florida says we have reservations on a cruise from Basel, Switzerland, on May 31 of 26 to Amsterdam on June 10. We plan to spend a day or two in the Bevona Valley in Switzerland before the cruise begins. When and how is the best way to purchase plane tickets from Orlando to Zurich and from Amsterdam back to Orlando for this trip? And how can Krista come with us? Just kidding. Les didn't write that part last time.

[Clark Howard]

I love Basel, such a great area of Switzerland. So going into Basel, out of Amsterdam from Orlando. So Orlando is an interesting market to Europe because there are a very large number of discount flight operators that fly out of Sanford Field in the northern part of the Orlando metro area at much lower prices than what you're usually going to have out of Orlando International to Europe. And so it all depends less how convenient you want this to be versus how inexpensive. So if you looked at what was available with some of the discounters out of Sanford to Europe, you would then get to wherever it is in Europe and you'd go from there down to Basel, probably by train, and then on the reverse when you're done, you'd go from Amsterdam back to wherever the cheap flight was. Could be out of Amsterdam as an example, and that would be the cheapest way. But if you want to go conventional like you said, and you want to go into Basel or near Basel and then back out of Amsterdam, the time you'd really look at this would be February, March would be. I hope that doesn't make you nervous. Sat that far away. But airlines tend to get a good feel for advanced bookings closer to late spring and early summer when they get to February, March. And you could set up fare alerts for this on Google flights and see what you can do doing the combination you're talking about.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

Okay. Do you want me to name this website? Oh, yeah, this is from Elaine in Florida. Sorry about that, Elaine. Elaine's question, would you comment on flybasis.com Is it legitimate? Do you recommend using it and do you still get your frequent flyer miles if you go through them?

[Clark Howard]

So likely you don't get frequent flyer miles and they do by their telling. And there's not a huge number of complaints about them. Where usually an operator like them, there's a lot of complaints, but what they do is they buy people's frequent flyer points is their number one strategy, and use those to book you on your fare. As long as the flights go when they're supposed to go and they've legitimately bought miles from an airline that allows that, then that's okay and you can save substantial amount of money. I have looked at their fares before and their big savings are on the front of the plane, not in coach. And the fare differences can be quite large using them. But you're going through an intermediary and if there is a problem with the flight and you ended up with the ticket the way you did through a third party and not your own points, that could be a problem. Now another strategy they employ is using how airfares can be cheaper purchased out of a third country than being purchased out of the US So they might buy you a ticket out of who knows where in the world where fares because of currency differences or whatever could be cheaper from somewhere else. I have never bought a ticket from one of these. They used to be called on the general category of consolidators just because of what I do for a living. I've heard a lot of people where things have gone wrong and they've been stranded somewhere. So it is your choice. It is opportunity attached to hazard when you use one of these third party booking sources. Was I too wishy washy on that? No, I don't think that was okay. Because it is truly hazard versus opportunity.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

Yeah, I probably wouldn't do it. I just have to say I'm too.

[Clark Howard]

Just because. Just because we've. We hear. So we don't hear from people, gosh, I saved all this money was the greatest thing ever. We hear from people, hey, I booked with this third party and this happened and that happened. And the other half.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

Yeah, it's not like to me the risk is really. Yeah. Like if I plan a trip overseas or whatever. A lot of these are like, you know, you want to get a business class ticket overseas and then I get to the airport and it's ruined. That would be really tough. Or you have to pay unbelievable money for a last minute ticket.

[Clark Howard]

Well, we've heard both of those things. Yes, but not about them.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

Yeah, we haven't heard about that.

[Clark Howard]

We haven't heard.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

But they may not be. I don't know. We'll.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, yeah. So time will tell. Okay, so talk about something that's crazy, crazy expensive. If you go back in the wayback machine. Cars were not that expensive even going back 15 years ago. Now the average cost of a new vehicle is first time ever, over $50,000. So what if you need new wheels or you better yet say want new wheels. What's the strategy that could save you a substantial amount of money. I'm going to share with you a couple of them straight ahead.

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[Clark Howard]

50 grand for a Vehicle I mentioned the Wayback Machine. I don't know if you know what the Wayback Machine was. A cartoon. Somebody. Peabody. Peabody. Anyway, to show you how weird it is that the average vehicle now is over $50,000. New vehicle the first piece of real estate I ever bought was a foreclosure. I bought a two bedroom townhouse for $36,000. You can take inflation over the years. It would still be like probably 120 if you went up like almost four times. 50 grand for a vehicle. I mean that's a lot, but it's not the whole story because not like they're a huge bargain, but if you look at passenger vehicles, cars instead of passenger vehicles, SUVs, a traditional car, lots of cars are still available around 30 grand. So yeah, not dirt cheap, but compared to an average cost of $50,000. Come on. That's if you're going to buy new. And one of the things pushing these prices up are how much pickup trucks are costing now. And pickup trucks are totally different than they used to be. Pickup trucks used to be the most barren vehicles you could buy in the US they used to have just metal floors and vinyl seats and maybe a basic radio that just had a dial, not even buttons. And probably a column shifter. I'm going back in time to know what a column shifter is. But the point is, trucks used to be basic industrial work kind of vehicles. Today they're a lifestyle choice. And the pickup trucks are a fortune. Except they don't have to be. I mean, look what Ford has done with the Maverick pickup truck. That is about half the cost new of the typical pickup truck. So some of this we're doing to ourselves with the choices of vehicles we're buying. But ultimately, even today, with inflated used vehicle prices on most models, buying used is going to be so much cheaper a choice than buying new. And something that has not changed is that used electric vehicles that have a couple years on them are still a steal of a deal. I mean, you look at Tesla Model threes and Model Ys, what they're worth two years in is a fraction of what people paid for them new. And there's real opportunity to save, not just buying them, but then owning them because they're so much cheaper to run than a gas engine vehicle. So yeah, it's true, it's ridiculous. Over $50,000. But it doesn't have to be. Krista.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

Okay, got some questions for you. Ryan in Wisconsin says you've mentioned several times on your show and in your clark.com articles that you need to have the car inspected by a certified diagnostic mechanic of your choosing as a condition.

[Clark Howard]

Of purchase, you're buying used.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

Right? However, I've never heard you reference what to do with the information your inspection finds. If the inspection, if there are problems in the inspection that weren't disclosed by the dealer but that aren't deal breakers for me. What can I do to get a better deal? And how strong is my bargaining position at this point?

[AT&T and Progressive Insurance Advertiser]

Point.

[Clark Howard]

What a great question. So it's always been a kind of thing that I've always thought a yes or no. You're Asking a very different question. Because what you're hoping to find with that inspection is that the vehicle, as best the mechanic configure, is free of any major problems that are sitting there that could cost you a fortune. Problems with the engine, transmission, whatever. Let's say that they do find minor things wrong with the vehicle. Your question is the answer. You use that as a negotiating tool with the dealer. Say, hey, you know, the mechanic found this problem, that problem and the other. I think I'd still like the car, but I'm not comfortable with the price anymore. What kind of deal can we make now that you use it as leverage to make a better deal? Because I actually have never thought of that. That the inspection would not kill the deal if there were problems, but that it might sour the deal a little bit.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

Okay. Speaking of inspections, Harvey in Nevada says you've talked about considering used EVs when buying a car. My wife and I are talking about cars now, but having never shopped for an ev, some questions are coming up. What should be included in an EV inspection? Who can perform the inspection? Where would we find an independent repair shop? Or do we depend on the dealer selling the car? And how do we determine how much life is left in the batteries and how much degradation is acceptable?

[Clark Howard]

Okay, Harry, I love these questions. No one has ever asked me this. I got two in a row that are wrinkles different than I've ever been asked. Okay. So with an electric vehicle, the greatest worry is the batteries. And the batteries should come with a very lengthy warranty from the manufacturer that is transferred to you as a subsequent owner. That could be 10 years, could be eight, will have some kind of mileage cap, could be 100,000 miles or more. Whatever it is, the degradation of the battery, depending on the model, you may be able to see diagnostics that'll show you how much the battery has degraded. But the easiest answer is, what will it say? Expected range is at full charge versus what when that vehicle was originally sold, which you can find online, what was the expected range of a full charge? And that gap will tell you how much the battery range has degraded. What you're really looking for, though, often on an electric vehicle, is what you're looking for on a newer gas engine vehicle that you're buying used, and that is that it's been in a wreck and that there was undisclosed damage to the body. And that's something that a body shop can do with because often when people are buying a used EV, they're looking at 13 years old, 2 years old. Something like that. And that's why I'm more worried about it having been in a wreck than I am other things you might be concerned about with a vehicle.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

Katie in Washington says I'm reaching out to get your thoughts about my current car situation. My 13 year old Ford Escape that I plan to drive for many more years died during the pandemic and I had to buy a car at what was the worst time in history to buy one. I went with a 2022 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

[Clark Howard]

Oh, during. During COVID Right.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

It's the base model and it cost $45,000.

[Clark Howard]

Whoa.

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

I currently owe $17,000 on it and my monthly payment is $750. I like the size of the car and I feel safe, but it's so ugly and I miss my leather heated seats and sunroof. I also really want to go all electric. I even get free free charging at work. The Rivian R1 is my dream car, but it is out of my budget. In prior episodes you've said people who got stuck buying cars during the pandemic at a ridiculous price should keep them. But I also know you're a big fan of electric. What do you think I should do? I don't want to take on a bigger monthly payment, but I also don't want to spend $750 a month on a car I don't enjoy driving. I'm 43 years old. I make around 350k a year, 350,000 a year, but my mortgage is $6,500. Even after putting 800k down, I bought a house a year ago when the rates were high. And I'm based in Seattle where housing prices are high. I have 200k in the stock market and 389k in my 401k. I was an elementary school teacher for 8 years and then switched to big tech. So while my income is significant now, I was living paycheck to paycheck into my mid-30s. So do I keep the RAV4 and keep paying a high monthly rate for a car I don't love or do I start all over on an electric suv?

[Clark Howard]

So you really threw me the curveball. With a huge annual income. The remaining amount owed on the RAV4 17 grand. The RAV4 3 model years old is probably worth a fair amount more than that. Toyotas have the slowest depreciation of any model. Most models of Toyota's. And so you owe on it. What's the remaining balance?

[Clark Howard Show Host or Co-host]

17.

[Clark Howard]

Yeah, 17,000. So a little less than two years of your payments. So at your income, this is really a lifestyle choice for you. If you want to bail on the RAV4, there are plenty of people out there who don't think it's ugly, who would love to own one that's three years old and I would consider selling it. Now, on the other hand, you hate the vehicle, you hate the monthly payment. You're going to start all over with meaningful monthly payments that will likely be higher on an electric vehicle. So this is really a lifestyle choice for you to make. And vehicles that we're in a lot, all day long are important to us. And if you hate the RAV4 and you can afford but not like making a payment, then go ahead and make the choice now on the R1, I love them. But before you buy one, please go read the Consumer Reports review of it. The Consumer Reports rating is not fantastic and I would just like you to read that first. And if you do decide to dump the RAV4 and go to the Rivian that you go in fully with your eyes open and man, what an amazing income you got going from teaching school to working in tech. And the other thing is, what it means is that 401k you have, you're going to be able to continue to contribute so much money to it over the years, is going to be a wonderful help to you creating long term financial security. Because that's one of the great things about tech is they got money in wheelbarrows and you get to grab some of it. And I want to tell you, have an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving. Whatever it is you do for Thanksgiving, I hope that you get an opportunity to be thankful for what you've got, the people in your life, family, friends, and that you do get to spend time tomorrow and throughout the holiday season, all the way into the new year, that this is a time of joy, connecting and reconnecting for you with your family and your friends. Have a great day and I'll see you next week.