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Up to Speed The latest buzz in L.A.'s car culture. « Previous Post | Up to Speed Home | Next Post » Price of a new car hits 30-year low -- but not in California May 14, 2009 | 8:00 am Dealerprices Californians may not agree, but a new car is more affordable to the average family now than at any time in the last 30 years, according to a new report. Buyers can expect to see an average of $2,931 in incentives off the price of a new vehicle. In some cases, such as buying a Chrysler, a consumer can expect to get as much as $6,000 off the price of a new vehicle as dealers seek to move inventory amid a recession -- and in Chrysler's case, a bankruptcy -- and a sudden downshift in sales nationwide. The average price of a new vehicle nationwide is $1,700 less than in the final quarter of 2008, according to Comerica Bank's Auto Affordability Index, which has tracked auto prices since 1979. California buyers likely will see a smaller drop in average price. A temporary 1% rise in the state's sales tax that began April 1 and a doubling of license fees to arrive May 19 add about $400 to the average price of a new car. A provision of the nationwide economic stimulus package, however, allows them to write off a portion of the sales tax and license fee on any new vehicle bought between Feb. 17 and Dec. 31 this year. Nationally, the survey found it took 21.5 weeks of work for a median family to buy an average-priced new car or truck, or 1.3 weeks less than in the fourth quarter of 2008. It also found that consumers are getting better interest rates from dealers as credit slowly returns to the market. Financing, though, may not be available to as many potential buyers as before.

Women Pay The Price For Health Insurance by Sarah Varney April 2, 2009 Listen to the Story Morning Edition [4 min 40 sec] * Add to Playlist * Download * Transcript In Depth Search For Health Insurance Learn About COBRA Read About A Government Subsidy For COBRA A State-By-State Guide to Health Insurance text sizeAAA April 2, 2009 During the last economic bust, I got laid off and couldn't afford the monthly COBRA payments for my health insurance. I applied for an individual plan through Blue Cross. I was 28 at the time and had no health problems. I was thin and athletic. In fact, I'd done a triathlon and biked from San Francisco to Los Angeles twice. I got a letter from Blue Cross saying I was denied. They told me it was because my medical records showed I'd gone to the doctor complaining of stomach pain. The pain had long since gone away, but Blue Cross said if I wanted insurance, my doctor would need to fax a note guaranteeing I didn't have stomach cancer. He faxed the letter, and eventually I got a plan. It makes you wonder, though, if Blue Cross didn't want to insure me - a healthy 20-something - how on earth do actuaries determine who's a good risk and who's not? "It's very scientific and fact-based," says Jeff Fluke a senior underwriter with the risk management company Ingenix in Minneapolis. Fluke says actuaries first calculate average health costs over a broad population like 28-year-old women or 50-year-old men. Then the underwriter adjusts those averages based on your medical history and health status - your height and weight, and whether you have high blood pressure, asthma or hay fever. "Maybe there's a heart condition," Fluke says. "How long ago was it? What were the treatments? Are you on treatment now? What are the medications you're taking? Because some medications [are] expensive and some aren't." Complex Calculations These complex algorithms boil down to: Will you cost the insurance company more money than the insurer c

Women Pay The Price For Health Insurance by Sarah Varney April 2, 2009 Listen to the Story Morning Edition [4 min 40 sec] * Add to Playlist * Download * Transcript In Depth Search For Health Insurance Learn About COBRA Read About A Government Subsidy For COBRA A State-By-State Guide to Health Insurance text sizeAAA April 2, 2009 During the last economic bust, I got laid off and couldn't afford the monthly COBRA payments for my health insurance. I applied for an individual plan through Blue Cross. I was 28 at the time and had no health problems. I was thin and athletic. In fact, I'd done a triathlon and biked from San Francisco to Los Angeles twice. I got a letter from Blue Cross saying I was denied. They told me it was because my medical records showed I'd gone to the doctor complaining of stomach pain. The pain had long since gone away, but Blue Cross said if I wanted insurance, my doctor would need to fax a note guaranteeing I didn't have stomach cancer. He faxed the letter, and eventually I got a plan. It makes you wonder, though, if Blue Cross didn't want to insure me - a healthy 20-something - how on earth do actuaries determine who's a good risk and who's not? "It's very scientific and fact-based," says Jeff Fluke a senior underwriter with the risk management company Ingenix in Minneapolis. Fluke says actuaries first calculate average health costs over a broad population like 28-year-old women or 50-year-old men. Then the underwriter adjusts those averages based on your medical history and health status - your height and weight, and whether you have high blood pressure, asthma or hay fever. "Maybe there's a heart condition," Fluke says. "How long ago was it? What were the treatments? Are you on treatment now? What are the medications you're taking? Because some medications [are] expensive and some aren't." Complex Calculations These complex algorithms boil down to: Will you cost the insurance company more money than the insurer c

<< [Back to News Releases] Auto Affordability Worsens Slightly Comerica Bank Chief Economist Reports DALLAS, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The purchase of an average-priced new vehicle took 24.1 weeks of median family income in the third quarter, according to the Auto Affordability Index compiled by Comerica Bank. The latest reading is up 1.0 week from the second quarter and down 1.1 weeks compared to a year ago. Including finance charges, the total cost of buying an average-priced light vehicle was $28,929 in the third quarter, up about $1,200 from the second quarter. Family income barely increased in the latest quarter. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010807/CMALOGO) "The surprise to me was that the average amount of money spent on a new car increased about 5 percent to $25,200 last quarter, excluding financing costs," said Dana Johnson, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "In all likelihood, many moderate income buyers pulled out of the market due to the limited availability of financing, thereby temporarily inflating the average amount of money spent on a new car. A sharp drop in loan to value ratios, to the lowest level in three years, was another indication that tight auto financing conditions were a restraint for many potential buyers."

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send to a friend printable version What that car really costs to own Knowing a vehicle's cost over time can save you thousands in the long haul Illustration of a car blowing money out the exhaust Illustration by Carlo Stanga A less-expensive car can cost you more in the long run than a more-expensive alternative, our new ownership-costs comparisons have found. At about $17,500, a Mitsubishi Lancer could cost $4,000 less than a base Mini Cooper to drive home. But when you estimate the total costs of ownership for each car, the Lancer could cost you $5,000 more over five years. A Toyota Highlander can cost you $3,000 more to purchase than a Ford Explorer V6, but owning the Ford after five years can cost $6,750 more. In addition to shopping for a good deal, car buyers should also consider how much a model will cost them to own. That includes depreciation, fuel costs, interest, insurance, sales tax, and maintenance and repair costs. To help, Consumer Reports is introducing its new owner-costs estimates, which can help you compare models and could save you thousands of dollars. The "owner costs" Ratings cover one, three, five, and eight years of ownership and are based on a comparison of all models within the Consumer Reports database over eight years. Because depreciation is factored in our estimates, we assume that the vehicle will be traded in at the end of the term.

Gender can cost you in individual health insurance June 22, 2008 When it comes to health insurance, Valencia resident Tova Hack's first problem is that she works part time and thus needs an individual policy for medical coverage because her employer doesn't offer one. Her second problem is that she's a woman. Ads by Google / Ad Feedback * Blue Cross Blue ShieldHealth insurance plans as low as $4/day. Call 1-8... FREE! www.Vimo.com * Individual BlueSave Big on Health Insurance Rates- Get Affordable Brand Name Care Now! www.YourFreeQuotes.com * Nevada Health PlansFree health insurance quotes! Find the right plan and apply online. www.GoHealthInsurance.com * Blue Cross Short Term InsHealth Insurance Quotes Online from Blue Cross. Plans from $50 month. www.healthinsurancesort.com Hack, 22, a grad student at Cal State Northridge, is insured by Blue Shield of California. She just found out that the cost of her bare-bones, high-deductible insurance plan is going up 20%, to $119 a month from $99. But the real surprise -- which Blue Shield neglected to point out in its recent letters to individual policyholders but which was apparent from a close reading of an accompanying chart -- is that men and women will now be charged different rates. The change takes effect July 1. "I don't think it's fair at all," said Hack. "I'm in perfectly fine health." That may be. But as far as Blue Shield is concerned, Hack and all other women are somehow more accident-prone, or more likely to break a bone, or more susceptible to costly ailments. Why? Because they're women. "Our egghead actuaries crunched the numbers based on all the data we have about healthcare," explained Tom Epstein, a Blue Shield spokesman. "This is what they found." That women get sicker than men? "It's all about the statistics," Epstein said. It's not about pregnancy, though. Hack's policy doesn't even cover pregnancy and maternity care. No, this is purely a matter of Blue Shield deciding t

Gender can cost you in individual health insurance June 22, 2008 When it comes to health insurance, Valencia resident Tova Hack's first problem is that she works part time and thus needs an individual policy for medical coverage because her employer doesn't offer one. Her second problem is that she's a woman. Ads by Google / Ad Feedback * Blue Cross Blue ShieldHealth insurance plans as low as $4/day. Call 1-8... FREE! www.Vimo.com * Individual BlueSave Big on Health Insurance Rates- Get Affordable Brand Name Care Now! www.YourFreeQuotes.com * Nevada Health PlansFree health insurance quotes! Find the right plan and apply online. www.GoHealthInsurance.com * Blue Cross Short Term InsHealth Insurance Quotes Online from Blue Cross. Plans from $50 month. www.healthinsurancesort.com Hack, 22, a grad student at Cal State Northridge, is insured by Blue Shield of California. She just found out that the cost of her bare-bones, high-deductible insurance plan is going up 20%, to $119 a month from $99. But the real surprise -- which Blue Shield neglected to point out in its recent letters to individual policyholders but which was apparent from a close reading of an accompanying chart -- is that men and women will now be charged different rates. The change takes effect July 1. "I don't think it's fair at all," said Hack. "I'm in perfectly fine health." That may be. But as far as Blue Shield is concerned, Hack and all other women are somehow more accident-prone, or more likely to break a bone, or more susceptible to costly ailments. Why? Because they're women. "Our egghead actuaries crunched the numbers based on all the data we have about healthcare," explained Tom Epstein, a Blue Shield spokesman. "This is what they found." That women get sicker than men? "It's all about the statistics," Epstein said. It's not about pregnancy, though. Hack's policy doesn't even cover pregnancy and maternity care. No, this is purely a matter of Blue Shield deciding t

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