‘It’s Just Crazy’: High Car Payments Make Ownership Feel Impossible
An $830-a-month car payment. Auto insurance for $280 each month. Thousands more for tire and maintenance repairs. For almost three years, those bills have followed Davine Greene, a nursing student who hasn’t missed or been late on a payment since buying her Kia K5 GT in November 2023. But keeping up with the payments has driven up her debt to more than $80,000, not including student loans.Last week, she filed for bankruptcy to escape the burden, she said.“This car is the bane of my existence,” said Greene, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “Probably the worst decision I’ve ever made, like, financially speaking.”As car prices, auto loan interest rates and insurance and maintenance costs continue to rise, owning or buying a car is becoming harder to afford, reports The New York Times. Vehicle prices climbed during the pandemic as supply chain disruptions slowed production and manufacturers focused on building more profitable vehicles. In the years since, rising interest rates have made the situation even tougher on households. The average interest rate on a 60-month new car loan from banks was 7.22 percent in November, according to the Federal Reserve. Click here for the full story.
He Earns $1,000 a Job — and He’s a Car Dealer’s Worst Nightmare
February was looking like a slow month for car sales, and Tomi Mikula smelled opportunity. Sitting in his office near Charlotte, N.C., he picked up the phone and dialed the first of a long string of calls to car dealers. “Hi, I just want to see if you have a car available,” he said. “I have the stock number if it’s helpful.”On this last business day of the month, he set a goal of closing 30 car purchases for the clients who had hired his firm as their professional negotiator.Mikula spent more than a decade selling cars and auto financing at dealerships. Now he deploys his fluency in car-dealer speak and his encyclopedic knowledge of dealer inventory to try to talk down the sticker prices. According to The Wall Street Journal, some dealers hate him enough that they won’t take his calls. Others relish the chance to go toe-to-toe with a dealmaking foe. Negotiating a car price has become something of a lost art, but it is one Mikula has become practiced at in the three years since he started his business. For a flat fee of $1,000, he negotiates on a buyer’s behalf. Click here for the full story.
How Capitol Auto Group Drives Profits Through Culture and Customer Experience
Strong employee engagement and strategic customer focus can drive both retention and profitability in today’s automotive market. On CBT News’ Inside Automotive, Alex Casebeer, GM and dealer, and Phillip Cianni, COO at Capitol Auto Group, share strategies for strengthening dealership culture, retaining employees, and maintaining profitability amid shifting market dynamics. Capitol Auto Group, operating multiple franchises across Oregon, reports a mixed but stable business climate. New and used car volumes fluctuate by brand, with Toyota performing strongly while Subaru lags, and Cadillac achieving high sales. Overall net profit in 2025 remained roughly flat compared with 2024, though the leadership team anticipates modest improvement in 2026, emphasizing profitability over volume. Employee retention is central to Capitol Auto Group’s operational strategy. Casebeer notes that new hires are told from day one that employees are the top priority. The dealership empowers staff through programs such as “Elevate the Moment,” which allow employees to take immediate action to enhance customer experiences without managerial approval. Examples include offering complimentary services, sending gifts, or arranging special experiences for customers. This autonomy encourages engagement, reinforces service standards, and contributes to strong staff loyalty. Click here for the full interview.
Why The FTC’s Warning to 97 Dealer Groups Matters for the Entire Industry
The Federal Trade Commission’s announcement March 13 it had warned 97 auto dealership groups about six “illegal” advertising practices should put other dealers on notice, a dealership attorney and industry trade group said. “This was the warning shot to the auto industry that needs to be heard — and not just by those 97 dealerships,” the Virginia Auto Dealers Association wrote in a March 16 blog post.“It wouldn’t be so public and broad if it wasn’t meant to go out to the dealer community generally,” said Bert Rasmussen, a shareholder at the ScaliRasmussen law firm and co-chair of its automotive practice.According to Automotive News, Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, told the 97 dealership groups he was “concerned” each had committed at least one of six “illegal pricing practices.” Mufarrige wrote that the FTC Act, “which prohibits deceptive or unfair acts or practices,” mandates “the price consumers see in advertising is the actual price they will pay,” with the exception of “required government charges, like taxes.” Click here for the full story.
Nissan Joins Toyota, Honda in Reverse-Importing U.S. Cars to Japan
Nissan will ship its U.S.-made Murano crossover to Japan, joining Honda and likely Toyota in reverse-importing vehicles with steering wheels on the wrong side for the home market. Going on sale here in early 2027, the midsize Nissan Murano built in Smyrna, Tenn., will be the first American-made Nissan sold in Japan since the 1990s, a Nissan spokeswoman said.In announcing the move March 17, Nissan Motor Co. follows Toyota and Honda in leveraging a recent loosening of Japanese vehicle certification rules to facilitate the flow of U.S. imports, reports Automotive News.The new rules essentially allow vehicles that pass U.S. safety inspections to ship as is, without additional testing. For the new batch of imports that means keeping the steering wheel on the left side, per U.S. convention, not on the right as is the driving norm in Japan. Japan’s transportation ministry overhauled the rules last month as a gesture toward addressing the trade imbalance with the U.S. The rule change followed a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump last fall and a breakthrough tariff agreement between Tokyo and Washington last summer. Click here for the full story.
Federated Insurance’s Claim of the Month – The Cost of Overlooking Quality Assurance
A customer had their tires rotated at a dealership. A few days later, a wheel came loose, fell off the vehicle, and rolled across traffic. The wheel bounced off the median and struck the windshield of a vehicle in the oncoming lane. The incident caused property damage and injured the occupant of the struck vehicle.
CLAIM AMOUNT: $250,000
Risk Management Tips to Consider:
• Train Technicians Properly: Provide thorough onboarding training for new employees and schedule periodic training for all technicians, regardless of experience. Share updates from accredited organizations or manufacturers with staff and implement changes as needed.
• Implement a Quality Assurance Program: Establish policies to identify and correct repair errors, such as random inspections of ongoing work, cross-checking between technicians, or using checklists for required tasks. Regularly update these programs to reflect current best practices. Spot-check technicians and managers to ensure they follow procedures and verify that tools are properly calibrated.
• Maintain Detailed Documentation: Keep records of work orders, invoices, and repair reports for all completed jobs. If a customer declines a recommended service, document the declination, preferably with the customer’s signature. Click here to learn more.
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