![\"Car](\"https:\/\/getjerry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/cars_groceries_2023@2x-1024x765.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nKey Insights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n- Jerry found that car insurance and repairs rose faster than any grocery food item on the Bureau of Labor Statistics\u2019 consumer price index in 2023.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Car insurance rose 20% in 2023, the fastest pace in at least four decades and six times faster than overall inflation. It is now up 43% in the three years through December 2023.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Car repair costs rose 10.3% last year, three times as fast as overall inflation, while vehicle maintenance costs rose 7.1%, twice as fast as inflation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Car insurance (+43%) and vehicle repair costs (+36%) rose faster than all food categories in the three years through December 2023, thanks partly to the price of eggs plummeting 24% in 2023. Both insurance and repair costs rose twice as fast as overall inflation (18%) during this time period.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Between December 2020 and December 2023, vehicle maintenance (27%) and used vehicle prices (24%) outpaced all food items except eggs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- In the three years through December 2023, the annual rate of price increases for major car ownership expenses\u2014insurance, new and used vehicle prices, repair and maintenance, and parts\u2014all hit multi-decade highs. New cars and used cars and trucks jumped by the most since at least 1954.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Still Soaring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Anyone who paid a car insurance premium last year could be forgiven for scoffing at the news that the U.S. Federal Reserve is close to achieving<\/a> its mission of containing inflation. Soaring insurance premiums forced nearly a quarter of drivers to buy less<\/a> coverage than they thought they needed in the last 12 months, and three out of four Americans say car insurance is becoming unaffordable for the average person.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe best you can say about car-ownership expenses at the start of 2024 is that prices for vehicles have stabilized after jumping at record rates in previous years. Used vehicles even dropped slightly (-1.3%), as did vehicle parts and equipment (-1.2%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that\u2019s cold comfort when it comes time to pay the bills. Every major car ownership expense except gas is dramatically more expensive than it was just three years ago, including used cars and trucks (+24%) and new cars (+19%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Car](\"https:\/\/getjerry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/cars_groceries_3years@2x-1024x765.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There is likely further pain ahead when it comes to the three fastest-rising car-ownership expenses\u2014insurance, repairs, and maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the cost of vehicle parts stabilized last year, maintenance and repair costs<\/a> are also driven by the growing use of advanced, pricier technology in vehicles and a shortage of qualified technicians to service and repair that technology. This is a long-term problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still Soaring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Anyone who paid a car insurance premium last year could be forgiven for scoffing at the news that the U.S. Federal Reserve is close to achieving<\/a> its mission of containing inflation. Soaring insurance premiums forced nearly a quarter of drivers to buy less<\/a> coverage than they thought they needed in the last 12 months, and three out of four Americans say car insurance is becoming unaffordable for the average person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best you can say about car-ownership expenses at the start of 2024 is that prices for vehicles have stabilized after jumping at record rates in previous years. Used vehicles even dropped slightly (-1.3%), as did vehicle parts and equipment (-1.2%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that\u2019s cold comfort when it comes time to pay the bills. Every major car ownership expense except gas is dramatically more expensive than it was just three years ago, including used cars and trucks (+24%) and new cars (+19%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is likely further pain ahead when it comes to the three fastest-rising car-ownership expenses\u2014insurance, repairs, and maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the cost of vehicle parts stabilized last year, maintenance and repair costs<\/a> are also driven by the growing use of advanced, pricier technology in vehicles and a shortage of qualified technicians to service and repair that technology. This is a long-term problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n