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Those Car Warranties HOW WHY WHEN Update Aug 8 2026

'Breakdown?
Wonder if my car warranty will cover this!

Buying an automobile is one of the largest investments a person can make outside of buying a home. I have written many articles on how to buy both a new and used car, but today’s musing will delve into how to deal with car warranties, and which ones are worth considering.

Years back, when I was a kid, just about anyone could work on a car and be somewhat successful at it with a little bit of research and practice. Warranties were basically protecting a buyer against major failures and the little nitpicky malfunctions in the first 12 months of purchase. There were few if any opportunities back then to buy an extended warranty. This, along with the simple sticker price, made buying a car an easy, semi-affordable and understandable task.

Not so nowadays.

The sticker price has been replaced by the “payment”, car warranties run the gamut from free to many expensive options and there are now extended terms that may cover the car for many years. The cars also have gotten much more complicated, with multiple onboard computers and black boxes that make servicing a car much more difficult for the average garage’ tinkerer.

Replacement parts seem to have skyrocketed in price and if a car is newer, aftermarket parts may or may not be available for many years or if at all. I won’t go into all the gory details about why that is. Just know not all parts for all cars can be bought on the cheap at your local auto parts store.

In addition, many auto repair shops must specialize in only certain manufacturers in order to avoid learning about the workings of many different cars. Different cars can require different skill sets, tools and/or diagnostic equipment, further limiting our choices as consumers and therefore driving up costs in the process.

I have thought, more than a few times, that repairing a car that is out of warranty has become too expensive to not consider wrapping each and every car I now buy into some sort of warranty. But not just any warranty, mind you.

I flatly refuse to buy an after-market or extended warranty that is not from the original manufacturer of the automobile.

I have heard too many tales of woe from people who have purchased those private aftermarket warranties. Their slick ads lead consumers into paying a ton of money for a generic warranty only to find out there are many exceptions, caveats and conditions to these products which basically work in favor of the warranty company and not you.

When buying a new car, you obviously get a warranty but the option to extend it might be considered at time of purchase. No doubt, they are expensive. But those extended warranties are cheaper at the time you buy the car. Waiting can only drive up the cost of extended warranties due to inflation and locking in the manufacturer at time of purchase might be worth considering. You might also be able to wrap the warranty into the payment making it that less painful.

If buying used, again, I would stay away from any warranty product not offered by the original manufacturer of the car. I would also recommend you consider paying a little more for a “Certified” used car from a manufacture’s dealer and not from some random “car lot” somewhere.

I know a certified car from a manufacturer’s dealer may run you a few dollars more. Maybe even a few thousand more. But one random repair can still run into the thousands. I remember some years ago my Toyota Sienna van had the electric side door motor go out. That tiny motor was like four thousand dollars if memory serves me right.

Yikes. Lucky, I had purchased an extended warranty.

In conclusion, we may be at the point where the car manufacturers have us in a big “gotcha” moment where repairing a car is so expensive, the cars just become big throwaways that end up on one in one of those random used car lots somewhere. Then some unfortunate buyer will probably get stuck with a humongous repair bill that you avoided by dumping the car on the cheap.

It starts to make little sense buying a newer car without a warranty. If something major goes wrong, or maybe even something minor, the cost of repairing it could more than offset the cost of buying an older car without a warranty to save some money.

If you are buying a substantially older car with fewer bells and whistles that your local repair shop perhaps can work on, so be it. But if you are looking at something more recent, it might be wiser to get a car protected by the original manufacture, no matter how that is accomplished.

The car companies have gotten smart. They have made repairing a used car so expensive, you have to buy a new one.

And isn’t that just grand.

For them.

This article expresses the opinion of Marc Cuniberti and is not meant as investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, nor represents the opinion of any bank, investment firm or RIA, nor this media outlet, its staff, members or underwriters. Mr. Cuniberti holds a B.A. in Economics with honors, 1979, and California Insurance License #0L34249 His insurance agency is BAP INC. insurance services. Email: news@moneymanagementradio.com.

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Pavlov's Stock Market Update july 20 2026

Pavlov’s dog refers to a series of experiments by Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, which discovered classical conditioning during his research on dogs’ digestion. He accidently stumbled upon the conditioning reflex by noting that repeating a bell ring prior to feeding eventually stimulated salivation in the animal even though no food was present.

It is now a well-accepted theory and, as we know now, obviously applies to more than just animals.

Take the stock market for example. Decades back the markets reacted to positive economic news, plain and simple. Good earnings and a healthy employment market drove investors into stocks. Conversely, bad economic news generally eroded investor confidence and the market would sell off.

A Pavlovian response for sure. As the years clicked off and with the advent of a central monetary authority, the Federal Reserve (FED), weak markets brought about the idea that a proactive FED could use a variety of monetary tools and mitigate severe market downturns.

Although certain economic theories argue that capitalistic markets cannot be manipulated into submission, other economists believed that careful implementation of FED actions could successfully manage economic downturns.

Those actions-such as the raising or lowering the cost capital, (known as interest rate adjustment) , buying government debt (allowing an increase in deficit spending), and a variety of other actions, are designed to make money either cheaper or more expensive-which can influence investor behavior.

Some economists argue, however, that these FED actions will only exasperate economic turbulence. Others believe the FED had found the holy grail for preventing market catastrophe by using the tools at their disposal.

Regardless of which side of the economic aisle one is on, the FED has apparently come to the point where it constantly tries to micromanage the economy, much like a ship negotiating an ocean full of land mines.

Economies are constantly in a state of flux. There are many moving parts of a complex industrial society. As a result, bad news and good news hit in varying degrees and at varying times. Reading the proverbial tea leaves of where an economy might be headed therefore is no easy task.

Despite this tricky environment, some argue that the FED thinks that it is omnipotent.

That belief is somewhat self-evident as it is constantly implementing their various policies at any sign of trouble.

The FED’s tools are powerful and supercharged. Any one adjustment can make significant changes to both the stock market and the economy under it.

These ongoing movements by the FED have occurred for decades. Market participants have learned, like Pavlov’s dog, that when economic news hits the newswires, the FED will act by turning one or more of these powerful economic knobs to either juice or starve the markets.

This anticipation of FED action on even the slightest piece of economic news causes the market to move in the opposite direction of what was once regarded as rational.

Investors now think that bad news means the FED will act to juice the markets and so they buy stocks. Conversely, good economic news might cause the markets to fall in anticipation of FED action in the opposite direction. Good economic news may mean inflation is building so the FED tightens the money supply and starves the markets to harness rising prices

The anticipation of FED action is now arguably a major factor in markets on whether investors hit the buy or sell button.

An example of this was last week when a negative employment number came out and the markets rose thinking the FED will act to stimulate the economy, which would be good for stocks later down the road.

Decades ago, a bad jobs number would have likely led to a market sell off. Not so today apparently.

There is more to this story that I haven’t included here because of the lack of space but hopefully you get the picture.

The bottom line is bad news might be good news for stocks and good news just might be bad for stocks,

Kind of crazy I know and, unfortunately, it makes negotiating the stock market just that much more difficult.

“Watching the markets so you don’t have to”

(end)

(As mentioned, please use the below disclaimer exactly) THANKS (Regulations) This article expresses the opinion of Marc Cuniberti and is not meant as investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, nor represents the opinion of any bank, investment firm or RIA, nor this media outlet, its staff, members or underwriters. Mr. Cuniberti holds a B.A. in Economics with honors, 1979, and California Insurance License #0L34249 His insurance agency is BAP INC. insurance services. Email: news@moneymanagementradio.com.

Treasury investing SAFE? UPDATE

Are U.S.debt investments safe?

The U.S. Government finances its massive spending in three ways:

It collects revenues from taxes, tariffs and other income sources.

Discretionary Spending vs Inflation

Are Sales Increasing?

Could be a sign the economy is contracting

When inflation hits, many consumers who feel the pinch will do the obvious and cut back on their spending.

Theoretically, for every penny of higher inflation, a certain number of consumers will go under and not be able to make ends meet. It sounds implausible that one penny more would cause people to go bankrupt but since price increases are infinitesimal and their effect on consumers is incalculable, the threshold to go from liquid (able to afford things) to illiquid (no longer make ends meet) can be stated as fact that a penny more can push at least someone, if not many someones, into financial ruin.

Consumers have many expenses. Some are the necessary costs we regard as must be paid in order to survive such as the food we eat and the energy to heat our homes while other expenses are ones that you can do without.

The “must-have” expenses are called essential or non-discretionary spending while the ones we can do without are called discretionary.

As inflation rises, the discretionary items are eliminated first by the consumer. One by one the consumer might start cutting back on the things they want but don’t absolutely have to have in order to keep within their budget.

As inflation rages on, if there is not an increase in income, one by one the discretionary purchases are eliminated. Many items are deemed more discretionary than others. Dinners out, expensive foodstuffs, new clothing, vacations and entertainment purchases might be the first to go while items that are deemed more important, but still discretionary, might be eliminated later. These might be music lessons for the kids, keeping the house at a comfortable temperature, streaming services, or gym memberships.

What things one eliminates and in what order they are eliminated in is obviously different for different people and what one family cuts back on might not be the same as what another family chooses to eliminate.

When looking at the economy as a whole, there are certain sectors that can signal the start of discretionary cutbacks. These usually include entertainment, dining, retail and travel. Next might be personal hobbies, subscription services and self-care services. Medical services could also be reduced as budgets get tighter as well as a host of other discretionary goods and services.

You can tell when cutbacks are occurring within the general population, when prices start to drop and product markdowns start to increase. This is a part of the self-correction mechanism that can start to slow the inflationary environment within an economy. Some companies might reduce locations, reduce inventory or cut staff. If the inflation is persistent, more companies will undertake more drastic measures such as filing for bankruptcy or just close entirely.

Food banks will see more clientele and the evening news will soon fill up with stories about how hard it is to make ends meet. The housing market will likely slow and the calls for the government to “do something” will increase.

The human factor will become more painful to watch and retirement plans like pensions and the like will suffer.

The grand shrinking of the economy will become more and more prevalent and widely acknowledged in the evening news. All of these mechanisms will reduce consumer demand and inflation will slow.

The extent of the economic contraction will depend on how much inflationary damage has preceded the slowdown, with that damage being the inflationary economic events that preceded it.

The question becomes how much damage is inflicted on the consumer before demand drops to the point of recession or even a deeper economic contraction.

It remains to be seen how many people will be affected and how severely, but if inflation stays persistent and stubbornly unyielding, the damage will be ongoing and difficult to measure, let alone forecast.

“Watching the markets so you don’t have to”

(end)

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You Can Do it update 6 10 2026

Work hard, complain less, get up early and watch things get a little bit easier?

For literally decades, people have asked me how they can make more money. The answer is pretty easy. It may not be palatable to some, but there is a methodology to making more money than most.

When I was growing up, most fathers taught their kids to “work hard, get up early and be an honest and forthright person (whatever that is), and you’ll die rich”.

Well, that last part wasn’t too encouraging but that’s exactly what my dad told me.

Most people I grew up with did work hard and get up early and most of my high school friends now are doing just fine. Those that are still alive that is.

Growing up in the 60’s and completing high school and college in the 70’s, it was really that simple. Get up early, work hard and the jobs were out there and the money would come.

Not so come the following decades. Government overspending started the buying power erosion of the once mighty U.S. dollar. This subsequently resulted in decades of inflation leading up to this very day. Inflation is the thief of affordability and is the silent killer to one’s financial security.

I am not going into the weeds of the whys and how of inflation but just know overspending governments print up paper dollars at will to accomplish that spending and that leads to inflation. Inflation eats away at your finances because wages never go up at the same rate as inflation does so it’s a race you slowly lose.

That said, although the effect of inflation is worse now than it was a few decades ago (because it’s gone on so long), today it IS easier to make a buck than it was 25 years ago or so.

Explaining that was eloquently done by a guy named David Goggins. He holds the world pull up record, passed both Navy Seal and Army Ranger training, and is the epitome of one hard working SOB (Look him up).

Goggins says it’s easy to be successful nowadays because most people have lost the work ethic or worse, are downright indolent.

Goggins says the examples of both types of people are everywhere we look.

In fact, I, myself, come across both types almost every single day.

For example, I ran across a 17-year-old high school student looking for yard work. I contacted him and instead of a 9:00 am start, he told me he starts at 7:00 am. Upon my inquiry, he mentioned he hits the gym at 5:00 am so he is up early and works all day.

I am like “wow”, what a breath of fresh air this kid is.”

Some motivational speakers say, “Tell me your daily schedule/plans, and I’ll tell you if you are going to be rich.”

I already know this 17-year-old kid will not be anyone society will have to worry about and he will probably be very well off in a few decades.

I know a handful of friends that get up at 5:00 am, work a solid 8-10 hours a day and live a full and active life. Not one of them are struggling. Or at least not like most.

This breed of people runs the restaurants that are always packed, the stores that are always busy and are the service folks that are dependable and do a darn good job. They’re the people we say “wow, that person does great work, always responds, fixes problems and doesn’t procrastinate”.

They are the people that put their heads down and keep swimming. They don’t quit, they keep fighting and it shows in most everything they do. Whatever the service, wherever they work, they just keep pushing.

And then there’s the other side of the spectrum where the majority lie says Goggins. “These folks are the ones making it easy for the rest of us.”

I won’t say what these folks do because it’s more like what they don’t do.

They don’t respond, they pay little attention to detail and simply don’t give it their all.

It’s not rocket science. It’s not what you do, but how you do it.

In conclusion, my gardener is only 17, and he’s just pulling weeds. But he’s damn good at it. He works hard and long and knows the secret that so many seem to not understand.

I have no doubt that with that kind of work ethic, he will go a long way.

It’s not always fun. It’s not always easy. But neither is the world today in which we live in.

Swim a little faster, work a little harder, get up a little earlier and complain a little bit less, and watch how your world will start to seem just a little bit easier.

“Watching the markets so you don’t have to”

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