I Just Sold My Kia Soul To the Kia Dealer, Because My Little State Farm Beacon Buddy, Tracks Everything That I Do In My New Kia Sorento

Progressive told me that my insurance would be cheaper if I allowed them toi it or my driving. I already know how I drive, so I said sure! Fourteen months in, and no evidence of any discounts. The Progressive app even disappeared from my phone. So I went to the agency and asked for help in reinstalling it, and was told "We don't do that!". And I can't do it myself because there's no paperwork; everything is electronic. The first thing they want me to input is policy number. Ummm.... Without the app I don't have access to it
We don't do that. All we do is take more money from you in six months than you paid for the car itself.

You did have a choice, don't get it. If you can't afford it, it's called you don't get it. You could've gotten something cheaper so that way you didn't have to have that thing in the vehicle. You only have yourself to blame.

I have an Equinox and switched to State Farm a couple years ago. I got the beacon but paid no mind to it for over a year. My insurance went up but I assumed it was just standard. I finally looked through the app and saw my driving score was terrible. I started driving better which raised my score and lowered my next terms premium. I hate being tracked like that but the struggle is real and I need to save wherever I can.

"It's more likely that her lifestyle is more expensive than her income can afford." $500/month for car insurance is ridiculous. Out of touch boomer says what?

This article makes absolutely no sense. She shouldn't be buying car insurance through the KIA dealer. Period.

You buy the car at the dealer and get insurance by shopping around with insurance agents or insurance companies online. This article is an ad for State Farm, plain and simple.

Stop publishing articles like this, please.

Wait, this is about buying a car you can’t afford, insurance through the dealer, and corporate tracking?

I read this story as a “how to not live your life” story.

Thats the insurance company and not the dealer. Be a smarter consumer and dont rely on some else to give you an insurance quote

This is far from new .. the insurance companies started to push those this probably close to 10 years ago. State farm wasn't the only one. I'm actually surprised to hear ppl are still willing to use them.
And when I did have one, it didn't necessarily save me money but one thing I absolutely hated about it was it's sensitivity. Almost any stopping being done over 30mph was registering as a hard stop. If I touched my phone for directions during a drive that was an issue. There was no recognition of I was at a red light and checked my phone. It all got recorded as a negative.
I say all of that to say, the minuscule saving was not worth the hassle. I think the insurance companies understand that to an extent because I see it advertised it pushed as much. I've had 2 or 3 from several companies. I wouldn't recommend it.
I just hope her returning the car didn't adversely affect her credit.

I've had the State Farm Beacon for years. Before that I had it with Progressive before 2015. It's nothing new. Provides up to a 30% discount. You don't get extra credit for driving 10 mph under the speed limit. Just stay under 8 mph over the speed limit. It also registers hard breaking, sharp turns, aggressive acceleration, along with speeding and using your phone while driving. If your phone is mounted, you won't get penalized fir hands free use. I had a 2020 Kia Sorrento and now have a 2025 Kia Seltos. My full coverage insurance is $108 a month, a savings of about $20 with the beacon. It no longer needs to be in the wondow. It's in my glove compartment and works just fine. I can disconnect at any time by turning my Bluetooth off. I drive rideshare in a small area. So there is a lot of acceleration, braking, sharp/quick turns in my job.

We are long time State Farm customers. We bought a new Chevy Colorado this year. We live in Michigan, a no fault insurance state, so our premiums are much higher than in other states. Our insurance advisor suggested we could lower our rates by adding the Drive Safe and save. It monitors braking, acceleration, cornering, speeding, and phone distraction. You can drive a couple of miles over the speed limit without lowering your driving score. It really draws attention to how poorly other people drive. They tailgate me, they speed around me. They don't use turn signals. They flip me off. But if I get into an accident, most likely not my fault, I have proof of my driving habits - nearly 100 percent in all categories. And it has lowered my insurance with additional discounts for continued good driving habits.

Man, if I agreed to something like that I would be end up paying $1,000 a month. My middle name is leadfoot

I have had the State Farm beacon for over a month now and it’s the first time I’ve ever enrolled into this type of program (although other insurance companies have it and offered).

I always give my four year old my cell during trip. It’s the best way to keep him occupied and allows me to limit screen time to be only while driving. The beacon thinks I am on my phone when I’m not and considers me “distracted” even when I’m not.

I’ve made a conclusion that it is already not accurate. I’ve also decided I don’t really care what it records in terms of breaks, corning, etc. I drive for me, the safety of people in my car (dog included!), and others on the road. If I have to hit breaks harder than what the beacon “likes” I already decided I don’t care what the beacon “thinks.”

I do appreciate my discount though! ;)

State Farm also sent me a tracker to lower my rate aledgedly. They track all kinds of things on it. Speed, acceleration, hard stopping. Etc. I refused to turn mine on. Not so much for the way I drive but because I have a top secret military clearance and I can’t have anyone tracking me.

Perhaps Ms Roderigua has a terrible driving record including license suspensions and multiple DUI's.

I worked in insurance at more than one insurance company and it has nothing to do with this dealership. Kias and certain other brands cost more to insure because they have a history of theft. Furthermore the insurance climate is more than likely to get worse because of the tariffs and the inability to procure or the higher cost of car parts on certain brands.

I cannot fathom paying $500/mo in car insurance. Is that a real thing? $218/mo is still on the high end. I believe we pay less than $3000/yr for 2 vehicles. But ours is bundled with our home insurance, and we pay for the entire year at once. There are other ways to save money on car insurance. And that's not a really good fiscal choice to base your car purchase on your insurance rate...especially if you're paying month to month. Those rates can and do change - and never in your favor. Ooof. Not a smart move.

Not in a million years will I sell my soul to get their little discount.. Why don’t you just post your dash cam 24/7/365 on every site because you are doing WORSE.. People today are INSANE

Literally everything in this ridiculous article is incorrect! I highly suggest looking up some real facts and try again, because you sound stupid.

Since when does the dealer tell you the insurance rate. This is why poor is a choice, I'm going to buy a car that cost more cause I can a couple hundred a year on the insurance.

She bought a car she couldn't afford. Them scrambled to find a way to cover the insurance. Who buys a new car at all, but especially when they can't even afford the insurance. This story is bullshit. The problem isn't the car, it's financial self control.

Those beacons are a scam from a company that is a scam. I had one for awhile and it increased my insurance because it kept reporting me as speeding on a stretch of road that had be improved and increased the speed limit. State Farm's infor still showed the speed as 10 mph slower than the posted pictures. They didn't do anything about it when I contacted them and sent them photographic evidence of the new sign.

It also reported me braking hard at just one stop sign. From what I could tell, it was because the sign was at the bottom of a hill so the car was tilting downward when stopping. The extra tilt added to the natural dipping of the front of the car when stopping and I'm guessing it assumed the extra tilt was from breaking hard. It didn't report any hard breaking at any other stop.

I hadd been a State Farm customer for 40+ years. What finally got me to switch was when they claimed I was at fault in an accident when someone turn left from a right turn only lane and because the accelerated faster than I did (trying not to get dinged by the beacon), I hit then towards the rear of their vechicle. State Farm claimed I could have avoided the accident because of when I hit them. Never mind the fact they passed me on the right and cut in front of me.

Did the the lady in the story shop around for different insurance? This sounds like the dealer has some kind of kick back arrangement with State Farm.

Say I'm a bad driver without saying I'm a bad driver.

Fake amount, my beacon only saves me $7.50 every 6 months and I have a high score in the app.

spend less money on your janky nails.

if you didn’t understand that you’re lowjacking your ride, maybe you don’t need to be driving at all. we need smarter people on the road.

I have one in my trackhawk jeep and boy took me from 1700 a month for my jeep my wife's yukon 2 harley-davidson my house insurance my life insurance a ss trailblazer and my chrysler 300s last call literally to 828 a month honestly I thought the 1700 was good lol and I drive fast in my jeep and yes im a a hole who's always on the phone so yes it tracks alot but never had a issue with how I drive and its been 5yrs

She couldn't afford the car. Plain and simple. I also have a Kia and pay 140 a month in insurance. Having a good driving record and good credit goes a long way to getting good rates. She should have gotten a cheaper car and worked on building those two things first. People need to have their priorities straight and stay within their means!!!

I've had the drive safe and save from state farm beacon for over 6 months and I have 1 thing I like and multiple dislikes. The like is the savings. I dont save as much but full coverage on a 2024 with 0$ deductible just saved me during a hail storm. The negatives defines outweigh the benefits. The app follows everything. You can go about 9 phone over the speed limit before it docks you. In the city I live 9 mph over the speed limit is the slow lane. Even cops will get mad at you for driving that slow. Next, you have the fact state farm can use the data against you to not offer coverage if you get in an accident. This seems like a pretty secretive way to get you. The braking is ridiculous. "You should leave ample time and distance to brake slower." Well I have a choice. Get in a car accident or slam on my brakes. You decide state farm. You're limited to 20mph or slower on turns. You can't accelerate very fast. Even when trying to get on the interstate. The app will deduct your percentage everytime it thinks you messed up. I did come up with a plan though. I'll get the 10% for first 6 months. Drive very well for 6 months and get a good deal. Then not care. At that point every story or online forum I have read says they start screwing you over after the 1 year mark anyways. So overall, not worth it. Especially if they can say nevermind to paying for damages because of your data.

She had a choice. Don't buy that car. Nothing forced her to make that decision.

I had one of these in my kia soul and one thing ill say about them is be careful on getting them in certain locations. When I lived on El paso Texas, it was Fantastic! Lot more open road out there so you can drive a whole lot safer in the majority of the town. I live in orlando now and I had it for about half the year before my insurance skyrocketed from $144 a month to $550, why you ask, because of my driving history. Orlando has a lot more people not paying attention and forcing you to drive defensively, like serving out of the way when someone tried to hop in your lane or slam on their breaks in the middle of the road 😒. Anyway when called and asked them about it, state farm basically told me that I have to be smart about where I get the tracker because not all town have the safest roads.

TLDR: don't get it if you live in an area with predominantly bad drivers because you'll save money for about a year before they jack up the monthly price from like $144 to $500 + for hitting the breaks too hard.

Find another insurance company!!! Absolutely ridiculous. There are many, way better choices than SF. They did us wrong, I will never recommend them.