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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,550 posts, read 81,117,303 times
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Sounds right, with the average price now at about $36,000, with minimal down at 3%. The 10% payment increase makes sense since the average car price went up 14% in those 3 years.
Yup. I love when people say they NEED $30,000+ to get a new car... no, you really don't. If that's what you WANT to spend, go right ahead! But to say that's required for anything reliable is nonsense, especially if you're willing to go gently used. I bought myself a 2 year-old (in 2016) Volkswagen from Enterprise with 40,000 miles and a 2-year warranty + roadside service for $12,900.
There's two sides to this. Those that say fleet rentals are well maintained (which is really just on time oil changes and tire rotation in the first 40k). Others say that rentals are 'abused' and that people don't treat a rental as nicely as they would their own car. Truth maybe lies somewhere in the middle? I'm not up for buying a former rental but my parents have and the vehicles have done ok.
Sometimes the depreciation on late model lightly used single owner cars(corollas, civics) may not be enough to warrant missing the latest tech or the confidence in knowing how the vehicle was treated.
I drove a Civic EX hatchback just a few weeks ago and I was genuinely shocked at how nice it was for the price - 0-60mph was something like 6.8 secs and it got 40mpg EPA-rated highway mileage at the same time! It was quiet, rode well and handled great, 5-stars safety rated. Also came with a sunroof and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. MSRP was just $24K! I didn't wind up purchasing it, but it wasn't a matter of inadequate quality or features, it was really that getting in and out of this low-slung car wasn't easy for me at age 59.
Biggest regrets of purchasing a 2018 civic last year-the infotainment isn't as nice as it seems on first glance, and the getting in and out of the car thing.(even as a fit 40-something)
Who cares. I know people who think of nothing of dropping $7K on a 1 week vacation that has a 100% depreciation in value 1 week later.
1)Either people make more money and $600 car payments are proportional to what people would have paid back in the day.
2)They know they can keep cars longer (length of car ownership is also at an all time high).
3) they like cars more than they used to and are willing to spend a larger portion of their income to get what they want.
4) they want to keep up with the Joneses and will go heavily in debt to get it.
None of these scenarios have anything to do with anybody else. Anybody who cares obviously has some other issues to work out.
Location: Danbury CT covering all of Fairfield County
2,636 posts, read 7,428,667 times
Reputation: 1378
Exactly why I'm starting to put some extra $ aside for my new car that I need in about 1.5 years when my lease is up. Plan to do about 25% down til have a reasonable payment. Negoitated price has to be under $27,000
Last edited by jdhall1; 03-01-2019 at 02:08 PM..
Reason: missed something
You sir have hit that proverbial nail squarely on the head.
People are paying huge sums overall on an asset that began depreciating the second it rolled off car lot.
Even in mint condition after five or six years that vehicle will have taken a huge hit in value, and unless we're talking about something extremely rare/highly sought after likely never will never fetch total cost of purchase price plus total financing.
It's a tool, not an investment vehicle. After five or six years a not insignificant portion of the tools useful lifespan has been expended. Generally the first five years are the most expensive to own. The next 5 to 10 are the sweet spot. After that the tool is pretty useless. The cost and hassle of keeping it operating generally mean it's no longer worthwhile to keep around. Low mileage, do your own labor and have a backup vehicle, lots of variables but generally a 15 to 20 year old car is pretty much useless.
You mean people concerned about the economy and the downstream societal affects of citizens carrying heavy debt loads? Those issues to work out?
Don’t pretend that’s a concern of yours.
Seriously, explain to us how this will inevitably affect your life.
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