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If you don't understand why, you're either incapable of understanding why, or you simply don't want to understand why.
When the economy is getting better, auto sales rise.
When the economy is getting worse, auto sales fall.
How is that so complicated that you cannot understand it, I don't know why.
And yet, by every metric, the economy is doing better. So either auto sales aren’t really down, or the conclusion you drew is false. Which one is it?
If they aren't, there's a reason for that. Likely, they aren't able to buy any new car at all.
No doubt, Auto's have become a status symbol. They don't want to drive that $15k car....they want to drive that 50k+ car, cause it makes them look cool....
In the third quarter of 2018, used-vehicle transaction prices hit their highest level on record since 2005. The used car market typically sees a 1 percent decrease in pricing from Q2 to Q3 due to seasonality, but this quarter saw a more modest drop of 0.3 percent. The average used-vehicle price reached $20,085 in Q3 2018, marking a 3.5 percent increase year over year.
My three car purchases since 2009 have been used of 1 or 2 years old. New cars have gone up too much and then too much depreciation comes off them during the first years. Probably more and more people are feeling the same about buying cars.
And yet, by every metric, the economy is doing better. So either auto sales aren’t really down, or the conclusion you drew is false. Which one is it?
He's wrong.
Today's cars are not the throw-away items they once were. And they are damned expensive! People are not dumb enough to dump their car every 3 years like they used to.
Another factor is the aging population. We oldsters are very reluctant to trade a reliable car that we understand for one that may not be as good.
Economy is doing fine.
Why try to pick some niche area and claim it represents the whole economy by extension when you can just refer to the leading economic indicators from some independent source like BLS?
Specific to cars, this article explains what is going on and it's more industry specific than an indicator.
The data suggest that more and more buyers are getting squeezed out of the new vehicle market and are likely turning to used cars as manufacturers pull back on cheaper vehicles
P.S. This is essentially the comment made by Stillwater in post #33
He's wrong.
Today's cars are not the throw-away items they once were. And they are damned expensive! People are not dumb enough to dump their car every 3 years like they used to.
Another factor is the aging population. We oldsters are very reluctant to trade a reliable car that we understand for one that may not be as good.
Economy is doing fine.
I'm waiting for one of the new trucks to become a slightly used truck. Unless you can write it off buying a new truck is rather senseless.
Let’s talk down the economy so that that we can get the guy I don’t like out of office.
Pretty much this. American auto manufacturers have been saying for some time now that they will stop building cars and stick to trucks only. It's not a surprise.
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