The Price of New cars

banshee89

Elite Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2014
Messages
535
Location
Connecticut US
Well.... To sum it up... they are insane and I cant believe people are taking out 6 year loans to pay for $40,000 vehicles.

My wife and I make North of 6 digits... and there is no way in hell I would ever spend $40,000 plus on a car. I literally cant afford it. I cant even imagine the taxes and insurance on something like that.

I understand how people do it..... but the why is what I cant understand. According to calculations made using equations that have fallen out of favor in the past 10 years but were used for 50 years before............ If you make the Medium income here in the US you can only afford a $20,000 car.... and that's pushing it.

http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2014/03/average-american-can-no-longer-afford-average-priced-new-car-or-truck/

So how long before people start needing a car bailout.? Just like I was saying about homes 20 years prior to the mortgage meltdown..... mark my words.... When you start seeing many people buying way beyond there means and the people selling using every gimmick and trick in the book to sell........ a meltdown is coming.

I know here in Connecticut they are changing the car tax laws and putting a cap on the mill rate for Autos. There was talk of there being a flat tax for all cars... but thank GOD that was squashed because it would have made people like myself who drive a old car pay the same as people who have high value cars.

I say these things because my wife's 2005 Kia Sedona is getting long in the tooth.

We checked out getting a new Kia sedona and I had a heart attack when I saw that a mid grade Kia Sedona minivan is going to run you about $35,000 . And they go up from there.

http://www.kiaofeasthartford.com/searchnew.aspx?model=Sedona&gclid=COL_xNSriscCFdYSHwodX80FmQ

we payed around 18,000 for ours back in 05.

Well... I guess its not all bad... the dealer said they would give us a $900 trade for ours and we could do a 6 year loan when he heard me say the price was insane. :lol::lol::lol:

Its a Kia.... a low priced economy car... I mean, what Happened?

Are people Insane? or do they just need that new car smell so bad that they get brainwashed?
 
For the past 10 years I've been driving around a 98 Jeep Cherokee Sport. Has over 190,000 miles on it. Shakes like crazy when it goes over 60 but still gets me to work and back and to my MDing spots. Purchased from my brother in law for $1,500. As long as I can keep putting it back together whenever it breaks, I'm going to keep driving it. There is a total of 6 people in my family and under $30,000 in income a year. No way I'm getting something of the new car lot unless I win it. Even then doubt I could afford the taxes on it.
 
For the past 10 years I've been driving around a 98 Jeep Cherokee Sport. Has over 190,000 miles on it. Shakes like crazy when it goes over 60 but still gets me to work and back and to my MDing spots. Purchased from my brother in law for $1,500. As long as I can keep putting it back together whenever it breaks, I'm going to keep driving it. There is a total of 6 people in my family and under $30,000 in income a year. No way I'm getting something of the new car lot unless I win it. Even then doubt I could afford the taxes on it.

I had a 99 with 205k on the clock that I paid $1100 for. It had the death wobble too haha. One day she started coughing up oil so I sold her for $1800. Yup, drove it for 2 yrs and turned a profit. I'm currently looking for another. Screw car payments, $700/yr property taxes, being paranoid about someone scratching your overpriced transportation. I used to be the exact opposite. I would go out and buy a $35k car or truck on a whim, drive it for a year or two, get bored and sell it. Even worse was when I would modify cars with go fast parts(turbos, etc) I'm sure whoever bought those cars from me was happy to have me eat all the depreciation. No more.

I wouldn't buy new and don't trust anything built after 07'. Too many companies cut corners to stay afloat. Did you know the average new GM has something like $3500 of advertising cost PER VEHICLE built into the price. I also just read something in the WSJ about the new f150 going as high as $60k!

We are down to 2 vehicles now. One is a 97 and the truck is an 01. I'll drive them both into the ground.
 
My first truck while in high school in the late 80's was was a 64 Chevy stepside Pickup, 283, 4 on the floor. Think it had about 230,000 on it. Original owner had died and it was his wood truck. It spent the prior 5 years sitting untouched in a field and shelled out an entire $10 for it from his daughter. Flat black, painted with a brush and channel iron for bumpers. Aired up the tires, put fresh gas in the tank, a new battery and it fired right up. Sure it burnt more oil then gas, Honestly it looked like Hiroshima whenever I started it and not much quieter. Alignment was so bad I was at the junkyard for tires every week. Even mounted a eight point rack from a whitetail to the hood. drive that around for 4 years before the block finaly cracked. I loved the truck more then any other vehicle I've ever owned.
 
My truck is a 96 Ford Ranger. Everything works, the AC will freeze you out and best of all, I paid $2000 for it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
So how long before people start needing a car bailout.?

There will be no bailout for the peasants we are being taxed and fee'd into poverty because that is the plan. It's what the leaders want.

Banks and insurance companies that cause the problems are bailed out and we the peasant get stuck with the bill, because the banks OWN all 3 branches of the US government.
 
I've never owned a new car, no real interest in buying one either. I drive used cars until they die, then buy another, pay cash. Never know what I'll end up driving. I've had some fairly nice, sporty cars. I've had some really torn up beaters. Most of the nice ones have gotten in accidents (not my fault), and it really sucked seeing the go to the scrap yard, but usually not worth using the insurance check to get them fixed, not to mention I needed transportation before that check ever came. I buy the minimal insurance, only needed it twice in my whole life. It's just transportation to me, I'm not living in it.

My clutch went out on my '94 Ranger, couple weeks ago. Think I'm going to have someone else do that for me, not that much fun. Paid $2140.00 for a '99 Grand Prix, 117k miles on it. Seems to be running good, haven't had it over 70 MPH, yet...

It just seemed insane to me, what some people's month car payments are at work. Heard about a few, that were more than my mortgage payment, when I still had one. Never had full coverage insurance, but not real sure they are going to pay for a brand new car, if it's stolen, or completely destroyed, least not within a few days. My experience has been that the drag their heels, and very reluctant to cut that check, for a well used car, pretty sure they aren't going to be any quicker on a much bigger check.

They did do a bailout for cars, sort of, back in 2008, called Cash-4-Clunkers. The government paid quite a bit, to get people into new cars. The downside, was those clunkers had to be scrapped, and couldn't be re-sold. A lot of good cars and trucks destroyed, so people could have that new car experience, for a little while, until they got repossessed. Great for the auto industry, scrapyards, but not so good for guys like me. It took some looking to find something decent running, cheap.
 
I used to buy POS used cars and trucks before kids. Then bought new so there would be more safety features and more reliability when my wife drove the kids around. Once our kids got to around 10 years old I started buying used again. Right now I absolutely love my 2000 Suburban with 180K miles on it. Sure it guzzles (15mpg) gas but you can buy a lot of gas without a monthly payment. Buying used vehicles affords us to buy NEW metal detectors!
 
I have one new car ( 2015 ) for the wife and an old used car for me. I want to make sure I have one car I don't have to worry about. I'm getting ready to buy a nice 2000 Infiniti I30 with 146,000 miles that needs an alternator. Can't beat it for $600.
 
I havent owned a vehicle since 2011. Nor do. I miss driving ans subsequent expense to do so. If I need a ride anywhere I mooch one. But now the lady whom I love very much has a sebring ragtop. Paid off. House paid off. She loves to fish as well. So now I drive the ragtop. Fish often. Retired and debt free. Someone pinch me.
 
Well... Its good to know I'm not the only one. I was beginning to think I was the one wrong when talking to other people.

I do all my own maintenance and repairs even when new. Even my wife (who is not known for being thrifty) said we should keep the old Kia as long as possible. I put new struts, tires, and breaks all the way around it. I changed the Timing belt and water pump (what a pain in the ass that was), and I had to put a new crossover exhaust pipe on it. Doing all the work myself it cost me about $1200 with over half that being the tires.

I figure its good for a least another year or 2 now........ my wife has a long commute to work so driving something that shakes down the highway like some have said, is not an option.

The problem is going to be rust. I cant fix that and the uni body is rusting. Here in Connecticut we drive through salt all winter and even 5 years out of a car without rust is considered excellent. At some point its going to become unsafe to drive.... then I am going to be forced to do something. I was thinking of getting a good used car from down south or something.... guess I will cross that bridge when I have to.
 
I can't remember my parents ever buying a new vehicle (except for the handicap van that hauls my brother's wheelchair). All the cars were bought used but in good condition with generally low mileage. These vehicles were fixed numerous times over their lifespans until they were scrapped or sold.

The price of new vehicles is insane, I know a new vehicle is definitely out of the question for me and most others in my age group that I know (unless their parents buy them one). Everything is going up in price. :(
 
I would never pay that much money for a car, that is just nuts... if i lived in the us i would buy a nice used toyota or a diesel mercedes. The last car i owned in the us was a mercedes turbo diesel wagon, i bought it one owner used for less than four thousand dollars ( cost over 45,000 new ) and it was the best car i ever owned, never gave me any problems at all.
 
Everything is more expensive than it was 10 years ago. If you can't afford new, buy a used one and save 50%. Personally, I put a LOT of miles on my truck, and I need it for towing/hauling so I can't afford the risk of buying used. Too many people neglect and abuse lease/company vehicles and trucks are subject to a lot more abuse than a regular car.

I don't complain about the high cost, I just suck it up and buy the cheapest that meets my needs. I agree with one thing you said though, people buy WAAAY more car than they can often afford. Banks want to give you massive loans on anything they can reposes. These people are typically too stupid to figure that low payments for a decade means you wind up upside down on the loan when the car goes to !!!!.
 
I agree with one thing you said though, people buy WAAAY more car than they can often afford.

I see this all the time. I live in an older (1920s) house next to a bunch of newer houses on 1/4 to 1/2 acre lots. Almost every house has a full size pick-up truck, which I almost never see being used to haul anything. These are not work trucks, either.

We have a ten-year old Dodge Caravan, which can carry 7 adults, or I can drop the seats and haul junk to the dump, or move my son into his college apartment.
 
If wages kept up with inflation we could easily afford new anything! What is sad is back in 1979 I was making $10 an hour as an auto mechanic. Now 36 years later lots of people consider a $10 an hour job a pretty good job.
 
I was an auto mechanic for almost 15 years. I despise working on them now. I have about an 80 mile round trip for work. I buy a new truck every three or four years. It's in the budget and am not always working on them to keep them going. I get in this same argument with some guys at work but enjoy my vacation time and not taking days off work to patch up a broke down vehicle.
 
The biggest reason cars are so expensive is because of government regulations. Since the 1970s, the government has been requiring more and more from manufacturers. Cars have to be ever more fuel efficient so they have to keep making them lighter and redesigning every aspect. They also have to produce these cars with ever more stringent EPA regulations. All those costs are passed directly to the buyer.
 
The biggest reason cars are so expensive is because of government regulations. Since the 1970s, the government has been requiring more and more from manufacturers. Cars have to be ever more fuel efficient so they have to keep making them lighter and redesigning every aspect. They also have to produce these cars with ever more stringent EPA regulations. All those costs are passed directly to the buyer.
The old Diesel Rabbits and Gas Dodge Onmi's got 40 to 45 MPG back in the late 70's and early 80's.
 
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