New Vehicle Prices: I don't get it?!?

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Originally Posted By: pbm
Originally Posted By: CT8
Yep 72 month financing allows people to purchase what they can't afford.

It's the (new) American way (live above your means)...Our government is the biggest culprit...

Let's see... Tax breaks for those who didn't need it, two unfunded wars, American industry leaving the country and getting tax breaks to boot. I wonder why.


Silverado12,
Read www.Dailyjobcuts.com
Things aren't sunshine and roses the president says it is.

JHZR2,
$27K was for an IRA and 401K. I forgot about the $6K voluntary pension I contributed. Its either the ant or grasshopper mentality when retirement planning.




Depends on location. here in Utah there isn't enough people to fill jobs at EVERY SKILL AND EDUCATION LEVEL.

 

[Andrew1972]

Originally Posted By: SwedishRider


Who's right? Who is better off? Sometimes I wonder...

Living on debt to me is not great with $$300k) what does it matter? A few friends in medical field(specialists) make $400k+ and they make payments on an AMG or even lowly Acura TL beyond the Ethan Allen furniture. Reality is they get about 1 month off per year and take nice vacations etc beyond med school payment. They don't seem like stressed folks at all. They don't worry about retirement as it won't be hard to fund that once they pay off home, college etc.

I think some folks get off on having retirement money sitting while others enjoy life in the moment. Personally I think a balance is key. My wife and I do okay household income and we cannot afford new cars but that is us not wanting payments and owning old vehicles that were paid for when purchased.

 

[HM12460]

One of my own rules has served me well. There is no car, truck, boat, camper, motorcycle, or other material possession (except your house) worth over $12,000. If it (truck, for example) is needed to assist you in making a living, then this does not apply. Obviously an independent trucker will spend well over that for a semi truck, or a farmer may spend $300,000 for a new combine. That's fine, it is needed. If you're going to spend a stupid amount of money on something, put it into your house. You live there! Putting money away for retirement, kid's college, retiring early, etc... is way more worthy than spending $50,000 for a p.o.s. pick up truck or any other depreciating asset.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: HM12460
One of my own rules has served me well. There is no car, truck, boat, camper, motorcycle, or other material possession (except your house) worth over $12,000. If it (truck, for example) is needed to assist you in making a living, then this does not apply. Obviously an independent trucker will spend well over that for a semi truck, or a farmer may spend $300,000 for a new combine. That's fine, it is needed. If you're going to spend a stupid amount of money on something, put it into your house. You live there! Putting money away for retirement, kid's college, retiring early, etc... is way more worthy than spending $50,000 for a p.o.s. pick up truck or any other depreciating asset.

There aren't many new cars, trucks, SUV's with MSRP less than $12,000.

 

[SumpChump]

Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
.... too bad there aren't any ladies paying attention.


They are away busily buying $300 bags and $50 gallons of cute paint.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: HM12460
One of my own rules has served me well. There is no car, truck, boat, camper, motorcycle, or other material possession (except your house) worth over $12,000. If it (truck, for example) is needed to assist you in making a living, then this does not apply. Obviously an independent trucker will spend well over that for a semi truck, or a farmer may spend $300,000 for a new combine. That's fine, it is needed. If you're going to spend a stupid amount of money on something, put it into your house. You live there! Putting money away for retirement, kid's college, retiring early, etc... is way more worthy than spending $50,000 for a p.o.s. pick up truck or any other depreciating asset.

There aren't many new cars, trucks, SUV's with MSRP less than $12,000.

Then you don't buy new obviously. Its not a bad idea actually, except maybe in buying a pickup, a $12k truck may cost you more per mile than a more expensive one?

 

[Phishin]

What about today? Why not ENJOY today? Today is all we have. Live in the present. It's a great mantra.

I'm turning 40 years old next week. There are things that I like to do that I'll only be able to enjoy while I'm fairly young. So, I want to enjoy those things today, while I can.

I have a small "hobby" farm where I raise pet goats and rabbits. It's just for fun. I enjoy it. It costs me a decent amount of money I could be contributing to my 401k instead, but enjoying my investment.

I own 3 cars. No car payments. I like that. But if I had a long commute or spent a lot of time driving, I'd have ZERO problem selling my plain-Jane Accord LX for an car that is REALLY enjoyable to drive....like a Porsche, BMW, or Benz.

I am fairly frugal and don't splurge on much. But when I do, I feel "justified". I make a lot of sacrifices to save money. But if I feel like I'd really get some "value" out of something "fancy", I know I can do it because I always pay myself first (save $$$$ for later).

I bought my truck for $2k 3 years ago. 50k miles later, I still drive it to work. I paid $14.2k cash for my Honda 2 years ago, and I'll drive the wheels off of it or give it to my son when he turns 16 or goes to college. I paid $14k for that Subaru 1.5 years ago, and we paid that loan off in 16 months. Zero car payments is NICE!!

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Olas
If you can't afford to buy outright for cash you need to look for something cheaper. Borrowing money is an idiots game - my mortgage is the only borrow I've ever taken, and I paid it off early because I hate debt & interest.


Let me get this straight. You could have rented, or lived at home, until you could have saved up enough to buy your house with cash. But you did not.

Sounds like a lazy loan to me.

Quote:
Allowing a car to rust is just lazy. God invented underbody pressure washer attachments for a reason, and he also invented underseal for a similar and related reason.

Maybe if you guys didn't let your cars rust to dust in 5 or 6 years you wouldn't have to keep borrowing money to buy new ones?


We have six months of winter here. Not going to turn my driveway into a sheet of ice. Besides after 200kmiles the reliability classically takes a tumble. 10 years, 200k, time to move on. Otherwise it will be in the shop for expensive repairs while one is renting a car in the meantime.

Someday it'd be nice to be close to work--but I hate city life.

 

[Jasper8146]

I totally "get" what you're saying. Given my understanding of most people's incomes, I have no idea who can afford to buy any car brand new. Just saw a new Infiniti Q50, which is supposed to suck as a car, and it had a sticker price of $53,000. Insane! I believe a new Cadillac Escalade can sticker for $95,000+, which is even more insane. When I was recently looking at cars to buy one, a new Audi Q5 would approach $50,000 and even ones several years old were way into the $40,000's and those were all 4 cylinder models, not the 6 cylinder which is a lot more still. You're right about the new Kia Sorentos--saw several stickered at $40,000 and above, and even worse, those Kias would depreciate like crazy. A 4 year old Lexus RX350 with 55k was $30,000. Ended up buying a 2012 certified Cadillac SRX with 35k for $32,400. A new one similarly equipped would have been over $45k, maybe more. My suggestion is to look at cars 3 years old and older and try and find one in good shape with decent mileage. Back in 2007, I got a loaded out 2003 Acura MDX with 62,500 miles for $23,000 which was half of what the sticker price had been. But be careful buying used. Before I bought my Cadillac, I had seen a bunch of late model, low mileage, high priced used vehicles that were all either beat up cosmetically and/or had non-verifiable, poor or non-existent maintenance histories. Several had been in accidents. I suggest looking at a certified vehicle 3 to 4 years old--I think that's the sweet spot of automotive value. One final note. Be sure to make sure you ENJOY DRIVING the car whatever it is. No matter what deal you make on it, if you don't enjoy it it will be a waste. I made that mistake back in 2014 when I focused too much on getting a good deal and a car in great condition. I did get a great deal on a 2011 Infiniti EX35 with only 10,000 miles, but I never enjoyed the car--that's what I traded in on the Cadillac which I'm much happier with driving. I didn't get as good a deal on the Cadillac money-wise, but I am still way happier every day when I drive it. Good luck.

 

[TiredTrucker]

It is insane the price of some newer vehicles. For comparison purposes, I bought a 2013 Freightliner semi truck, 70" walk in, mid roof sleeper (with opening side windows) with built in refrigerator. Nice Panasonic surround sound stereo system. 18 speed transmission. Air ride suspension throughout. Premium Noise Abatement and Arctic insulation packages. Hanging clothes closet and even additional enclosed shelf space to store more than I would ever need to carry for personal stuff. Almost as much cabinet space as many smaller travel trailers. Signature series interior with woodgrain trim throughout. Complete inverter/battery charger unit for in sleeper AC power and with shore power connections to pass thru power and keep truck batteries charged. Webasto diesel fired heater to keep interior warm in winter when truck is shut off. it just turned over 440K miles on the original drive tires, and 230K on the current set of steer tires. And painted in the very same Dupont Viper Blue Pearl Elite paint that the 2013 Dodge Viper got. All in all, the best heavy truck I have ever owned. I drove it off the dealer lot, brand new, for a whopping $115K total price before trade. There is no way I would ever consider paying some 80-90K or more on a stupid car or pickup. Even the truck warranties put the auto and pickup OEM's to shame. Base 300K warranty on the truck and engine with base 750K mile warranty on trans and rear differentials. The auto and pickup OEM's are ripping folks off.

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Watched a co worker best bud do everything right with money...but someone forced him to rear end another car (a set up with a family car in the front)-and grabbed a crooked lawyer-taking him for everything he owns....it's been super scary to watch....


Your friend didn't have enough insurance if he lost everything to scammers, plain and simple.
He should also work on his driving and situational awareness skills, too, as you shouldn't be "forced" to rear end anyone, ever.

BC.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
And painted in the very same Dupont Viper Blue Pearl Elite paint that the 2013 Dodge Viper got. All in all, the best heavy truck I have ever owned. I drove it off the dealer lot, brand new, for a whopping $115K total price before trade.


Wouldn't mind seeing some pictures of that truck. Even some interior pics.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Watched a co worker best bud do everything right with money...but someone forced him to rear end another car (a set up with a family car in the front)-and grabbed a crooked lawyer-taking him for everything he owns....it's been super scary to watch....


Your friend didn't have enough insurance if he lost everything to scammers, plain and simple.
He should also work on his driving and situational awareness skills, too, as you shouldn't be "forced" to rear end anyone, ever.

BC.


Agreed! I have assets so my insurance goes way,way beyond the state minimums.

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: Jasper8146
I totally "get" what you're saying. Given my understanding of most people's incomes, I have no idea who can afford to buy any car brand new.


Easy.
Don't have kids.

How many of the people on this forum have kids?
2, 3, 4 or more?

You have so many kids, and then complain you don't have money for yourself.

I don't have kids.
I have money for myself.
I have a nice house, nice collection of vehicles, and a smile on my face.

I also have 7 nieces and nephews, so I get to spend time with them whenever I need a kid fix. That's also how I remind myself I made the right choice for me by not having any of my own.

Oh yeah.
My sister really got mad a few years back when she asked how I get to afford new cars and a new house, and I replied by telling her that I have a good job, a great wife, and I don't have kids, and that's all it took in order to have the other things. She recently decided to divorce her husband, throw him out, while she doesn't have a job, has a mortgage, 3 kids, and a minivan payment. He didn't do anything to deserve it, yet she blamed him for everything that she had in her head that suddenly went wrong.

He now works at my company.
I think he's much better off, too.

BC.

 

[philipp10]

Never look for a late model used car at a dealer. They are almost always over-priced. Try private parties and get to the 4-6 year old mark. The dealers are asking too much for used cars.

 

[philipp10]

I have heard that there is a shortage of small SUV's on the used market. If you can, always buy what was selling heavily 4 years earlier. In a couple years, there will be a glut of 4 door sedans on the market (what sold heavily 2011 thru 2014).

I have also heard late model minivans are hard to find and expensive to. Same issue, very few were sold in then last 5 years.

 

[wowthisexists]

Brand new cars are $300/mo. Party on.

 

[TiredTrucker]

The rear end collision thing is called a "swoop and squat" in the insurance and law enforcement arenas. It is fairly common accident fraud issue. I agree, one needs to be totally on their toes when driving, not worrying about what you will be doing this weekend, texting, etc. Commercial truck drivers are especially susceptible to this kind of scam. After all, bigger vehicle, big company, BIG MONEY! And the ambulance chasing lawyers are on it like white on rice. One of the best arguments for having dash cam. True, the driver is not "forced" to rear end someone, but it may not always be avoidable, irregardless of capability and alertness of the driver. These swoop and squat tactics have to be noticed before they occur. After over 5 million documented and accident free miles as a commercial driver, I can almost predict what another driver will do by little thing like how they look in their mirror, or look around, or little movements of the vehicle long before they make their lane change, etc. It is why they call it Defensive Driving.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: SwedishRider

So, anyone have any insight into what is going on?


$18 Trillion in debt.....your US dollar is getting worthless.

 

[TiredTrucker]

That is true! The value of the dollar is changing, not the value of the vehicles. One cannot just run the printing presses and pump out more money without affect the value of the money already in circulation. Only if the economy was going gangbusters.

In 1900, a man could take a 1 ounce gold coin, and buy a hand tailored suit, and enjoy a first class meal in a fine restaurant and then attend the theatre.

Today, that same 1 ounce gold coin will buy the very same thing. The value of products don't change, just the paper money.