1 in 3 Americans cannot afford a car repair

[Andrew1972]

According to AAA study 1 in 3 Americans cannot afford average $500 repair with going into debt.
http://newsroom.aaa.com/2017/04/one-three-u-s-drivers-cannot-pay-unexpected-car-repair-bill/

This explains possibly why so many folks buy new cars and prefer perpetual payments/warranty. I feel for poor people however it seems more like a personal finance issue.

My wife and I driver 10yr old/200k vehicles each but fortunately can afford repairs which happen less often then you'd think but can be hefty.

 

[JHZR2]

I know people who look at it that way. Example:

A $1000 repair is just 2-3 car payments. If you got the new car you wouldn't have to pay for repairs and it would cover payments. Plus of course you never know when it will need the next repair.

Going into debt is probably more a function of not having savings for a car repair (or purchase).

 

[Mr Nice]

Some idiots can afford every new iPhone that comes out, big flat panel TV, cable or satellite with 200 channels.... but can't afford a car repair ?

 

[eljefino]

Then there are people who'll pay finance $3k for the deluxe model with bluetooth whatever and toosh warmers but $3k for a new transmission to double the service life is completely out of the question.

 

[skyactiv]

Another divide thread. Poor people don't typically buy brand new cars. There are going to be low paying jobs that keep people poor and unable to save money. The mentality in America is that they need more education because we can magically exist without people scrubbing toilets... .

 

[eljefino]

Cars are expensive because people are willing to finance them. If we said no they'd get cheaper, and with less content.

The 3 cyl mitsubishi mirage is like every 80's econobox but sells way fewer units.

 

[A1O]

See it every day at work. I have seen people get rid of cars cause the tires cost too much in their eyes. I am a mechanic I don't buy a car unless I can fix it and keep it on the road in good shape.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Yet everyone runs around with a brand new iPhone.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Some idiots can afford every new iPhone that comes out, big flat panel TV, cable or satellite with 200 channels.... but can't afford a car repair ?

Hint: All of those are purchased on credit as well. I can count on one had all the people I know with high-end phones that are paid for.

 

[splinter]

Quote:
AAA advises drivers to save $50 per month for car care fund.


Half of the population has below-average intelligence. Seems many 'educated' folks don't use logic too often, either.

 

[Kira]

This should be "an example" thread or one where personal, episodic "data" can be arranged.

A guy I know resents having to pay to change his CVT fluid at the recommended 60K. He says he bought the car because it has a 100K warranty.

He's working on selling the 2013 cr with 63K because "it still has some value". Whatta fool.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Some idiots can afford every new iPhone that comes out, big flat panel TV, cable or satellite with 200 channels.... but can't afford a car repair?


Priorities.

I saw people in Indonesia with a dirt floor and no glass in their windows watching a TV in their "home".

I personally know homeless people with cell phones. They might be a pre-paid "TracPhone" or "GoPhone" but they have a phone. Meals are often free, so money is spent on a phone instead.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Cars are expensive because people are willing to finance them. If we said no they'd get cheaper, and with less content.
They're also expensive because the gub-mint keeps raising the amount of req'd equipment & minimum EPA mileage.

They're also expensive because of large portion of society loves "bling"...until it fails after time and requires $$$$ to fix.

They're also expensive because it's no longer about transportation, much less "basic" transportation. It's now about the "experience", the "aura", "riding high" (except now everyone else is also 'riding high' save for us old sleddrivers.)

Just hit the news here: 3 teenage girls were killed because their headlights weren't turned on. Amazing you could actually see in a dark area with no streetlights where the accident occurred, but there it is. No telling what they were doing, but I'm guessing there were no dash lights either...that would be noticeable to most people.

Unfortunately, they paid with their lives....

 

[Andrew1972]

A smartphone or any cell phone is not a luxury nor is a flat screen tv given the recent price drops I have seen. The associated subscriptions of normal cable or service/"free" phone are what get people.

Going into debt over a $500 repair is a rough way to live as credit interest rate is very expensive on such things.

 

[Dr_Who]

Originally Posted By: madRiver
A smartphone or any cell phone is not a luxury nor is a flat screen tv given the recent price drops I have seen. The associated subscriptions of normal cable or service/"free" phone are what get people.

Going into debt over a $500 repair is a rough way to live as credit interest rate is very expensive on such things.


But those things ARE a luxury if you can't afford to repair perhaps your most basic tool to function in life today, your vehicle. If you can't keep the car functioning to get to your job you most certainly can get yourself a dumb phone from Tracfone, and skip the TV all together. Bottom line, you don't NEED a smartphone or a flatscreen TV...but you NEED a car to get to work much of the time.

 

[DemoFly]

It's easy to budget if you have no risk of surprise expenses.

I don't mind paying $200 a month to be absolved of financial risk and transportation issues.

Make sure your warranty lasts longer than your auto loan

 

[cashmoney]

In 90% of cases in the US people who are broke have a spending problem and not an income problem. I have relatives that worked menial jobs and never earned much per hour in their entire lives but still managed to stay out of debt and save for retirement because they were not undisciplined fools. I have also known more than a few serious dumb "donkeys" with relatively high paying jobs who spend every single dime (and more) that they earned for years on toys and other flashy [censored] and then end up 60+ years old with nothing and in serious debt. And this behavior isn't based on education or intellectual smarts - it is all about exercising some self control, and having enough basic common sense to plan a little for the future.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Yet everyone runs around with a brand new iPhone.


Not me. If you handed me one, I wouldn't have the foggiest clue on how to use it.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Another divide thread. Poor people don't typically buy brand new cars. There are going to be low paying jobs that keep people poor and unable to save money. The mentality in America is that they need more education because we can magically exist without people scrubbing toilets... .


Amazing how many folks missed this. We're not talking about the "poor" folks here, we are talking about hard working folks who are struggling.

I can say this because for a time, I was struggling too. Lucky I was able to fix my cars, bu gave up other stuff( not like an iphone-but snacks I loved) so make sure we could get from point A to point B.

I've got work to do on our cars now that it is warm enough, but I can afford it without issue.....

I know folks struggling just to put gas in theirs....

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Yet everyone runs around with a brand new iPhone.

Not me. If you handed me one, I wouldn't have the foggiest clue on how to use it.

A fact I'm sure you're proud of.