New car prices are out of control

[mvbighead]

Well, it really depends on your financial situation. I have friends living with their parents who drive really nice cars because they don't have to pay rent, so paying $600+ a month on a car isn't a financial hit for them because they're not paying $900+ a month for an apartment.

And a lot of it depends on what your personal goals are. I know people who dump every paycheck into their cars and love it, but go cheap on everything else. I also know people who drive old cars and maintain them well and save a ton of money. If money savings is your goal, great. If you want a new car and can afford it, great. I think the only time it gets to be a bad idea is if it makes you financially irresponsible - if you can't pay bills because of your car payment, maybe it's not such a good idea :awe:

You can't "afford" a new car if you're living with mom and pop. Sorry, but that point has me laughing. If you can afford a $600 a month payment, you shouldn't be living at home.

Maybe that's just me, but I'd like to think mom and dad want their privacy just as much as I do.

 

[ponyo]

Nope. I'm getting smarter with age. A different take on it now. It really dawned on me driving around in that expensive vehicle.

So your priorities changed. It happens. Let others enjoy their new cars without you preaching or looking down on them.

 

[lxskllr]

Except it doesn't work that way much anymore. Used car prices are totally out of whack. When I bought my last car, a Fit, the prices on year old private sale used Fits were within a thousand bucks of new.

That's ridiculous. I'm out of touch with car prices. I bought my 3 year old Jeep(the newest car I ever bought) in 2000. Time's coming up on getting a new vehicle. I've thought about going the other direction, and getting something very old. They break down more, but I can do more work myself. I also like the look better. New cars pretty much suck for appearance. I could count on one hand the cars I like the look of that are in a reasonable price range.

 

[mvbighead]

I have roadside assistance on all 3 of my vehicles (newest being my wifes 08). Any breakdowns and they'll tow it for me for free. I know it's not technically "free" but it is good piece of mind for a few extra dollars a month.

Actually, I think Allstate does something for us as far as towing goes. Only used it once, but definitely a good point.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

You can find a good used car at a fair price. Don't think you'll "steal" one anymore as used cars have went up but I did find a clean truck below blue book. You just have to be patient.

 

[purbeast0]

Nope. That's the crazy thing. My previous truck was paid for and I have a savings account. I told people I got rid of it because I couldn't afford the truck which I felt I couldn't even though it was paid for. Felt good buying a cheap vehicle and not even flinching at the price. I am that guy that can afford whatever vehicle but decided to drive a beater. Feels good man.

this post makes absolutely zero sense.

so you got rid of a car, because you had $0 left on it, and couldn't afford it?

but you can afford whatever vehicle you wnat but decide to drive a beater?

what feels better than that is being able to afford nice things and actually be able to afford them and not worry about them. not making up excuses as to why you have a beater.

 

[edro]

I have always driven older cars that I paid cash for.
I currently have a 97 Accord with 265,000 miles on it.

I can't even imagine buying a new car.

 

[Kaido]

You can't "afford" a new car if you're living with mom and pop. Sorry, but that point has me laughing. If you can afford a $600 a month payment, you shouldn't be living at home.

Maybe that's just me, but I'd like to think mom and dad want their privacy just as much as I do.

I dunno, a couple of my friends do it. Sort of like the "Failure to Launch" movie :biggrin: They finished school, they're working professionally, just no real reason to have their own apartment. Why waste the money? If you like to party or bring home dates, it's probably not a great setup, but if not, why not live at home? They get to travel, have a nice car, go to nice restaurants, and still put something in the bank. It's not for everyone, but it's not all bad

 

[waggy]

It boggles my mind how people are willing to take on a payment for 5 years with total prices of cars being close to half of their homes value sometimes. I just bought a cheap cash truck to replace a high dollar truck that I had sold. Just never felt right having so much money in transportation. I really feel like 30k vehicles should be driven by people that make 150k a year or more.
Looking for the off topic perspective please.

I agree. its insane.

I have only owned one new car EVER. even though i could afford it and my dad owned a new car lots. it's just not worth it.

i have owned a lot of trucks too (had a farm and kinda need one). i sold it after i moved off the farm (big mistake) and found i need one enough to justify having one.

i also wanted a new daily vehicle. figured i would sell the tarus and get one. I looked at trucks (new) since they had a great deal going on. WTF most cost around $34k! WTF! i can afford it but not sure i want to spend that much lol

i will go back to buying 1-2 years old. you can get one with very low miles and far far cheaper.

 

[ponyo]

While I agree with you personally, I have no problem with people spending their money however they want. I make enough to "afford" an M3 and I DO pay my mortgage (only a handful of years left on that though), but I drive a 15 year old car with almost 250K miles that I paid $2000 for. I've gotten 70K miles out of that car and spent only a few hundred dollars on repairs and maintenance, so I'd have to get over a million miles out of a new $30K car to break even . When it dies, I probably will buy a new (inexpensive) car if used car prices are as out of whack as they are now.

We got my wife a brand new minivan 6.5 years ago because used vans were too expensive relative to new.

:thumbup: People have different needs or interest. If people want to spend tens or even hundreds of thosands of dollars on cars, good for them. I don't judge them. My relatives change cars once or twice a year. He spent ~$300k on couple new cars the past month. It's not something I would do but it makes him happy. You only have one life. Live it.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

I dunno, a couple of my friends do it. Sort of like the "Failure to Launch" movie :biggrin: They finished school, they're working professionally, just no real reason to have their own apartment. Why waste the money? If you like to party or bring home dates, it's probably not a great setup, but if not, why not live at home? They get to travel, have a nice car, go to nice restaurants, and still put something in the bank. It's not for everyone, but it's not all bad

This is common with asian people, they usually have their parents live with them anyway to help raise kids, so why not?

I know if I wanted to live at home and work my parents would not care at all, they would probably encourage it actually.

 

[highland145]

That's ridiculous. I'm out of touch with car prices. I bought my 3 year old Jeep(the newest car I ever bought) in 2000. Time's coming up on getting a new vehicle. I've thought about going the other direction, and getting something very old. They break down more, but I can do more work myself. I also like the look better. New cars pretty much suck for appearance. I could count on one hand the cars I like the look of that are in a reasonable price range.

Paid ~$24K for the Tacoma in 2010, new. It's kbb.com retail/private party is ~$24K:biggrin:. Real tempted to take a $3K check and trade it in for a new one. $1K/year to drive a new truck is tempting.

Thank cash for clunkers,poor economy, even hurricane sandy.

 

[rh71]

lots of people who aren't into cars in this thread. Maybe you spend stupid amounts on computer parts instead when someone else does fine with a $400 laptop. Same thing, different scales.

Anyway, you can get a mid-size car like a Sonata for $22k and it has a 5-star safety rating, 10 year warranty, and gets 30mpg+. That's what my wife did even though she makes stupid money. She's not into cars. I would have an M5 if I were her. Sex on wheels.

Some people here don't understand it seemingly because they feel others' likes are dumb.

 

[mvbighead]

I dunno, a couple of my friends do it. Sort of like the "Failure to Launch" movie :biggrin: They finished school, they're working professionally, just no real reason to have their own apartment. Why waste the money? If you like to party or bring home dates, it's probably not a great setup, but if not, why not live at home? They get to travel, have a nice car, go to nice restaurants, and still put something in the bank. It's not for everyone, but it's not all bad

Oh I'm not saying it's all bad, but chances are, the parents would like to have an empty house again. Maybe.

As well as, if I am living at home, I'm storing away $400+ a month and hoping to build some money for a down payment on a place of my own. And who knows, maybe they have more money than they'll know what to do with, but I would take my "savings" from living with mom and dad to use as the difference on a bigger car payment.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

this post makes absolutely zero sense.

so you got rid of a car, because you had $0 left on it, and couldn't afford it?

but you can afford whatever vehicle you wnat but decide to drive a beater?

what feels better than that is being able to afford nice things and actually be able to afford them and not worry about them. not making up excuses as to why you have a beater.

Expensive truck is paid for. Expensive truck sells for a good fair price and puts a good chunk in bank. Take a small portion of it and buy another vehicle that does the same job of getting you from point A to point B. Profit.

 

[purbeast0]

Expensive truck is paid for. Expensive truck sells for a good fair price and puts a good chunk in bank. Take a small portion of it and buy another vehicle that does the same job of getting you from point A to point B. Profit.

404 - not being able to afford it not found.

 

[Anubis]

Expensive truck is paid for. Expensive truck sells for a good fair price and puts a good chunk in bank. Take a small portion of it and buy another vehicle that does the same job of getting you from point A to point B. Profit.

thats how i read it. he just told his friends he could not afford it I assume to avoid questions like "why did you sell your truck and buy a beater"

 

[child of wonder]

Normally I would agree. In the past my wife and I have always purchased slightly used vehicles. However, recently I decided "fuck it" and bought a $28k brand new car because I wanted it. Never owned a brand new car and wanted something fun for once, not just another economical small 4 banger.

It'll be paid off within the next 9-21 months as I get a ~$30k and ~$15k stock grant at those times.

 

[mvbighead]

404 - not being able to afford it not found.

It's pretty simple really. You have a car that has value (and a lot of it) and you feel like the money could be better used elsewhere. Having that cushion in the bank makes a number of things possible, but having it stuck in a depreciating asset does next to nothing.

It's not a question of whether you can or cannot afford it, it is a question of whether it is necessary.

I encountered a similar situation with my wife's Solara. Eventually, we determined we needed a good winter vehicle that could comfortably carry more than 2 passengers and tall people. Sold the Solara for 11k and bought a Jeep for 6k, and used the difference to pay off debt.

We could afford to pay all of our bills, but it became much easier when 4k was added to the bank account. I may be wrong, but I believe that is what the op means by not being able to afford it. Sure, you can make the payments, but it makes your day to day spending a little tight. EDIT - And in the OP's case, the payments aren't in play, but the money in the bank sure is.

 

[TXHokie]

404 - not being able to afford it not found.

My F-150 fill up is 80-100 bucks a pop depending on the price of gas. It can get expensive if it's your daily driver and you have to fill up once a week. For me I go about 6 weeks between fill ups normally so it doesn't bother me.

 

[cronos]

New cars are notoriously bad purchases. Where else can you buy something for 50k that, in 3-4 years, will be worth 25k?

What about buying a brand new car for $25k that in 3 years is worth ~$22k?

 

[purbeast0]

well he said he felt like he told his friends he couldn't afford it even though it was paid off, then says which he felt he couldn't. that just didn't make much sense to me.

i definitely know what you mean by necessary or not though.

 

[Tweak155]

I'm in a similar situation. I have 3 vehicles, all 2010. Two of them are paid off (paid off within 2 months of buying them - only took the loans to get another $2k off the price) and the third one has a 1.9% rate so not in a hurry to dump it.

One of my paid off vehicles is an F150. Cost about $28k when the used vehicles sub 30k miles were going for $28k (I got a decent deal). I bought it when I was working out of home but now I have a 60mile round trip commute to work. So I bought the 3rd vehicle as the savings in gas not only covers the insurance, but also can be put towards the payment (after a few years I'll be "making" money).

But yeah for the most part, the F150 sits and I've been debating just getting a check for it. Problem is I really like it. Sucks.

 

[Red Storm]

It boggles my mind how people are willing to take on a payment for 5 years with total prices of cars being close to half of their homes value sometimes.

Eh? I'd like to see these houses.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Eh...I had a '98 RAM with 260,000 miles. No way I was keeping that any longer. Graduated, got a job, and treated myself. It doesn't stretch me thin by any means.