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83% OF AMERICANS CANNOT AFFORD A NEW CAR.

FrancSevin

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
FROM A FRIEND ON ANOTHER FORUM;

I have been following a utube show called caredge.com where the focus is on helping the consumer understand and navigate the tricky world of car buying. the Host has 50 plus years in Automotive Sales, evident in the web site which offers tons of real time industry data.

A quote from yesterday’s show caught my eye - “ 83% of Americans cannot afford a new car”. A stunning statement by any means that really amplifies the economic woes now facing this Country, higher jobless numbers, the inflation index that’s only getting worse, and the decision makers who are responsible for the disastrous misdirection to electric vehicles.

Who are our betters that have pushed us into this delima ? Doesn’t matter if it’s Food, Energy, Manufacturing, Distribution, or Immigration

There’s a whole lotta stuff going on, percolating in the background.

The 83% is rising.
 
I suppose the left wing puppets are being programmed to believe it's Trump's fault.
 
Lenny said:
I suppose the left wing puppets are being programmed to believe it's Trump's fault.
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I do believe they were pre programmed years ago. Everything bad is Trump's fault. :bonk:
 
There is probably a percentage ( maybe 10 ? ) that don't Want a New car because of the likelihood that they will break more than an old one and the "features" that really aren't helpful to driving. Not to mention the poor visibility in most new cars and them not being worth the price even if you can afford one.
 
pixie said:
There is probably a percentage ( maybe 10 ? ) that don't Want a New car because of the likelihood that they will break more than an old one and the "features" that really aren't helpful to driving. Not to mention the poor visibility in most new cars and them not being worth the price even if you can afford one.
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I tend to agree, but that is a choice.

We have an economy that is teetering, failing in many ways. We have inflation that is literally taking THOUSANDS of DOLLARS out of families disposable income and now paying for NECESSITIES like food, which is up 18% in 3 years. Housing costs, either rent or mortgage are also up, so much that home sizes are SHRINKING for the first time in modern times.

But back to the point, there is a high level of BUILT IN price increases due to 2 factors. REGULATION and CONSUMER DEMAND, both seem to be driving prices up. How much do AIR BAGS and ANTI LOCK BRAKES cost? Consumers demanded those and Congress now mandates them. Safety has, over the past 25 years, become a consumer demand and people buying new vehicles demand safety. So we have a lot of advances baked into the cars and the manufacturers seem to embrace regulations to make them mandatory.

Will the new vehicles break? Heck yes. But people can't afford them because of high prices, job insecurity, housing costs, etc.
 
pixie said:
There is probably a percentage ( maybe 10 ? ) that don't Want a New car because of the likelihood that they will break more than an old one and the "features" that really aren't helpful to driving. Not to mention the poor visibility in most new cars and them not being worth the price even if you can afford one.
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Whilst that may be true, it really has nothing to do with affordability.
 
Car insurance has also gone through the roof. At least for someone with a 19 and 21 year old driver on their policy.
I have to buy a new(ish) car for one of them and I'm not looking forward to the insurance costs.
 
Everything is going to go higher not lower. Right now we are seeing the inflation caused by the covid spending. That was 3-4 years ago when everyone was happy getting $600.00 checks. 3 years from now a meal at McDonalds for one will be $50.00 if they are still in business. Cars will decrease a little in price until they can't cut the price because of manufacturing costs, then when they still don't sell because people can't afford them, the company's will go out of business. ( deflation). Then when it has effected all businesses, there will be shortages and prices will hyper inflate. Then its over.
 
FrancSevin said:
FROM A FRIEND ON ANOTHER FORUM;

I have been following a utube show called caredge.com where the focus is on helping the consumer understand and navigate the tricky world of car buying. the Host has 50 plus years in Automotive Sales, evident in the web site which offers tons of real time industry data.

A quote from yesterday’s show caught my eye - “ 83% of Americans cannot afford a new car”. A stunning statement by any means that really amplifies the economic woes now facing this Country, higher jobless numbers, the inflation index that’s only getting worse, and the decision makers who are responsible for the disastrous misdirection to electric vehicles.

Who are our betters that have pushed us into this delima ? Doesn’t matter if it’s Food, Energy, Manufacturing, Distribution, or Immigration

There’s a whole lotta stuff going on, percolating in the background.

The 83% is rising.
Click to expand...
Just get a well working second hand one for a few years but do not pay too much.
The frustrations may be understandable but if you cannot buy new what can you do, sometimes new cars have flaws and may actually break down faster or have some design flaw so if you can manage to find a good second hand one to last a few years.
 
We just bought a 2022 Ford Explorer for $42,000, nuts. Could have gotten something cheaper but that’s what we already had. Was in Minot ND a week ago and looked at some Polaris sxs and the prices were crazy! $52000 US, that’s over $70,000 Canadian pesos. Who can afford these things? That’s as much as we paid for a used 350 horse 4wheel drive tractor ten years ago, and can still get that much or more for it now but to replace it would minimum $100,000 on top of the trade in. Not sure where the breaking point is, but it can’t be too far off.
 
My last new car was December 1996.
It seems like such a waste of money to buy a new car. Let somebody else take the big depreciation up front.
 
I drive a ''95 Dodge one ton Diesel I bought brand new in1995. Currently over 400K on the odometer. My backup is a 97 Dodge one ton. 250K. I bought it a few years ago. Crumpy drove used Minivans for years after her '99 Dodge minivan got terminal damage with over 250K on the clock.

Back in January 2021, we decided to get her a brand-new Pacifica minivan. Over $55 grand. But, it would likely be her last car in life so we w went big, high end, and new.

The key to dependable long life in vehicles is maintenance. having a good mechanic do frequent service work and keep you abreast of wear items before they become serious repairs. I just cannot see or justify buying a new car every few years.

At current prices, why would you unless you simply had to.
 
waybomb said:
It seems like such a waste of money to buy a new car. Let somebody else take the big depreciation up front.
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We bought 3 SUV's this year. 1 new, 2 used. The "big" depreciation doesn't seem to be like yesteryear.

The 2 Mazda CX-5's we bought were 3 years old at time of purchase. In those 3 years, they depreciated around $9K. It used to be they went down that much after year one.

The RAV-4 we bought is new. A 3 year-old used one was only about $4-5K less. For that difference (and because it's for my daughter), we went with new.
 
I don’t think it’s so much that they aren’t depreciating as much but more the costs are going up faster than they are depreciating. Kind of like my tractor I talked about, it hasn’t depreciated at all I 10 years, which would be good if I was selling out, but my costs to replace it to be the same as what it was when we got it have tripled, or close to it.
 
My tractor is 28 years old. I could sell it now for more than I paid for it.
My Kubota RTV is 20 years old. Same thing.

Yea, replacement price is a bitch. I'm just going to keep everything.
 
My dealer wants to get me behind the wheel of a '25 Maverick offering me 2k less than what I paid for my '23. BUT, the '25 is now 4K more for the exact same thing. Still tempting as the 25 now offers backup trailer assist as I am getting older and can use all the help I can get now, but the 6K differential is too much.
 
I wonder how many of those who cannot afford a new car have the latest iPhone year after year? Maybe their priorities are that they prefer better tech over transportation? I guess if that's their goal, then okay, they can't afford a new vehicle.
 
KitKat2023 said:
I wonder how many of those who cannot afford a new car have the latest iPhone year after year? Maybe their priorities are that they prefer better tech over transportation? I guess if that's their goal, then okay, they can't afford a new vehicle.
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seriously? I think you missed the point.
With all due and polite respect;

5 years ago the average household used 30% of their income for food and housing supplies AKA groceries. That included the fancy I Phones. A device most households now need to function and do their jobs. After the last four years of inflation, mostly on the items the average working person(s) allocate their incomes, they are spending 60%. If there are two working members ( Mom and Dad) working for $25 an hour that is only net monthly take home pay of $6500.

For a family of four in fly over country: Three-bedroom suburban residence.
Average car payment(s) $800*, Mortgage or rent take $1500, Daycare $1200, health and property insurance (mandatory) at least $500, Utilites $500, all of which totals $4500.
The fancy phone works out at less than $100 a month and really isn't a luxury anymore. Then there is the computer of which most homes have at least one as well.

My humble opinion; I don't think this $100 a month is the problem.

This leaves about $2000 for groceries and supplies, fuel and maintenance for the cars, or $500 a week. My household of 3 spends that here in the Midwest. I cannot fathom the difference in states like New Jersy, Virginnia ,New York or the West Coast.

So how does a family with this budget buy a new car?

*includes insurance
 
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FrancSevin said:
That is based on two vehicles and includes minimum but required insurance. Frankly, for that combo, it is a low number. Actual experiences may vary.
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Also, the $1200 in child care isn't permanant.

I'm not telling people how live as each siuation is different, but people need to look at one car, one parent staying home, some kind of sacrifice, hopefully with a bigger goal they are trying to reach (better job etc)
 
musclemom said:
Somewhat better I suppose.

Also hearing about the length of car loans, no more 36 or 48 months, but people getting 72 and 84 month terms.
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True. It does help fit the new car payment into the budget. But that makes the final total at least 55% more than the original price. And extends the pain of a monthly payment to about the useful life of the vehicle. Thus one is caught in a never ending and always increasing trap of car payments.

I generally buy used. However, once in a while, the wife gets what she deserves. A brand new, high end, and virginal coach to drive.
 
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