Pop Goes The Car Bubble . . . And It May Not Be a Bad Thing

Eric Peters Autos ^ | 09 June 2017 | Eric

[DIRTYSECRET]

I’d like to buy a cargo van. Too expensive. It’s nothing but a shell + a motor.

[chrisser]

I could use a new pickup, but I’m not seeing the incentives the author is describing. Even at 7 years, the payments on a vehicle going for upwards of $50k are pretty sobering.

Even the used truck market is ridiculous.

Part of this is I need 4wd. It seems the automakers require you to buy a luxury truck to get this option.

[DaveA37]

Tell me again, exactly why a new pickup truck should cost between $45K - $55K dollars. RIP OFF!!!!

[fella]

A pickup costs 40 to 60 K. To much for something that I’m going to haul who knows what across fields and through the woods and work with.

[virgil]

I can remember when you could get a fairly nice house for $40k to $60k.

[BobL]

“Tell me again, exactly why a new pickup truck should cost between $45K - $55K dollars. RIP OFF!!!!”

Simple. The car companies are required to fold-in the cost of developing and then selling their ‘green models’, else they get hit with huge fines.

You’re paying for them.

[grania]

First of all, people with any financial sense at all find a way to not have to finance a vehicle. Granted, it's not easy. I was 50 years old before I paid off a car early enough and kept it long enough to finally be able to pay cash for the next car. It's wonderful, saving money monthly before the purchase and not have that debt.

It's not going to happen, ever, for foolish people getting seven year loans, in fact anything over five years. Why? After four years or so (depending on use) repairs and maintenance get more expensive. That on top of a loan? It's a recipe for disaster.

[BereanBrain]

Fake News. From the industry that pumps up it’s numbers on cost of cars.

Same deal in the Movie industry. They drain the profits away from the main company by leasing cameras for 30X what they should go for, and sets, and every other service. That’s why it takes 100M$ to make a crappy film.

IF they make over 100M$, then they have to pay residuals to actors, profit to investors, etc. AND TAXES.

Meanwhile, their “subs” are making obscene money, and they have a hand-in-glove relationship.

For years, car companies did the same thing.

Time to put a few people in jail until they stop with the dishonest profit reporting.

[joshua c]

CAFE kills!

Do not rollback CAFE, repeal it!

Bring freedom back to the car market and get the government out.

And yes, the options(very profitable) are mostly nonsense.

Give me a basic truck. Four wheels and a steering wheel. Stuff the rest of it.

[BipolarBob]

Tell me again, exactly why a new pickup truck should cost between $45K - $55K dollars.

Be glad too. Government regulations that requires more and more electronics on your vehicle. More expensive engines to comply with ridiculous emissions requirements. Labor union costs, contracts and ever expanding pension costs. Research for future vehicles. Monies set aside for litigation in case ANYBODY has an accident that could in any way, no matter how small, relate back to the manufacturer. Government mandated recalls. And last but not least (well maybe it is) profits for the shareholders.

[TexasGator]

F-150 posted price $21,557.

[qam1]

Tell me again, exactly why a new pickup truck should cost between $45K - $55K dollars. RIP OFF!!!!

Well you now get the benefit of having a touch screen radio and instead of 2 headlights you now have 6 or 8 which you can't turn off in the freakin' daytime and will each cost $300+ to replace.

Ain't those worth an extra $10-20K?

[Terry L Smith]

There isn’t any new car on any lot, American, Japanese, German, Korean, British, French, or Italian, that is worth more than $10,000.00, tops.

Beyond the present price of any of those makers listed, there comes the second nightmare ... maintenance. That is anoother landscape of inflated prices, tools the average knowledgeable American cannot acquire due to proprietary licensing, and, of course, the availability of parts.

And lastly, ‘the nanny state’, thanks to Ralph Nader.

[Jeff Chandler]

I’d like to buy a cargo van. Too expensive.

If you own your own business there are tax incentives to pay for much of certain trucks and vans.

[TexasGator]

LOL. Cases routinely go 7+ years without repairs.

[crz]

In 1977 I bought a brand new GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 on a one ton frame for just over 6500 on the road. After Jimmah was done with his term, that same truck was nearly double in price.

And it got abt 8 miles to the gallon. Could actually watch the gas gauge drop when it was driven.

Tough truck though.

[Clay Moore]

There are grass fields containing thousands of new cars and trucks about 20 miles from my house. I still don’t understand it.

[discostu]

He’s grinding the wrong axe to fix the “problem”. Emission standards have nothing to do with dropping car sales. Even loan lengths aren’t part of it. There’s really just 2 things going on: Car looks aren’t changing from year to year so there’s feeling of “behind” the curve when nobody can tell by eyeball that your car is 5 years old. And now pretty much all the companies make good cars that last a long time, back in the day getting 100,000 miles out of a car was good, now barring accident you should get 200,000 miles. You can see it in how 3 year old cars keep 75% of their new value, that’s the market understanding the mechanics.

Really all that needs to happen is for the car companies to understand their situation and stop making cars they know they won’t sell.

[crz]

Second or third hand is the ticket. They are out there if you watch what you are doing.

I bought a 75 chev pickup one time for 150 bucks. Granted, it wasnt the best, but the thing got me around for 3 years. Hauled my fuel to my equipment and parts and me back and forth to the jobs sites.