Posted on 10/03/2019 7:39:42 AM PDT by C19fan
Walk into an auto dealership these days and you might walk out with a seven-year car loan.
That means monthly payments that last well past when the brake pads give out and potentially beyond when the car gets traded in for a new one. About a third of auto loans for new vehicles taken in the first half of 2019 had terms of longer than six years, according to credit-reporting firm Experian PLC. A decade ago, that number was less than 10%.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
I’m right there with you! Preach, brother!
Actually, I'd bet that the repair bills DO make sense in most cases.
I had a situation with an older vehicle where I was facing about $2,500 worth of repairs at about the 200,000-mile mark. It seemed like it didn't make any sense at the time, but then I realized that the repairs would probably get me another 2+ years out of the vehicle. The monthly payment on a 100% loan on a comparable new vehicle at the time would have been about $500, so I was basically paying $2,500 for repairs that would save me $12,000 worth of new car payments. That was a no-brainer!
Ford still makes the Fiesta and Fusion sedans. I hear the Fusion is an especially good car.
Yes and that covers most the American made cars.
RE Rust Issues:
I think EVERY car from that time period had rust issues!!! :^) Unless they were desert state cars.
We hate car payments so do cash. Have kept cars 1e-15 years. We may replace our 2010 car this year for a newer (used) car with better safety options. Bluetooth is important now due to hands-free cell laws. Backup cameras make a lot of sense. We could install after-market gizmos but probably won’t.
Because people “deserve” cars they cannot afford....why buy an affordable $18K car when one “deserves” the $60K vehicle?
Lincoln Aviator with 494HP V8!
Yea baby!! A real gas guzzler!!
Last car purchase was in 2005. Went shopping for a new one and surprised to see some in the $70,000 range. More than I paid for homes in the past.
Often times it is smarter to keep you money and use the low interest rate dealers offer.
Or... finance at the higher interest rate IF they lower the price on the car. Then pay off the loan within 30 days.
I work at a bank. I know the ins and outs of the Dealer Finance office. I know how the game is played. How to avoid being ripped off.
But still - that is a scary scary place. I hate being there.
The second new vehicle I ever owned is the company truck I'm driving now. It's at almost 360,000 miles and I will keep it after I replace it.
The third new vehicle I own is the new company truck I've ordered, and will be picking up in a couple of weeks. If all goes well, I'll be retired for a decade by the time I drive it into the ground.
I don't know that I'd get this kind of performance from a used Corolla!
Yes and no. The Fiesta went bye-bye in May of this year. Dealers may still have them on the lot.
And I looked it up. The Fusion was given a reprieve till sometime in 2020.
Dead Cars Walking.
Peter Lutz ex GM Ceo wrote a letter earlier this year saying privately owned cars will be a thing of the past in 12 years. No one can afford them especially young folk.
Pete said cars will be self driving and will be at your door in the morning and at your office door at 5 to take you home and will be picking up and dropping off people all day.
Need to go to a concert. Order the car online to pick you up.
Pete said parking garages will be a thing of the past.
“I have been happy buying and selling at CarMax.”
That’s where we go, too. Fair. Easy. Going today, in fact.
“Beware of some used cars. In the olden days, if you had a wreck, the insurance company would issue a “Salvage title” and send the auto to the wreckers in Southern Missouri.”
Nearly all used and new dealers today use Carfax and it list if the car was ever wrecked. A private buyer can also go online at Carfax and type in the vin to see if it was ever wrecked or had service issues (lemon)
Don’t buy a new car. I just picked up a 2004 Camry with 112,000 mi for $2100.
Mebbe it is the fact that cars are too expensive nowadays, thanks to Uncle’s regulations and requirements (e.g. rear view camera)
Today I drive fewer than 5000 miles a year, so I hope to keep my RAV4 for at least 15 years, maybe longer, and I'm putting what would have been my car payments (I payed off my 2013 RAV4 last year) into an account that will be going towards my next car or other future needs. I doubt that my next car will be new, but it WILL be another Toyota.
Mark
My 2000 Nissan Xterra (bought August 1999) finally left me stranded earlier this year. I fixed it and have been driving it for the last 6 months until it wouldn’t start in the driveway this week.
I’ve been telling my wife I need to replace it since 2013 but the damn thing just wouldn’t die and it hasn’t had an easy life. 2” lift, lots of off-road, towing jet skis, no garage for the last 12 years.
Underpowered? Sure, but not bad for a car that cost $21k new.
” He said something like 80% of the new vehicle transactions at his dealership are leases, not purchases.”
My wife special ordered a new Camaro SS a few years back and paid cash. The salesman about fell over. 2 years prior to that she bought a new GMC 2500 HD to pull her horses and paid cash also.
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