Car Payments

I just read on Bloomberg today that the average new car payment is $777 and the average used car payment is $544. My first thought was that this is insane. My second thought was that I'm not surprised given how much car prices have gone up in recent years. New car prices because manufacturers seem to not be interested in making budget model cars anymore since the margin on those is so thin. And used car prices because supply chain shortages have resulted in, ahem, a shortage of new cars to buy, so more people want to buy used cars.

But wow. I've never had a car payment since the only cars I've owned are my current car, a 21 year old Honda that I inherited from my father 8 years ago, and the one other car I owned, a then 7 year old Datsun that my parents gave me for college graduation in 1990 which I sold about a year later because I decided I'd rather live in the middle of NYC than in the suburbs of NJ. Until SO and I moved to the suburbs 2 1/2 years ago I lived my entire adult life in urban areas where I've not needed a car for daily life so I just never bought one.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/featu...an-afford-them

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Originally Posted by jp1

New car prices because manufacturers seem to not be interested in making budget model cars anymore since the margin on those is so thin.

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I wonder how much base-cost gets added to cars today because of all the mandated or desired-by-all high-tech new generation safety gear? Backup cameras, electronic stability control, etc. etc.?

It seems difficult to find a "simple" car these days.

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Originally Posted by bae

I wonder how much base-cost gets added to cars today because of all the mandated or desired-by-all high-tech new generation safety gear? Backup cameras, electronic stability control, etc. etc.?

It seems difficult to find a "simple" car these days.

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Good question. For better or for worse there is no Chevy chevette on the market today. And every car built today is like to go for well over 100k miles without a major repair, unlike the cars built in the 70’s or 80’s. So maybe paying more is worth it?

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Originally Posted by jp1

Good question. For better or for worse there is no Chevy chevette on the market today.

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I bought a new 2011 Mini Cooper for my kid when she was learning to drive. At that time, I had to search pretty widely to find a pure base-model Mini with none of the zillions of features/packages (something at the time that could take a ~$18K Mini and turn it into a $30K Mini.). Almost every car on every lot was festooned with options.

I am uncertain about the financial wisdom of getting a new car with all this amazing electronic stuff. Much of it does seem to encounter problems over time, and at today's auto shop rates, it's maddeningly expensive to diagnose and fix.

Yes. All the gadgetry has me nervous too. The sensors on a Tesla that control everything are probably fine when the car is newer. But once it’s 21 years old like my current car? I’m dubious. And since my next car will probably be an EV that I buy when I retire in 7 years and will hope to own for the rest of my life…that matters.

I’ve said many times here that when I win the lottery, I’m going to have someone build for me a circa 1995 4door sedan just like the Ford Taurus I had back then. It was the most luxurious car I have ever needed. To that I would’ve had a back up camera as the only additional electronic option.

My 2018 Escape was only $17K bought new at the end of the model year. It’s a base model. But I really wish I had Apple Car Play. The rental Chevy SUV I had for my FL trip in December had that and OMG, was that nice. It duplicates your iPhone screen on dash display. So you can have access to your map app and music controls easy.

A few years ago, my coworker had her vehicle stolen out of our bosses driveway. (neighbors druggy daughter) We had a customer whose parents had passed, leaving a 2005 Buick Lacrosse base model with the 3.8l motor (one of GM's best motors ever). She bought it but hated the color (silver that looks like it has a purple hue), and a couple years later found a newer Honda Accord that the owner only wanted 8K for, because their green card was expiring and they were going home. She, or her boyfriend bought it and she sold me this Buick.
In a lot of ways, it reminds me of my first car (68 Olds Cutlass) and I am now just shy of 130K and it should last me a few years pretty easily.
The things I like:
Neutral color
Cloth seats
Automatic for highway driving
Cruise control, that I have only driven far enough once, to use
great power to gas mileage
A/C, basic radio


Things I don't like:
Prefer non electric windows or locks, as I have had to diagnose and repair those over the years
No external locks, other then drivers door (miss having one on passenger side and trunk)
I miss rain gutters and vent windows.

I just had my little 2010 Yaris inspected and they said no rush, but the rear brakes are getting there, so I did it yesterday. $511 and they found a little hole somewhere so did a bit more than originally intended. This car is so simple it does not even have power windows. 136k, almost 40 miles to the gallon the highway. It has been a wonderful car. Simpler is better. I stick it in the barn in the winters and it starts up after 3 months, no problems. That was after our first year in Michigan where it sat in the driveway and got frozen in ice. Never doing that again.

Only problem is it does not have 4 wheel drive, so it's not a car of choice for Maine. Fabulous when we lived in South Carolina, though.

I and environmentalists have been opposing - unsuccessfully so far - the City buying unnecessarily large, expensive, gas guzzling vehicles.

DH's truck (2004 Avalanche) was up for inspection but because of the rust he couldn't get it in inspected in VT. He bought it in 2018 in NJ and the rust was already there but oddly, Vermont's inspection rules are more restrictive than New Jersey's. We went through all the discussions of, do we pay $6000 to get rid of the rust, even though the car is almost 20 years old and has over 200,000 miles on it? Or do we buy a new-to-us truck? After looking at the outrageous prices of used pick-ups, and considering how much DH loves his truck, despite its quirks and rust, we decided to keep the truck.

Actually, we decided to gift the truck to my son in New Jersey, and have it registered and inspected down there. My son, the lawyer, made sure that he registered it with his father as operator to cover his butt legally, and so in the end we didn't have to pay $6000--just the cost of DH to drive round trip to NJ and stay in a hotel for a night.

I've always figured that in retirement, we would allocate retirement savings to buy a car in cash rather than finance it when we needed to, but at this point, I dread the thought of what we would have to shell out for even a used car when that time comes.

I bought a 2020 Camry at the end of this summer. My payments are about $300 and we are paying another $300 against the principle so it gets paid off quicker.

I recall wondering about all the huge new SUVs when I first joined this group years ago right before the 90s crash. Yet here we are once again except now it seems to be huge and luxurious trucks. And lots of huge SUVs too. I can only presume they can afford it but 60K and up for a vehicle seems ludicrous. I miss my old Volvo 240 sedan - very basic indeed. Son in law just bought a new top of the line Kia Genesis. I bet it was up there in price too.

My plan is to mostly drive classic cars for much of the rest of my life.

Luckily, I bought most of them when they were brand-new, decades ago :-)

Unless some moron totals my car I will never need another car. I have a 2008!Toyota Corolla with 67k miles on it. It doesn’t rust here because it rarely snows so less need for road salt.

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Originally Posted by pinkytoe

I recall wondering about all the huge new SUVs when I first joined this group years ago right before the 90s crash. Yet here we are once again except now it seems to be huge and luxurious trucks. And lots of huge SUVs too. I can only presume they can afford it but 60K and up for a vehicle seems ludicrous. I miss my old Volvo 240 sedan - very basic indeed. Son in law just bought a new top of the line Kia Genesis. I bet it was up there in price too.

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Because of work, I kept the full size truck and sold the Ranger. I wish I didn't need a full size truck for those years and could have kept the Ranger.
Now, my parents and I are all talking about the Ford Maverick, hybrid. Although mom is a Toyota person and they are supposed to be coming up with their own, based on a preexisting platform. I am going to wait a few years, until the big truck is dead (1500 miles a year now, I work too much to be the runner and have to get stuff delivered now). The little running I still do, will fit in the car trunk. (kind of miss a hatchback too)

I guess I just don't understand the "need" for a car/truck with a payment that's fully a third of our mortgage. Admittedly I don't drive nearly as much as the average American, but even if I did I can't imagine dropping nearly $800/month on a car payment. By the time it was paid off 5-7 years later it would just be an old car and I'd have spent a whole lot of money month after month on it. And then I'd probably feel like I "needed" a new car and start the whole process over again. No thanks. At the end of the day I'd rather people be jealous of my bank account than my car...

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Originally Posted by bae

My plan is to mostly drive classic cars for much of the rest of my life.

Luckily, I bought most of them when they were brand-new, decades ago :-)

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You sound like my husband. He owns several classic cars. A Cyclone, a Barracuda, and a SuperBee. He also owns his Trans Am that he bought when he was a teenager. He is almost 60 now.

So Catherine, your husband can drive the car in Vermont legally-- is it now owned by your son, or is it just the car is domiciled in NJ? I ask because Geico was so weird about when we moved and we weren't even decided if we were staying, and they said they would cancel our car insurance if we did not change it over to Maine.

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Originally Posted by jp1

I guess I just don't understand the "need" for a car/truck with a payment that's fully a third of our mortgage. Admittedly I don't drive nearly as much as the average American, but even if I did I can't imagine dropping nearly $800/month on a car payment. By the time it was paid off 5-7 years later it would just be an old car and I'd have spent a whole lot of money month after month on it. And then I'd probably feel like I "needed" a new car and start the whole process over again. No thanks. At the end of the day I'd rather people be jealous of my bank account than my car...

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That's why I don't understand leasing cars. I know a lot of people who want to drive late model cars all the time so every 3 years they turn in their "old" car and lease a new one. They don't care that they have a car payment every month for years and years. The payment is less than a purchase payment but still... I financed my 2007 Prius when I bought it new, but I haven't had any car payments now for over 10 years. I was thrilled to lose that payment.

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Originally Posted by Tybee

So Catherine, your husband can drive the car in Vermont legally-- is it now owned by your son, or is it just the car is domiciled in NJ? I ask because Geico was so weird about when we moved and we weren't even decided if we were staying, and they said they would cancel our car insurance if we did not change it over to Maine.

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Yes, Tybee, I guess (and I really hope!) DH would get in no trouble if he were stopped with Jersey plates because my son is the owner and he lives in NJ. He's a lawyer, and he wouldn't do anything illegal to jeopardize his job, so I'm assuming he knows what he's doing. That's why he filed the registration with himself as the owner and DH as the operator.

Personally I'm borderline comfortable with the arrangement because if DH gets into an accident, my son is involved as the insured.

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Originally Posted by catherine

Yes, Tybee, I guess (and I really hope!) DH would get in no trouble if he were stopped with Jersey plates because my son is the owner and he lives in NJ. He's a lawyer, and he wouldn't do anything illegal to jeopardize his job, so I'm assuming he knows what he's doing. That's why he filed the registration with himself as the owner and DH as the operator.

Personally I'm borderline comfortable with the arrangement because if DH gets into an accident, my son is involved as the insured.

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That sounds really reasonable and if your son is a lawyer, he would know how to do it legally. That's neat. My husband was worried about his truck's rust this year but they passed it. I hate the yearly inspection, b ut on the other hand, they found a brake leak on mine and now it's fixed, so that's pretty cool. Maybe I like the inspections?

Okay---I've been saving my 1989 S 10 out back for many years. Had 'er since 2001, when I bought 'er at the wreckin' yard. Only 127,000 actual miles. Wouldn't start the other daty, so I pulled the bed, pulled the tank & fuel pump and pump hanger and replaced them, brand new. Yup. Think what a REAL 'chanic shop would charge for all that! But yeah---It runs, now, so I'ma gonna pull 'er in the shop and do a FULL rehab & refurb on 'er, and license insure & drive it. Yup. I shudder to think what the payments would be on an enormous monster truck. Hope that helpsa you kids some. Thankk mee.