Average new car payment $554

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted by supton
My wife is a stay at home mom but drives 25k/year.

Wow. Do you live hundreds of miles from the nearest grocery store and schools?

I work from home, but I drop my kid off at school every day and pick him up sometimes as well. I don't do more than 5K miles a year, and that's including running some weekend errands.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by supton
My wife is a stay at home mom but drives 25k/year.

Wow. Do you live hundreds of miles from the nearest grocery store?

I work from home, but I drop my kid off at school every day and pick him up sometimes as well. I don't do more than 5K miles a year, and that's including running some weekend errands.


It's about 9 miles to the store. But she goes that way at least once a day, my kids take dance lessons next to it. Seems like she comes up with a good reason to go out shopping once a week, and Concord or Lebanon are a good 30 miles each way, plus whatever she does while in the city. So 200 miles a week is easy to do, then toss in other trips.

Originally Posted by Ws6
Also, yes, screw that nickel and dime BS. My vehicles need to be 100% functional, as close to 100% of the time as possible. Time is money to me, and I would rather work an extra shift or so to pay for the difference between a fixer-upper and a new car with a solid, long-lasting warranty.

There's a problem with warranty: using it. I usually buy cars from one dealer, and that's on the way to work, so no big going out of my way to get there. But it's still a time-suck to swing in and have them look at something. Then if it is something... I'm not sure what the loaners are like now, I recall getting a free loaner when the car was new (one or two years old), but no idea on the other side of 100k.

You pay a lot for warranty and loaners. I'm trying to get to the point where I can drop off a problem vehicle at a shop and have it down for days while I drive something else. Unfortunately the shop that I had been using retired.

I haven't used anything else yet, and no one seems able to beat my pricing on labor.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by supton
My wife is a stay at home mom but drives 25k/year.

Wow. Do you live hundreds of miles from the nearest grocery store?

I work from home, but I drop my kid off at school every day and pick him up sometimes as well. I don't do more than 5K miles a year, and that's including running some weekend errands.


It's about 9 miles to the store. But she goes that way at least once a day, my kids take dance lessons next to it. Seems like she comes up with a good reason to go out shopping once a week, and Concord or Lebanon are a good 30 miles each way, plus whatever she does while in the city. So 200 miles a week is easy to do, then toss in other trips.

Originally Posted by Ws6
Also, yes, screw that nickel and dime BS. My vehicles need to be 100% functional, as close to 100% of the time as possible. Time is money to me, and I would rather work an extra shift or so to pay for the difference between a fixer-upper and a new car with a solid, long-lasting warranty.

There's a problem with warranty: using it. I usually buy cars from one dealer, and that's on the way to work, so no big going out of my way to get there. But it's still a time-suck to swing in and have them look at something. Then if it is something... I'm not sure what the loaners are like now, I recall getting a free loaner when the car was new (one or two years old), but no idea on the other side of 100k.

You pay a lot for warranty and loaners. I'm trying to get to the point where I can drop off a problem vehicle at a shop and have it down for days while I drive something else. Unfortunately the shop that I had been using retired.

I haven't used anything else yet, and no one seems able to beat my pricing on labor.

My dealer put me in a 2018 CX5 Grand Touring last time my 2015 CX5 Touring with 106K miles was in the shop. I ended up trading for a 2019 CX5 Grand Touring Reserve. They are sneaky like t hat, lol!

Loaners etc. aren't extra. Mazda dealers are solid. At least, mine is.

 

[SeaJay]

If you want to drive a more luxurious car with all of the bells and whistles (as a good chunk of US drivers seem to want/need these days) you will be paying big $, one way of the other.

OTOH, there are plenty of late model or even new cars that will serve just fine as a daily driver and can be financed with a modest down payment and a monthly payment well, well below the average of all US drivers.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by Ws6
Loaners etc. aren't extra. Mazda dealers are solid. At least, mine is.

Sounds good, just pricey. I finally got rid of car payments, haven't had any for like 3 years. Right now trying to keep my credit good so I can build a house (which will then max out my budget, naturally). So, no go there. Will only buy another new car for the wife if I need to; hers is getting old but I think we're getting her a spare before too long.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by Ws6
Loaners etc. aren't extra. Mazda dealers are solid. At least, mine is.

Sounds good, just pricey. I finally got rid of car payments, haven't had any for like 3 years. Right now trying to keep my credit good so I can build a house (which will then max out my budget, naturally). So, no go there. Will only buy another new car for the wife if I need to; hers is getting old but I think we're getting her a spare before too long.

I did the same as you before I bought my house and land. Nothing wrong with skewing D/I. I'm single, so I can kindof stack the deck how I want a bit selfishly, I guess. My girlfriend is self-sufficient and has her own house/finances.

Personally, I don't want to muck with wrenching. Did it all through highschool and college, and can afford not to, now. So while some people dog on it as "wasteful", I dog on them wasting the afternoon under the hood. Everyone has priorities. You do you, imo, and you'll be happiest.

 

[Andrew1972]

Originally Posted by Ws6
Originally Posted by MCompact
I usually buy a 2-3 year old CPO, take out a 60 month loan, and pay it off in around 2.5 years. For the X1 I only took out a 2 year loan and I hope to pay it off in less than 20 months.
For me cars are an entertaining part of my life- if driving cars I enjoy costs me a bit more, so be it.


Exactly. I drive 100mi a day that I work, and I prefer to do it in a car with air-conditioned seats, heated steering wheel, HUD with NAV, and AWD (for when its icy/snowy/rainy/to navigate my gravel road/drive), and that has decent acceleration. I pay $650/mo, and I have it DD'ed straight to the bank account responsible for maintaining that loan. I don't ever see/miss that money, but it sure is nice to get 27-28mpg and cruise in comfort to work and back, not worrying about if/when anything will break because I have a 150K mile, 10 year bumper-to-bumper 0 deductible warranty, and I enjoy the vehicle. My mortgage on my house and acreage combined is around $1500. No college debt. One small personal loan. Small amount of CC debt that I'm wiping out this year. Life is good, and I have plenty of money left over to go on trips, take my girlfriend nice places, and feed my chickens and dog. As long as you're solvent...you do you...time is the one thing that noone can get back. Enjoy what you've g ot, nothing is promised.



If you total your 2015 vehicle with 109k I presume you are upside down on loan at that payment?

 

[LoneRanger]

Originally Posted by gathermewool
Originally Posted by LoneRanger
$284/mo 60 mo on our new GMC.


With a down payment.

What is your interest rate?


4500 trade-in allowance (2008 RAV4 base 150k miles) + $6000 down payment. 3-point-something on interest (I think).

 

[ad244]

New title of this thread should be : Live a little.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted by SEBZX79
I think most are missing the point, worry about doubling your income and you will not worry about a 600 or a 1000 dollar car payment.
Work hard play harder and enjoy life.




The problem is the median income in the country vs. the average new car payment. It's easy to say "just try to make more money" but most of these people are stuck living paycheck to paycheck and don't think far enough ahead for financial planning, which is why they are making $1000 a month payments or leasing instead of buying used in the first place.

 

[HowAboutThis]

Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by AuthorEditor
I wonder if that $554 includes other things, like the sales tax? Topic for another thread, but I'm convinced the absolute cheapest way to own a vehicle is to pay $3000 or less in cash and then drive it until it drops or three years, whichever comes first. I have never gotten less than about five or six years out of a car this way, but by then I usually lose some of the value in repairs. If you choose carefully you can usually avoid major repair expenses for three years or about 36,000 miles. Rinse and repeat every three years. If you spend $3600 (to get a nice one) that works out to $100 per month for a car. Plus, there is a ton of savings on initial sales tax, car insurance (just get liability), and even routine maintenance. Don't do anything expensive to the car except change the oil, make sure you have good tires and brakes, and keep a battery that works in it. Drive it, save a fortune!

How do you get 3 years out of tires? Ah, you must drive little... My wife is a stay at home mom but drives 25k/year. Tires don't last us more than about 40k on average (do about 32k/year, 22k is commuting and the rest is misc trips).

This past vehicle I did do as you suggested, $1,500 Camry that I put about $1,500 into repairs, maintenance and a couple minor upgrades (hitch, stereo). Two years & 60k was fine but lately it's nickle and diming me and has been parked more than driving. No way could it be my only vehicle.



I put 90K on a set of Goodyear Assurance Triple Treds a few years ago. They were 80K mile tires, I believe. Currently have 60K Michelin Primacy something or another and have 40K on them with 7/32nds left in tread. I always buy tires based on cost/mileage warranty and it's worked for me. Regular rotations every 5-10K.

 

[Smokescreen]

I buy my cars with cash. Self discipline is all it takes.

 

[HowAboutThis]

Originally Posted by jeepman3071
Originally Posted by SEBZX79
I think most are missing the point, worry about doubling your income and you will not worry about a 600 or a 1000 dollar car payment.
Work hard play harder and enjoy life.




The problem is the median income in the country vs. the average new car payment. It's easy to say "just try to make more money" but most of these people are stuck living paycheck to paycheck and don't think far enough ahead for financial planning, which is why they are making $1000 a month payments or leasing instead of buying used in the first place.


The psychological phenomena of "past mindset, present mindset, and future mindset" or something along those lines...most aren't future mindset in the good 'ol USofA. Hence how much our government and populace spend on interest payments that do nothing but pay someone interest. It could be used for like a service or something.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by HowAboutThis
I put 90K on a set of Goodyear Assurance Triple Treds a few years ago. They were 80K mile tires, I believe. Currently have 60K Michelin Primacy something or another and have 40K on them with 7/32nds left in tread. I always buy tires based on cost/mileage warranty and it's worked for me. Regular rotations every 5-10K.

Our '11 Camry came with Energies that lasted 30k. We then put on Primacy, which needed to come off around 30k but we milked them until 40k. I then learned about RT43's and we get around 40k on those. 5k rotations give me nice even wear.

I had a set of LTX MS2's on my truck, after 40k they had something like 5 or 6 32's left, but they were cracked after 2 years. I kinda don't like Michelin as a result. I also don't put much faith into treadlife ratings either, and just buy mid range tires now. Sometimes I can hit a sale online and "get ahead", and hopefully stay ahead enough that I don't feel bad if i have to toss out a tire due to damage.

Just the way it goes. We like life in the sticks but it sure does require a good car, and pockets to feed it.

 

[AuthorEditor]

Millennials are not buying cars like we used to, and they just won't buy things in the same ways we did. I think this generation will change car buying. For one thing, they are more urban, where owning cars makes a lot less sense. Plus, giant SUVs and trucks don't work in cities, even if you own a car. A lot of people in NYC pay more per month for parking than that average car payment. But Millennials also just won't put up with the current car buying process where you have to go to a dealer and put up with all sorts of nonsense. The rise of Uber and car sharing may be part of the future, but I bet we'll also eventually get to the point where you order a car online from Amazon and it is delivered overnight to your house, and the payments includes insurance, maintenance, everything. Maybe you won't actually own it, but it will be more like a subscription. I know my son just will not set foot in a brick and mortar store for anything--it has to be done online and delivered overnight or it doesn't exist. He's in the tech industry with big salaries, but lives in an urban area and neither he or his girlfriend own a car. They take public transit or fly places. Not even a discussion in that house of owning a car. My daughter did buy a $2000 car and is now on her second year with it. Had to buy new tires when we got it, but other than that the car has required nothing but normal maintenance. She does about 20,000 miles a year. If it makes it one more year she's made the $100 per month car happen. She takes after her dad!

 

[LoneRanger]

My son's a millenial but doesn't fit their mold all the time... drove a humble Ford Escape until it was pretty much worn out, all the while saving up for his dream car-- a Dodge Challenger with the hemi 5-point-whatever liter V8. Bought it last year, but not a brand new one. He searched until he found a low mile pre-owned mint condition 2017 Challenger R/T, and bought it sight unseen through carvana online, had it delivered... so how he actually went about buying it was, in fact, very "millenial."

 

[Andrew1972]

My two nieces are drowning in $60k-$90k of student loans making $45k and $30k per year drowning/living at home. They drive reliable but ugly (monte Carlo/Yaris) beaters worth about $1500 tops and the idea of $500/month is insanity.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted by benjy
todays vehicles are way overpriced especially SUV's with unneeded AWD + 4WD houses aka 4 dr pickups!! you can buy what you REALLY need for less + a nice preowned ride saves $$$$$$. americans buy more vehicle than needed just as they overconsume food aka OBESITY!!

Which is why I buy pre-owned, preferably CPO, with a big down payment, and do my best to pay the loan off in 2-3 years instead of 4. After paying off the Park Avenue in 2009, I drove it payment-free until 2014; paid the Regal off in 2016 and drove it "free" until 2019. With any luck the BMW will be mine in 2 to 2.5 years and I can drive it for quite a while without a payment.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by jeepman3071

The problem is the median income in the country vs. the average new car payment. It's easy to say "just try to make more money" but most of these people are stuck living paycheck to paycheck and don't think far enough ahead for financial planning, which is why they are making $1000 a month payments or leasing instead of buying used in the first place.


40% of middle income earners (those people with the $500+ car payment) also can not cover a $400 emergency expense without having to sell something or borrow.


https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/17/a-t...s-cant-cover-a-400-dollar-emergency.html

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
Originally Posted by jeepman3071

The problem is the median income in the country vs. the average new car payment. It's easy to say "just try to make more money" but most of these people are stuck living paycheck to paycheck and don't think far enough ahead for financial planning, which is why they are making $1000 a month payments or leasing instead of buying used in the first place.


40% of middle income earners (those people with the $500+ car payment) also can not cover a $400 emergency expense without having to sell something or borrow.


https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/17/a-t...s-cant-cover-a-400-dollar-emergency.html

I'm too lazy to look but I have to wonder if this is anything new. I mean, if we were to look back over the last 100 years, would most of the middle class be that way?