Average new car price is $50K ? Insanity.

[userfriendly]

The US wealth is not growing. We, the US, are in radical decline in terms of wealth.

Without getting political, what is the target population of the USA?

Canada is typically about 1/10th, 75% living within 100 miles of the US boarder.
Everyone who wants to work can find a job, but the government wants to grow the economy.
I ask what for and who for?
Every mayor wants to grow their cities and reduce the carbon footprint at the same time.
I ask what wrong with the size it is?
They say the population is aging and we need more young people to look after the old.
I ask what about when those young people get old, bring in another 2 million care givers?
They say there's a shortage of "affordable" housing.
I say stop growing the population.

 

[AlphaOmega]

Without getting political, what is the target population of the USA?

Canada is typically about 1/10th, 75% living within 100 miles of the US boarder.
Everyone who wants to work can find a job, but the government wants to grow the economy.
I ask what for and who for?
Every mayor wants to grow their cities and reduce the carbon footprint at the same time.
I ask what wrong with the size it is?
They say the population is aging and we need more young people to look after the old.
I ask what about when those young people get old, bring in another 2 million care givers?
They say there's a shortage of "affordable" housing.
I say stop growing the population.

I don’t get this fixation on perpetual growth by any means too.

 

[AlphaOmega]

They are all paid for. In my house I have 3 drivers, 4 in May. The Trans Am has been paid off since I bought it in 2004. The Caprice was 20,000 dollars 7 years ago. The Buick was 3900 bucks. The Malibu was 24,000 in 2015. The truck, 2017 Silverado, is the most expensive vehicle I own. It was 36500 out the door in 2019. None of those break the bank or require much maintenance at all. All my cars combined are cheaper than some people with 2 cars. I not rolling a Ferrari over here.

May I think out loud? Just for sake of it?

What if instead of caprice for $20k you’d buy something just as functional for $7k, and instead of Malibu for $24k you’d have bought something as functional for $10k and instead of $37k truck you would have gotten one for $15k — all hypothetical —and then invested saved money into an appreciating asset. Would you be closer to your goal of retiring early? It’s not always about Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus, is it?

Still: 3 drivers, yet 5 cars. Maybe if you had a car for each driver and not more, you could have driven a Mercedes and would have found out you enjoyed it? And still retired early! Just a hypothetical, a food for thought

 

[ls1mike]

May I think out loud? Just for sake of it?

What if instead of caprice for $20k you’d buy something just as functional for $7k, and instead of Malibu for $24k you’d have bought something as functional for $10k and instead of $37k truck you would have gotten one for $15k — all hypothetical —and then invested saved money into an appreciating asset. Would you be closer to your goal of retiring early? It’s not always about Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus, is it?

Still: 3 drivers, yet 5 cars. Maybe if you had a car for each driver and not more, you could have driven a Mercedes and would have found out you enjoyed it? And still retired early! Just a hypothetical, a food for thought

Ok. I am not sure you have enough of the picture to think that loud. I put all of my re-enlistment bonuses into different investments and they have done extremely well. Considering what I could get at those prices you mention and the amount I drive it, I feel like none of those cars were outrageously priced for the mileage they had on them when I bought them. The Trans Am had 13,000 miles on it, the Caprice had 12,000 miles on it, the Malibu had 4,800 miles on it and the Truck had 27,000 miles on it. The Trans Am is a hobby a car. It cost me 23 dollars a month to own and I have had it for over 18 years. Do I need the truck the Caprice, I could have done with one, but I am not a truck guy and I use it tow my travel trailer and Submarine Veterans parade float.

I think you missed the point. I don't do BMW or Mercedes for the same reason you said I should have done a 7000 dollar car. I think they are overpriced and not interested in maintaining either one. Plus they are just not my thing.

 

[Allaneddie]

We Americans are rich. Some of us have more than others of us but we have wealth beyond the wildest dreams of our ancestors. Did you ever think about "the millionaire next door"? It is much more common than we think. Many of us could go out and pay cash for any car (even a Bentley) other than some exotic. But why would we?

I am happy with a 16 year old Grand Cherokee in which everything works and a 7 year old VW Golf GTI. I don't need to impress anyone.

 

[AlphaOmega]

I think they are overpriced and not interested in maintaining either one. Plus they are just not my thing.

How do you know they are overpriced and high maintenance, and that they are not your thing, is the point of my discombobulated “essay” in a previous post? And how do you know that owning 3 cars instead of 5, amongst which would be a Mercedes (for example) wouldn’t be as efficient - or even more - in terms of retiring early vs your current set up of 5 cars for 3 driver?

 

[AlphaOmega]

I am happy with a 16 year old Grand Cherokee in which everything works and a 7 year old VW Golf GTI.

You could pay cash for new Bentley, but drive a 16 year old grand Cherokee?

I don't need to impress anyone.

What about ownself?

 

[IndyIan]

Wealth inequality has gone up for sure. I take it cars are not your hobby? .

Well. not DD's, although I like to drive my slow cars briskly and with precision. I did enjoy taking the winding way home through the hills and lakes coming back from skiing yesterday afternoon in the Outback, a good 30 miles of hitting entry and exit points and apex's and even a little jump mid corner where the frost had heaved up enough. All keeping in my lane with lots of margin for the 3 other people I saw on the road.
I keep an eye out for a nice late 90's Miata though, to me that's a great car, simple and durable and fun. Much easier to keep as a forever car than anything at $50k sold today...

 

[CKN]

I am reminded of when my 80-year-old mother told me that I should give her the money for a new car because "you can't take it with you".

She got quite a bit of of money from my dad in the divorce, and certainly took that attitude with it. Now she has almost nothing of it left, save for a house she's paid off (and heaven forbid that she discover what a reverse-mortgage is...)

Sorry. I don't think there is anything negative in her situation-as long and she has money to live. She is living a full life (living on borrowed time-according to statistics). SO if she doesn't spend it-you get it. Quite frankly she may not care about leaving you money-at least that is certainty what she is implying. Sorry if you think you deserve otherwise.

 

[ls1mike]

How do you know they are overpriced and high maintenance, and that they are not your thing, is the point of my discombobulated “essay” in a previous post? And how do you know that owning 3 cars instead of 5, amongst which would be a Mercedes (for example) wouldn’t be as efficient - or even more - in terms of retiring early vs your current set up of 5 cars for 3 driver?

Let me tell you the amount of work I have done to my brother In laws Mercedes. The last big ticket item had to go to the dealer for a misfire. Oil wicking down the engine wiring harness from the cam seals. It required removal of the engine to the tune of 8000 dollars to replace it. Not interested. I could have put a 500 horsepower gas engine in my truck with matching transmission. He paid over 45,000 for that used. Refer to price of the Malibu and Caprice combined. They also have a GLE. They bought it new. I am guessing 50,000 to 60,0000. Two cars both have required more maintenance then my 5 combined. He knows, but that is what we he likes and that is fine. Both of them cost more than the cars I currently own, combined.

You spend enough time around cars and build a 10 second Z28, 11 second Trans Am and a 12 second Caprice you get a pretty dang good idea of what your thing is. I have driven and been around enough to know they are not my thing and I feel like they are overpriced. That is me. You do you.

 

[brianl703]

Sorry. I don't think there is anything negative in her situation-as long and she has money to live. She is living a full life (living on borrowed time-according to statistics). SO if she doesn't spend it-you get it. Quite frankly she may not care about leaving you money-at least that is certainty what is implying. Sorry if you think you deserve otherwise.

The problem is that she doesn't have the money to live her life the way she thinks she should be able to live it.

She had that opportunity (sort of--she got a decent chunk of change from my dad in the divorce--who knows if even that would have provided enough money for her--the half my dad was left with was certainly enough for him...) and squandered it.

Q: Why would an 80 year old woman expect her son to buy her a new car? (As an FYI, I made the payments on her current car when she decided that she was going to retire at age 62....so yes, it's a 19 year old car. It runs.)

A: She's got an entitlement complex a mile long, and my dad was certainly tired of it by the time the divorce happened.

Her biggest problem is that she should have married a banker, a lawyer, or a politician, not an airplane mechanic. At least those would have had enough money to bankroll her desired lifestyle.

 

[CKN]

The problem is that she doesn't have the money to live her life the way she thinks she should be able to live it.

She had that opportunity and squandered it.

Why would an 80 year old woman expect her son to buy her a new car?

She's got an entitlement complex a mile long, and my dad was certainly tired of it by the time the divorce happened.

That's called retirement planning, budgeting-with a side of divorce thrown in. Agree-one has to live within their means. But as I mentioned-that doesn't necessarily mean leaving your heirs anything.

 

[redhat]

When it comes to platform frugality, GM LSx engines are hard to beat. Sure, can you go all out and spend a ton of money on a LSx engine build and maintenance, absolutely. And sure, are some of the specialty platforms that house certain LSx "pricier" than others, oh sure.

But when push comes to shove, for HP per dollar, additionally factoring in reliability, no BMW or Mercedes is beating a GM LSx. This becomes very apparent when you build your own toys, trucks, etc.

 

[brianl703]

That's called retirement planning, budgeting-with a side of divorce thrown in. Agree-one has to live within their means. But as I mentioned-that doesn't necessarily mean leaving your heirs anything.

I expect nothing from her. I just hope that there's enough money left to pay for a burial.

 

[ls1mike]

Bottom line is people are going to do what they want. People are going to drive what they are comfortable with. To be honest after putting about 200 miles on the kids 2003 Duramax with 217,000 miles on it I can tell If I ever need a new truck again...I am going to find something like that. I was afraid of the diesel before. Not so much now.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

There are still cheap cars out there. But people just flock to the more expensive / higher model ones due to aggressive financing options.

If I had to buy a new car today, it would be a base model Versa / Mirage. Cash transaction in and out.

Our "nice" car is the Sentra. I have my 3 old beaters that are paid off. As long as they don't get wrecked or too rusty, I'm just going to keep them going as long as I can. I have excellent credit and it's tempting to make a bad decision and finance a new truck to pull my Jeep around instead of using my old truck or renting. However, as I've said before, a base model NA 3.3 V6 F150 equipped to pull my Jeep around is pushing $40,000. That's 2wd, towing package, 3.3 v6!

 

[redhat]

And here's another interesting perspective... I tried new cars, 3 of them to be exact.

'19 F-150 - trans. hard shifts after 25k, would've needed a tranny
'20 Accord - electrical nightmare, oil leaks, poor casting and cracks in trans. case
'21 F-150 - 6x trips to the dealer, module failure and on global backorder for 6-10 months, lemon lawed

The price of new vehicles are high for my taste. But could I afford them... sure. Could pick up a 3/4 ton truck and new SUV for the wife tomorrow if I wanted. But I don't even want one from the perspective of repair or reliability. So far, 3 vehicles have shown me that they're not cut out for reliable DD duty. Meanwhile, the relic GM mills in my signature do not care and press on as usual.

 

[redhat]

To be honest after putting about 200 miles on the kids 2003 Duramax with 217,000 miles on it I can tell If I ever need a new truck again...I am going to find something like that. I was afraid of the diesel before. Not so much now.

I think my dream truck at this point would be a crew cab LBZ Silverado very well equipped (I think that'd be a LT3 package?). I'd HAVE to garage that in the winter for sure.

 

[SC Maintenance]

If I had to buy a new car today, it would be a base model Versa / Mirage

You may not find one. Not sure about that particular model - but most OEM's are building the higher level trims only. They can only build so many, so they build the ones with the highest margin. I think Honda came right out and said it - others may have as well.

That was a few months ago. Maybe things are changing, or maybe they will let you order one?

 

[redhat]

You may not find one. Not sure about that particular model - but most OEM's are building the higher level trims only. They can only build so many, so they build the ones with the highest margin. I think Honda came right out and said it - others may have as well.

That was a few months ago. Maybe things are changing, or maybe they will let you order one?

I would agree that I saw this exact thing. Last fall looking for a "few-optioned" W/T base model Silverado for my Dad. It tooks hours of rigioursly searching GM inventory and confirming with dealers that they had this exact truck in stock. It was a chore but we eventually found what he wanted. Mid-level/high end Silverado's... all day long.

We had to drive across NYS from Buffalo to Albany to get his truck.