Car payments being missed more ...

[SC Maintenance]

That's not fair... How can I buy another car that I can't afford? Sheesh. People are lame.

That is what the buy here / pay here lot is for.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Turned in car will go to auction and the lender will sue for the difference of the loan.

Lender will get a judgement and your paycheck garnished.

Seems like a lot of people don't understand that about a repo on a vehicle. You're still responsible for the difference in what you owe vs what it sold at auction.

 

[K-Man]

I know a couple of legitimate multimillionaires and they all drive cars under $40,000

The late Ross Perot, a billionaire who could have bought any car he wanted, stuck to everyday GM sedans. Typically those were Oldsmobiles when that marque was still around.

I can't think of a single luxury car I would buy even if I had the money. As long as it's reliable and has four wheels, climate control, a stereo, and cruise control, I'm happy.

 

[IndyIan]

I’m not aware of any state where that can be done without penalty.

When you buy a car, your contract is with the company that loaned you the money.

Handing a car back over to that company, or to the dealer who likely didn’t give you the money, doesn’t dissolve the contract.

There will be consequences.

The reason I thought of it, is during the 2008 real estate bubble crash, there were a few states with very high default rates as it is easier to get out of a mortgage there, under some conditions.
If you put in "non recourse car loan states" into grok it does seem there are several states that the lender is mostly limited to just getting the car back. I guess that puts some limits on the seller/financer on how much they can rip people off, or giving loans to people that they really can't afford.
Since 2020, 30 states have/will introduce a mandatory High School course in personal finances, before that it was only 8... So hopefully more people will know what they can afford, or the implications of having debt on depreciating assets.
But I'm sure in each state legislature, the financial industry is funneling millions, lobbying to water down the curriculum to nothing helpful....

 

[Allaned]

The late Ross Perot, a billionaire who could have bought any car he wanted, stuck to everyday GM sedans. Typically those were Oldsmobiles when that marque was still around.

I can't think of a single luxury car I would buy even if I had the money. As long as it's reliable and has four wheels, climate control, a stereo, and cruise control, I'm happy.

It seems to me that the only thing "luxury" about luxury cars is brand plate. All 2025 cars have luxury fittings: AC, cruise, auto trans, stereo and most have power windows.

 

[odie]

^ Roll up windows be good . Burn off a few calories . ^

 

[odie]

Some people could care less about cars. Jeff Bezos reportedly use to drive a Honda Accord while being a billionaire, but he owns a 500 million yacht.

Not as fuel effecient as the Accord .

 

[SC Maintenance]

The reason I thought of it, is during the 2008 real estate bubble crash, there were a few states with very high default rates as it is easier to get out of a mortgage there, under some conditions.
If you put in "non recourse car loan states" into grok it does seem there are several states that the lender is mostly limited to just getting the car back. I guess that puts some limits on the seller/financer on how much they can rip people off, or giving loans to people that they really can't afford.
Since 2020, 30 states have/will introduce a mandatory High School course in personal finances, before that it was only 8... So hopefully more people will know what they can afford, or the implications of having debt on depreciating assets.
But I'm sure in each state legislature, the financial industry is funneling millions, lobbying to water down the curriculum to nothing helpful....

Finance is what it is in the US. Your always technically on the hook for any difference. The lender has to credit you for whatever they made fire saling it - less reasonable costs they incured - which are often substantial.

But the lender still has to collect. Tough to squeeze blood from a stone.

In 2008 there were different programs both the lender or the seller could use for housing. Sometimes the delinquent party would agree to hand over the house keys in return the lender would forgive the remainder. This was likely cheaper for the lender than going to the legal expense and time to evict. It was a strange time. No such thing for cars.

In the end I suspect most of those people just declare personal bankruptcy. Your credit is wrecked either way.

 

[JunkdrawerDog]

I tend to buy the best version of an inexpensive car and pay cash for it. In 5-6 years, after doing basic maintenance and keeping the car CLEAN, I have a good trade in and repeat the process.

 

[Hirev]

Personal finance needs to be taught in schools to give people a fighting chance. Oh yeah, and arithmetic.

I agree 100% Back in the late 1970s in high school we had to take home economics class. The teacher was good at it and brought in guest speakers from business I like it. Looking back thought it was one of the more valuable classes in high school for life. Sounds like many schools did away with it in the 1980s around here.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Can you walk away from a car loan in some states, just by returning the car? In that case, I'm surprised more people don't just hand over the keys and walk away.
Here you can't do that easily, so I think less people do.

They still have to drive to work, get groceries, take kids to school. I imagine they just drive it until it gets repo'd

 

[4wd]

The late Ross Perot, a billionaire who could have bought any car he wanted, stuck to everyday GM sedans. Typically those were Oldsmobiles when that marque was still around.

I can't think of a single luxury car I would buy even if I had the money. As long as it's reliable and has four wheels, climate control, a stereo, and cruise control, I'm happy.

This was mentioned in the Buffet thread - driving an older Caddy (again) …

 

[4wd]

I agree 100% Back in the late 1970s in high school we had to take home economics class. The teacher was good at it and brought in guest speakers from business I like it. Looking back thought it was one of the more valuable classes in high school for life. Sounds like many schools did away with it in the 1980s around here.

Drive by our high school parking lot and see the big expensive trucks by the dozens

 

[MCompact]

I usually buy a 1-3 year old CPO car, pay it off in under 2 years and drive it for 5-7 years.
Depreciation is my friend.

 

[IndyIan]

They still have to drive to work, get groceries, take kids to school. I imagine they just drive it until it gets repo'd

In some state's if they repo your car, and don't do the paperwork perfectly, then they owe you money! Some other states, if they repo then you are free and clear. I guess now I see why used cars and people with poor credit pay such a high interest rate.

I imagine new and newer car dealers are pretty careful to who they do finance agreements with?
We are debt adverse, model citizens with stable jobs, so the one car loan we've had was just showing a pay stub, and I guess they ran our credit score? Anyways it was fast and painless for everyone.

 

[edyvw]

Google “K shaped economy.”

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

In some state's if they repo your car, and don't do the paperwork perfectly, then they owe you money! Some other states, if they repo then you are free and clear. I guess now I see why used cars and people with poor credit pay such a high interest rate.

I imagine new and newer car dealers are pretty careful to who they do finance agreements with?
We are debt adverse, model citizens with stable jobs, so the one car loan we've had was just showing a pay stub, and I guess they ran our credit score? Anyways it was fast and painless for everyone.

Dealerships don't have anything to lose really because they don't carry the risk. Auto loans are packaged and sold off like MBS

 

[edyvw]

Drive by our high school parking lot and see the big expensive trucks by the dozens

^This.
I have neighbors across my house, both working in body shop, one as administrator another as technician: brand new Lexus IS500, new GX550, 3yrs old RAM 1 ton Cummins (bought new). I have no idea how.

 

[Greenbeforeblue]

It all starts with unicorn first birthday parties that cost upwards of grand. Parents embedding the idea in their kid's mind that they're special to the rest of the world and should have the best of everything before earning it. Now, don't take this as an "old man yelling at clouds" because people like that allowed me to excel and retire at the age of 49. It isn't how much intelligence you have, it's how much you use.

In the end, I don't have a dog in the fight because somebody has to be on the bottom for me to be comfortable in the middle.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

It all starts with unicorn first birthday parties that cost upwards of grand. Parents embedding the idea in their kid's mind that they're special to the rest of the world and should have the best of everything before earning it. Now, don't take this as an "old man yelling at clouds" because people like that allowed me to excel and retire at the age of 49. It isn't how much intelligence you have, it's how much you use.

In the end, I don't have a dog in the fight because somebody has to be on the bottom for me to be comfortable in the middle.

OR it's typical keeping up with the Jone's brought in by the baby boomer generation.lol