Most don't have 40plus Large laying around.....................or can put it to better use than paying cash. And yes there can be better uses.
The average car loan today is $48,000
- Thread starter odie
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Well people must be in dire need of a car payment cause I see perfectly good running paid for cars being traded in for a payment
Look-some on here don't get buying new vehicles - just like some don't get running around in a beater Crown Vic that has 250,000 miles on it...
My point was that it's silly for most buyers to pay that kind of money for something that is no more nor less than personal transportation.
Also, if one can afford to lay down that kind of coin up front then he probably has enough behind that sum that it really makes no sense to borrow it.
OTOH, those who can well afford it can do so largely because they haven't and wouldn't.
Still driving my 2017 Chevy SS, hoping it holds up and doesn’t fail, especially with parts becoming harder to find. 
You have no idea and your post is pure speculation. It's silly for me to understand why one would drive around in a Nissan Versa. Life is too short.
Again-there are plenty of posts where paying cash doesn't make sense and investing it does.
So clearly-we view things differently.
Well the three cars in my signature were purchased new with that in mind. However I don't think it pays out anymore.
If I bought new now I would give up $2500 in T-bills a year to buy a new car. If your financing your paying $300+ per month just in interest. In 2009 interest on either side was zero, so time value of the cash was minimal either way.
Doesn't seem to pay out anymore - at least where I am.
Observed reality isn't speculation.
If your ride is the limit of your personal aspirations, then that's fine.
Better to drive a Versa and actually go somewhere and see something than to spend double money and be able to afford only bargain basement travel, but then most Americans don't have passports anyway.
Yes, we do see things differently.
Yes, young people today have NO idea what living in the 80's were like, economically. 30-something at work complains bitterly when gas is above $3.00 and/or his mortgage is above 5%. Laughable to the max.
I just got back from a two month vacation. Nine countries and 25 port stops........
And yea-could have bought a Nissan Versa instead.
Except the cost of these items (especially housing) when adjusted and compared to income, is far different. The only people who have "no idea" are those who don't realize that we are at historic levels of asset prices vs median household income. The difference in interest rates doesn't even come close to closing that chasm.
There's a whole group of people that are stuck on this strange treadmill where they can (barely) afford the payments on a car but not maintenance or repairs, which can get pretty expensive these days. So, when a car gets close to 100k they ditch it for a newer car or lease or whatever and roll their negative equity in because they are unable to handle an unexpected expense. It's stupid, but it's what the cash-poor end of the vanishing middle class does.
I think people are signing bad interest rates to get there. My initial loan was $41.5k, but the payment is $587. That's at 0.99%. I would have waited if it wasn't for promotional rates. Total cost was $44k. The interest rate alone made it cheaper than buying a gasoline powered vehicle.
With the average income in the US I have some concerns about people signing $41k loans. It's probably not a good financial decision for some, but of course we all have the freedom to make our own decisions.
We enjoy cruises as an easy and fairly inexpensive escape from the Northern winter. We've done more than thirty of them with that goal.
The ship is like a three star hotel, although with small rooms, and there are many islands with nice snorkeling and even some lovely old Brit or French or Spanish forts. Still, not enough time in port to do more than scratch the surface of a place and most ports are far from anything of any real interest.
Still, if that's your idea of travel, then more power to you.
A week somewhere interesting might change your view.
Close example and it's bad news for consumers. This is the number of payments in weeks based on median income.
"The index considers actual sale prices after any discounts or negotiations rather than simply the MSRP. It also factors in a 10% down payment plus interest and assumes a 72-month term for financing."
This very thing has been discussed before at length. Its a false narrative to say one generations home cost more (adjusted for income) without defining the home differences. You can't compare a 1300 sq/ft., two bed, one bath, 50's model sitting up on cement blocks with old vinal tile floors, formica counters, and window A/C units, with todays 2500 ft. slab built 4/2/2 with valulted ceilings, granite counters and 2 car garage with out taking into account the massive upgrades the new home has.
I'm sorry, you must be daft. The data is all there for you to search and it shows you are wrong. You are so far off the home size or quality isn't even close to relevant. The median price to income ratio has gone up around 4x since the 80s.
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A bunch of old guys bickering about costs today based on 40 years ago, and who has the best worst vacations (seriously comparing cruises?). You guys must be fun at parties.
You bring up a good point, we are buying more... however, it's hard to buy less when lesser houses are not being built. To get that level of "lesser" housing requires one to buy the land and drop down a modular, or just about that path, and deal with all the issues of building to taste. All the power to someone who wants to do that, and build to their desire/need, we could use cheaper housing in this country.
Two bedroom house? Was that a real thing in the past? Most families through the years had multiple kids, which means decent odds of having both sexes, and a real need for having 3 bedrooms. In retirement 2 bedrooms is fine, but for the family man (or aspiring family couple), 3 seems like a better number. [And in full disclosure, my first home was 2 bedroom that I bought--geez, has it been that long?--20 years ago, and I regret going that small now. For various reasons I took a bath on selling. Its only positive was that it was cheap and I was able to weather the financial crisis because it was cheap and didn't constrain my budget.]
