The average car loan today is $48,000

Not exactly shocking, not since the average price of a car is now in that area.

TBH, a decade or so ago, when things cost half as much, I wonder how many of us here decried cars that cost more than $20k, and demanded that sub $10k vehicles come back. Yet we know inflation is a real thing.

Now if you want to compare median car price to median household income, and show that the ratio has been changing over the decades, now that would be an interesting statistic.
 
It is truly amazing how quickly my money disappears. The replacement F150 was $66K out the door which is double the OTD cost of my old 2009 F150 Lariat. And they want $450 per year for hands free highway driving "blue cruise". I'm sorry but a subscription to use the equipment I've already purchased is nonsense. Not going to do that.

And of course, my insurance is now $8K per year.
 
which is why the US is selling less new vehicles than pre-Covid, and at the same number as the mid-80's----even though we probably have 100 million more people living in the country.

The bizarro-world used car market and Toyota used car tax will not go away anytime soon.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ALTSALES


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Debtors prison for a car. Hard pass.

You are correct....but the problem is that in "the good ol' days" the 1st owners of cars could be lazy with their maintenance and the 2nd, 3rd owner might not even notice.

Will a 2022-era GDI turbo CVT getting a 10k OCI during its lease, then neglected during the ownership by the 2nd owner still hold up for its 3rd owner?

The buyers who are the 3rd, 4th owners of cars are going to get hammered by repair costs versus the same used car buyers from 15, 20 years ago.

Buy a new car then driving it for >10 years is the winning move. by far. in my opinion.
 
The 80s' and 90s' had high auto loan rates . I purchased a new light blue 1990(?) PLYMOUTH Colt ( 1.5 Ltr. w/ 5 speed manual ) base model 2 door hatch and the rate was around 20% . Was in my late 20s' .

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The 80s' and 90s' had high auto loan rates . I purchased a new a 1990(?) PLYMOUTH Colt ( 1.5 Ltr. w/ 5 speed manual ) base model 2 door hatch and the rate was 21% or a bit higher . Was in my late 20s' .

That’s an insane rate! But what was the payment? And how did that payment compare to your income?
 
In the late 70's I had a job and zero credit history. I was 20 years old. I bought a new Datsun 210 sedan at an 18% interest rate. No cosigner, nothing. The rate was high but it established my credit history. I was then able to get (at the time) gas credit cards, then bank cards, etc.

Sometimes a less than idea car loan can make sense.
 
That’s an insane rate! But what was the payment? And how did that payment compare to your income?
It was $7,000 or less . Federal minimum wage was $3.80 at that time . Sold it not long after buying it . Was fairly young and learned a lesson .
 
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It was just 5 years ago at the end of 2019 right before the pandemic was getting underway. One of those GM end of year events where "everybody gets employee pricing" blah blah. I had my eye on a brand new 2020 Silverado 1500, Extended Cab Trailboss....$34k including tax!

Now its easily $20k more than that!
 
As long as people are willing to finance that amount on a vehicle prices will remain high.
If the market as a whole just stayed away then average retail pricing would decline.
I mean, it's transportation, not a lifestyle nor a statement of anything more than gullibility.
 
It is truly amazing how quickly my money disappears. The replacement F150 was $66K out the door which is double the OTD cost of my old 2009 F150 Lariat. And they want $450 per year for hands free highway driving "blue cruise". I'm sorry but a subscription to use the equipment I've already purchased is nonsense. Not going to do that.

And of course, my insurance is now $8K per year.
That blue cruise is a constant thing I see on ROs wanting a diagnosis for it not working.
 
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