Used Car Market In Turmoil As Prices Collapse And Demand Wanes

Repos are up and I don’t feel sorry for someone buying an expensive vehicle to look cool when a $7000 Corolla or Civic would suffice.
The majority of people who finance cars cannot even come up with the $7k cash to buy a really old car. Financing autos favors new/used vehicles, a $7k car means really high payments/shorter term as risk is high for lender.
 
The majority of people who finance cars cannot even come up with the $7k cash to buy a really old car. Financing autos favors new/used vehicles, a $7k car means really high payments/shorter term as risk is high for lender.
This has been going on for a long time. People get themselves into financial trouble and then are at the mercy of the dealers who will sell them a vehicle. Debt scares the heck outta me. It ain't what you make; it's what you do with it.
 
This has been going on for a long time. People get themselves into financial trouble and then are at the mercy of the dealers who will sell them a vehicle. Debt scares the heck outta me. It ain't what you make; it's what you do with it Keep.
Fixed it for ya’…

And I couldn’t agree more. The used car business has a long, sordid history of predatory selling and lending to sailors. I’ve had to get involved with the slime that sets up outside the gate of our local bases.
 
Fixed it for ya’…

And I couldn’t agree more. The used car business has a long, sordid history of predatory selling and lending to sailors. I’ve had to get involved with the slime that sets up outside the gate of our local bases.
If ya ain't been burned on a car purchase ya ain't buying enough cars... Just my experience.
However, if I learned something, it ain't all bad. Being a hard head can be a tough road to hoe; don't ask me how I know.
 
Fixed it for ya’…

And I couldn’t agree more. The used car business has a long, sordid history of predatory selling and lending to sailors. I’ve had to get involved with the slime that sets up outside the gate of our local bases.
Yeah, when I was a Company Commander, it was the same thing. Predatory is too kind of a word.

I would get calls from "lenders" that said "so and so is late this week". This WEEK! I would refer the worst offenders to JAG. And have monthly meetings with senior NCOs to get them to pay attention to this.

When BRAC was going on, we almost lost a base due to the predatory car lots and loan sharks (disgused as "payday lenders") parked outside the gates.

More young privates had their credit scores destroyed by these "places of business" than anything else. Used to drive me crazy.
 
Rental prices are "strong" because the the amount full is at an all time low on average. If you have half your room full, you need to charge 2x the price to make up the same revenue.

Check the stats. Rental "prices" are strong, not rental quantity. Yes we have a record amount of people renting, but also a record amount of people choosing to live with their parents.
my adult kids live with me.. one of them makes $50k and the other 40K and neither of them could afford and apartment in our area.
Average apartment rent in my area is more than $2k a month.

the powers that be just built some new luxury apartments called The Pearl.. for example this is the rent for a 1b.
1 bedroom

$2,414
1ba, 815 sq ft,

I've seen them advertising 2 months free rent to get you to move in.. https://thepearlfs.com/
 
my adult kids live with me.. one of them makes $50k and the other 40K and neither of them could afford and apartment in our area.
Average apartment rent in my area is more than $2k a month.

the powers that be just built some new luxury apartments called The Pearl.. for example this is the rent for a 1b.
1 bedroom

$2,414
1ba, 815 sq ft,

I've seen them advertising 2 months free rent to get you to move in.. https://thepearlfs.com/
The official government number is you need to be making 105k a year to afford to purchase an average home right now.

If you want a home for 250k in my area it comes with: no lights, paint, trim, moulding, crap hardwoord, crap carpet, plastic, no stainless steel, etc. In otherwords I would have to spend another 50-100k renovating to get it into a standard of building that was offered on 150k homes just 5 years ago. I kid you not, the open space (living room, dining room, kitchen) has ONE BULB.

EDIT: One time I did the math on how much it would cost to build one if I GC'd the home myself (which I did in 08, and work for a large engineering firm so I could get our local Hispanic guys to come do some overtime). I could build those homes for under 100k.

When I moved to my current town, I rented an apartment (this was 2007) 3 beds, balcony, and garage, for 1250/mo in a premium establishment. It was half empty, it was "too expensive". Now they want the same for 1 bed, no amenities, no garage. I bet you they are half empty. As a matter of fact I will drive by take a look.
 
Not sure how accurate this report is. Like the housing market, we have seen reports showing declines, that end up being wrong. This is the first report I have come across showing a decline in used car prices.

Higher rate environment. It would be nice to know the age distribution. People looking for a "deal" will be sorely disappointed unless they're willing to pay cash because there's an undersupply of vehicles built 2020-2022.

 
Honda is packed with cars, see them for 2-4k bellow sticker on the regular brand new.
No one is buying, cars are piling up, only a matter of time.
 
Best bet:
Throw cash into high yield - use it to cover 50% of your rent. Save as much as you can. Buy low when it all goes down. That is if you have no where to stay. Its always a good idea to buy a house with a basement - easy revenue and kids can always move in and renovate on their own dime.
 
You sound like the kind of person that didn't look at their 401k after the 07/08 crash :) must have hurt...a lot.
Hurt? I aggressivly bought in both equities and real estate. Bought multiple properties for 20-40 cents on the dollar. It was THE best investing streak I had in my life. I still celebrate it daily!
 
my adult kids live with me.. one of them makes $50k and the other 40K and neither of them could afford and apartment in our area.
Average apartment rent in my area is more than $2k a month.

the powers that be just built some new luxury apartments called The Pearl.. for example this is the rent for a 1b.
1 bedroom

$2,414
1ba, 815 sq ft,

I've seen them advertising 2 months free rent to get you to move in.. https://thepearlfs.com/
The Midwest is the last remnant of affordable American living. $1000/month in Michigan can go far. I left there to a much more expensive area, to escape the winters. I’m paying for it now in blood.
 
The Midwest is the last remnant of affordable American living. $1000/month in Michigan can go far. I left there to a much more expensive area, to escape the winters. I’m paying for it now in blood.
I left the Midwest 40 years ago and am ready to go back.. It says Miami on your icon, so yeah, you picked about the most expensive place in FLA.
 
The Midwest is the last remnant of affordable American living. $1000/month in Michigan can go far. I left there to a much more expensive area, to escape the winters. I’m paying for it now in blood.

Carolinas are affordable.
 
Fixed it for ya’…

And I couldn’t agree more. The used car business has a long, sordid history of predatory selling and lending to sailors. I’ve had to get involved with the slime that sets up outside the gate of our local bases.
Regrettably, the problem with targeting naive service people has migrated from used car dealers, to some new car dealerships. Just outside of JBLM/ Ft Lewis is a Ford dealership, that is part of a mega dealership group. This Ford dealership is "off limits" to all servicemembers assigned to JBLM/ FT Lewis. It takes a lot of really bad business practices for a three-star general to ban a business.

Of note, I went to this dealership for a warranty repair. The Ford dealership stated the failed emissions part was not covered under warranty. Of course it was, but I pulled the Ford out of their immediately as they broke any trust. I googled why this would happen- the search resulted in a common theme. The service writer makes zero commission on a warranty repair. But makes a commission if the repair can be charged to the customer.

Have to wonder how many JBLM/ Ft Lewis service members paid for repairs that were covered by manufacturer warranty.....
 
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Best bet:
Throw cash into high yield - use it to cover 50% of your rent. Save as much as you can. Buy low when it all goes down. That is if you have no where to stay. It’s o always a good idea to buy a house with a basement - easy revenue and kids can always move in and renovate on their own dime.

No basements down here in the swamp.

I agree with your advice.
 
Regrettably, the problem with targeting naive service people has migrated from used car dealers, to some new car dealerships. Just outside of JBLM/ Ft Lewis their is a Ford dealership, that is part of a mega dealership group. This Ford dealership is "off limits" to all servicemembers assigned to JBLM/ FT Lewis. It takes a lot of really bad business practices for a three-star general to ban a business.

Of note, I went to this dealership for a warranty repair. The Ford dealership stated the failed emissions part was not covered under warranty. Of course it was, but I pulled the Ford out of their immediately as they broke any trust. I googled why this would happen- the search resulted in a common theme. The service writer makes zero commission on a warranty repair. But makes a commission if the repair can be charged to the customer.

Have to wonder how many JBLM/ Ft Lewis service members paid for repairs that were covered by manufacturer warranty.....

Maybe some E-2 and E-3 got into a $75,000 truck with glitter & glam package @ Zero down and 84 month financing, then the repo man had to get CO permission to get on base to repo truck.

When I was in the Air Force I had a 1988 CRX econobox….. other airmen my age drove Mustang GT, IROC-Z, etc….
 
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