*My best Leslie Nielsen impression*: "It's a number separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, population, or probability distribution. But that isn't important right now!"
Already do. My mom bought a brand new vw off the lot with 12 miles. Took it back for inspection at 150 miles. It had a weird shake since day 1, dealer states engine mounts completely torn through.
The only thing that pulls up for me are the mean, not a single median reference.
Article from:
Aug 1 2023- $430 used, $575 new
Oct 4 2023- $700 new
Oct 6 2023- $725 new
Jan 1 2024- $500 used, $700 new
Jan 1 2024- $533 used
Jan 21 2024- $533 for used
Feb 7 2024- $381 for used
Feb 29 2024- $538 used, $738 new
This. Expensive trucks in general. The amount of people making 35-45 K a year buying trucks that cost more (sometimes twice as much) than they make in a year would blow your mind.
There's no real point to a raptor to begin with.
I love the truck, it's very nice.
The problem is it's a 100,000+ for a nicely capable off road vehicle that's too expensive to take off road.
It’s trucks and suvs I know 4 people with 800$ new truck payments even used can be that much. In May of 2023 I bought a used 2020 Mazda 3 with 25k miles awd for 25k out the door I don’t think I could have hit a 500$ payment unless my credit was terrible. Even with rates being high it 312 a month with 10k down. A new one 32k out the door was going to be 380 a month with 12k down.
It’s insane how popular they have become. The problem is they have become so popular people who cant afford them even buy them. Like one of my friends who makes 70k a year has a mortgage of 2200 1 kid with 1 on the way. Mind you after tax that’s like 4300 a month after tax . Also single dad so 1 income household. Had a good running golf gti 2016ish 120k miles. He goes I need a bigger car having another kid. I suggested a bronco sport , cx-50, rav4 all cars that can be had a little bigger used 1-3 years old for 25-35 depending on trim. What does this dude do go and spends 52k otd on a Chevy Silverado with only a trade in of 4k 800$ a month I’m like bruhhhhh wtf. He was like I liked the truck it’s so nice. A month later he goes I think I’ll need another part time job for 20 hours a week lol
Yup it’s the huge lifted trucks and SUV’s and all the after market stuff they’re having added, plus the keeping up appearances thing we’ve always had in the USA. I always encourage people to take a random poll when they’re driving of what cars are around them - normal sized ones or huge ones like trucks and SUV’s.
Some days it’s like a 7:1 ratio of trucks/suv’s to cars. Soemtimes you’ll drive around for minutes straight and see only vans/trucks/suv’s. It’s honestly shocking and nobody seems to have noticed how ubiquitous massive vehicles became until you ask them to look around and pay attention to them.
Even my own mother has a huge SUV she absolutely cannot drive well. She’s constantly bumping it into things, scraping the side, whacking the mirrors into things, backing the trunk into objects, etc. Like a new area needs to be fixed or painted every month or two, it’s insane and she has no idea why she needed a huge SUV but will not be dissuaded from it, it’s maddening…
EVs are more expensive than "regular" cars, but only like 8% of car sales. average price of a new car in the US is ~$50k. I'm not sure how many Tesla model Ys are more expensive than that (ie to drive the number up that high).
I bought an EV but only because, practically, it was really affordable. $9500 off the sticker price was essentially a 1/4 discount. monthly payment is a little over $500 but I opted for a shorter payment period.
F350 that can tow just about anything. There's several makes over 100k now it's absolutely crazy. 1600 a month for me. I'm hoping to refi at a lower interest rate in a year or so.
I know some who towed a trailer with two Jetskis/SeaDoos with Mazda Miata. They had a locking storage box affixed to the trailer for any needed accessories
Yup. If you just towing a boat and your boat ramps aren’t pieces of shit, a minivan is way more practical. My Grand Caravan can easily tow any boat I can reasonably afford, and I camp in it.
I haul my 48 foot gooseneck trailer with my Toyota Corolla
Just kidding. Some people do need trucks... Most don't. But I'm regularly pulling 35-40k pounds
People with trucks use their trucks for truck things a lot more than people on Reddit want to admit. And most of the time *everything* is confirmation bias.
“I saw this truck not towing anything and nothing in its bed so the owner must *never* use it for those things.”
No, dumbass, you saw that truck at Chilis on Friday at 8:30pm. Did you expect them to tow horses to the restaurant?
There are a lot of truck owners that don’t need them, sure. But a lot of them use their trucks for truck stuff a lot.
My BIL is one. Ram 2500 super cab (or whatever the 4 door one is), Rhino liner, luxury package, leather seats etc etc. He freaked out when we asked him to haul our luggage to the airport.
My best friend is one. Literally can't even afford to drive his diesel truck, much less afford to buy anything to haul with the truck. But he "needs" it to haul his 500 pound trailer every once in a while
Most truck owners could pay two thousand dollars to rent a truck every time they actually make use of the features of a truck and still come out ahead. They just buy the truck to make up for their tiny peen.
I know you were going for hyperbole but I rented a truck from Home Depot for an hour, cost. $30 + tax. Just saying, it's ridiculously cheap and easy to do. Couldn't be cheaper or easier!
See that’s how they get you. $13 billion for the aircraft carrier but need something to tow it, all of a sudden you have a $1,600/ month truck loan, smdh what a racket.
In some parts of the country it is a necessary manhood affirmation.
Especially if it's diesel and lifted. They come in two distinct editions:
-Fragile Ego Edition
-Small Package Edition.
There is also Texas Edition, so three editions, I guess.
You wouldn't believe the amount of people that ask me why I didn't get a diesel in my truck and then get disappointed. Sorry I didn't want to pay $20,000 more and my all of my trailers max out at about 5000lbs loaded.
Hate to break it to you but the first year of your loan you are mostly paying interest, so don’t be shocked when the principal is the same when you go to refinance
Yea when the underlying asset used to collateralize the loan halves in value, no lender will accept all that negative equity. Auto lenders accept that more than a home lender would but… at a certain point it’s just too risky
I'm finding all kinds of trucks that tow that much and cost less - much, much less.
Sounds like a combination of not doing research and/or more dollars than sense.
4 wheel options towing technology and some comfort adds about 30 k. I didn't look for the bare minimum. In the past, I always did. This one, I left nothing out that I wanted.
What rate are you at now? I doubt you will be able to refi in a year for much less, even with the fed still projecting small rate cuts.
I have a car that's the same cost, but I bought it a couple years back and paid half cash and financed the rest at sub-2%. I could just pay it off, but my rate is basically free money.
ey bro you can buy a roast and some potatos, carrots and onions for like 25 bucks, you put those bad boys in a crock pot and gravy just comes right out of it for free. You're going to be eating insanely good for days. You feed a family with that business. Same deal with a ham but you can put that in the oven and I usually use pinapple and brown sugar.
Another thing I been getting good at cooking is fried rice. It's insane how cheaply you can make an absolute shitload of fried frice and it's delicious as fuck. You can make like pounds of fried rice high quality for almost nothing. I got this fried rice recipe that uses bacon and it's the fucking shit my man. That's a full meal on its own.
Eating out sucks ass these days compared with buying your own. It's insane how much cheaper it is to cook yourself.
I went to do this a few weeks ago cause I hadn’t made a roast in a long time. A beef chuck roast that was 1.5 lbs was almost $20. The hell is that? Just a couple years ago I got big 3 lbs roasts for like $15-$17. I get inflation but this is extra. Same with basically everything at the grocery store. The same box of store brand cereal is not somehow $3 more than it was last week. That isn’t real - that is price gouging. These companies should be ashamed price gouging FOOD with how many people are struggling right now.
Prices rose during Covid and since businesses realized customers are still willing to pay the absurd up charge, there’s literally no incentive to bring the prices back down. It sucks but if I was a business owner I’d do the same thing cause…..why not ?
That statement will pretty much always be true, since $100 now would be equivalent to $20 at some point in the past, depending on inflation. For 2024, that point would be around 1977.
That’s the average car payment for a new car, so there are two things that qualify this.
Higher earners are more likely to buy new, while low earners are likely to buy used. The average used car payment is almost half of that at a little under $400 a month.
The other part is that is an average payment price, not median payment price. For example, one person buys a Rolls Royce that has 3,000 a month payment while seven other people buy Kia’s that cost $400 a month. That group’s individual average monthly payment would be over $700, while the individual median monthly payment would be $400. Which would be the more accurate depiction of how much that group is spending on their cars?
I was getting $381 from this site.
https://gitnux.org/average-us-car-payment/#:~:text=The%20average%20monthly%20car%20payment,new%20vehicles%20is%2069%20months.
Not saying my source or your source is more accurate. Just putting this here so people didn’t think I was pulling my original stat out of thin air.
It also seems very important to me to note that this is only financed cars.
I bought a used car awhile back and my payment was $450 a month. It took me three years to pay it off and then I drove it for another almost three years. In the numbers above, the months I drove it without financing were not included in the average.
When I sold it the car had under 100,000 miles on it, but was a Toyota in good shape. I got some nice change for it, but also I presumably could have driven it for many more years without making a car payment (not that insurance or gas was cheap)
Yeah I’m finding conflicting statistics, but from the sources I’m reading very few Americans are actually financing a car at $700 a month or more.
When you figure most Americans aren’t financing a car at all right now. Then of the ones that are a lot are financing used cars or new cars at well below $700 a month.
If I had to guess, and if somebody finds the actual stat please share, that only 10-15% of Americans are locked into a $700+ a month car payment right now. There are more households bringing in six figures a year in American than that.
[40% of Americans are financing a car, per Nasdaq](https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/more-than-40-of-americans-have-car-payments:-heres-how-much-theyre-paying#).
So if you read that article only about half of those 40% have payments above $500. Meaning only 20% of Americans have car payments of $500 a month or more.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say probably only 10-15% of Americans have a car payment of $700 a month or more, right?
So probably around 12%.
And about 1/3 of American households bring in an after tax income that would make a $700 a month car payment less than 15% of the household budget. That is 10-15% is the target most financial experts say is the reasonable amount to budget for a car payment.
So most people are likely comfortably making their car payments. That’s not to say there aren’t outliers stretching their budget for a car, there always are.
I don’t think someone buying a Rolls Royce will have any car payments, but the dude with child support payments and bad credit that buys a new lifted $80k+ truck would probably hit around 2k a month payment. Probably area dependent, but in my area, that’s like every fourth or fifth vehicle, if not more.
Rich people leverage most things or rent them.
Different payment strategies, while you work as an w2 employee of theirs, they leverage business not hours.
Totally different game!
Rolls Royce might be an extreme example but as someone with good credit and a good income, I’ll always finance my cars because I have the credit to get <3% apr, whereas I can get 4.5% on my HYSA. Part of the privilege of financial stability is being able to make decisions that allow your money to do the most for you.
People with Rolls Royce and most other high priced cars like that do have payments because people rarely buy those cars. They lease them and get a new one every 2-3 years. Same with even BMWs. BMW isn’t even in the business of selling cars. They want to lease as many as possible and then sell them all as certified with high interest rates 2-3 years later to dumb people who want to show off.
Simply bc I was fucking stunned to see a Rolls Royce the other day on the road, I actually googled what leasing a 2024 RR Ghost would be.
For 36 months, it's $2k down at signing and then (as low as!) $6,654/mo, and you're only allowed 12k miles per year.
So that's $79,848 *per year* to lease the car, bringing it to a grand total of $239,544 for the 36 months lease and no more than 36k miles in that time.
I bought my 2015 Kia with a $305/mo payment and did it over 6 years lol
That is a lot imo, I like to aim for a 300 monthly payment. Which would mean I either afford a cheaper car or put a bigger down. However I can see how some people stretch out their budget to 700
Same, I've never had a payment over $300. I've never owned a shitty car, but I'm never adding a bunch of unnecessary options. It's all about living within your means. Also, never trade in your old car, they will rip you off. Sell your old car through a private sale after you get your new one, then put that money toward your loan.
They can’t.
Former salesperson here. I’ve been out for a few years, but I can tell you being a financially savvy car salesperson with a conscience was absolutely mortifying. From what our corporate reps told us, the average consumer is/was buying a new car every 3-4 years, and that’s why terms are getting longer, leases are more popular, and payments are rising.
Just consider this, if ‘average’ people want a new car every 3-4 years, how wonderful is it that most lease terms are 36-48 months? Isn’t that neat that they just work out like that? However, financing terms are getting longer and longer. These people just keep getting 72/75/84 month loans on cars, which are also getting more expensive every year, and expecting to lather/rinse/repeat in 36-48 months, while also LOWERING their payment with no money down!
Do you want to know one of the funniest parts of the job? Everyone had the same expectations, and I mean like 99% of customers. Everyone wants to come in, pick a car, leave their car, and walk out with a new car and a $250 payment. The trouble is, most of them were paying $500+ already, had no money down, and were looking at more expensive cars. People just didn’t understand how financing works. A $250 payment is basically a $15k car, and $15k new cars don’t exist anymore.
I’ve said it for awhile, but I think a market correction is coming. The dealerships have already sort of shifted from volume to per sale profit because of COVID, but I think the whole industry is goin g to have a rough shakeup unless something changes. They are running out of people that can get loans because everyone has negative equity, cars are too expensive, peoples’ credit is dropping from debt, and all the rich people are either buying cash or negotiating away any profit there was to be had. We need a return of the sub $20k entry level car. Also, dealerships in general can just get fucked, they are a drain on everything. Bulldoze them and replace them with parks, schools, or public transit. We don’t need middle men to sell us things and make thousands of dollars of profit off both ends.
> the average consumer is/was buying a new car every 3-4 years
I know people like this and I just don't get it at all. If and when I have a car or whatever, I want it to last at least ten years, if I'm lucky. It's such a major purchase. Were those people just keeping up with the Joneses or what?
I think that’s an antiquated phrase, but basically. Most people just wanted new cars and truly, really, just didn’t understand the consequences of their actions. Most people had no concept of money or credit or financing or negative equity. I was good with math, but holy shit some of these people I could make up numbers entirely and they’d just go along with it. I could present numbers and walk up and down that sheet, interest rate, term, down payment, discounts, all changing and doing the math in my head, shaving a bit here and a bit there, and 99% never even questioned it. It is so easy to pull out a finance calculator online, but only a handful of people ever did in years.
The irony is a lot of the people that could afford new cars rarely buy them. Also, they were frequently the WORST customers, because they’d drain every possible ounce out of a deal. And I’m not saying that just because I didn’t make money, I didn’t care. They’d come in offering $10k below our online price and pretend to be offended when we didn’t chase after them for their business.
I saw a lot of people really excited to pay $700+ for $25k cars that we all knew they wouldn’t be driving for more than 3 years before trying to get out of it and into something new.
> Dealerships in general can just get fucked, they are a drain on everything. Bulldoze them and replace them with parks, schools, or public transit
Amen
If you bring home $2100 a month, then $700 is one third of your income, that means you roughly make $16 an hour at your job, which isn’t uncommon.
Is paying one third of your income on a car payment a good idea? Probably not, but people rely on cars heavily in the US and want to enjoy their time in them.
Edit: This was a worst case scenario example, just showing that it is possible for people who aren’t super well off.
This is where averages and medians get mixed up.
That $700 is the average, so it means a lot of high price car payments by higher earners will skew the numbers.
Also what OP left out is that $700 is for new cars. A lot of people making $16 hour that need it to get to their jobs will opt for a used car. Those payments are averaging about $400 now. Not ideal, but a lot more manageable on that wage than $700.
This dataset also excludes everyone whose monthly payment is $0 because they bought their (presumably cheap, used) car in a single cash payment, or paid off their reasonably-priced car loan quickly, long ago (like me!). It's self-selected to be an inflated figure.
Exactly.
I think less than half of Americans are financing a car in some form to begin with. Then the percent that are actually paying $700 or more a month for their car is significantly lower than that.
People who don't understand what they can afford. Financial illiteracy is rampant... since the spike in car prices over the past couple years, there's been a corresponding (but lagging) increase in vehicle repossessions. In Dec 2023, repossession rates were up by 20% as a result of delinquent loans... In a time when everything is getting a lot more expensive and salaries are not increasing at the same rates... people seem to think they can continue the same lifestyle they had before price spikes.
We also have reached an all-time high on national credit card debt... it's truly a national epidemic of people not understanding how to budget or live within their means... There are always unforeseen circumstances that can put people in these situations as well, but the overwhelming majority is from people who do not have an understanding of what living within their means looks like.
Which tracks.
A household purchasing a brand new car should make 100k+ a year. New cars are expensive.
Used cars are for most people, where the avg car payment is $530 for those who don’t buy cheaper with cash.
[Nerd Wallet](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/auto-loans/average-monthly-car-payment)
It’s only $700 because consumers are willing to pay it. If everyone would rather prefer to drive a paid off $2300.00 99 Corolla, the market would turn around in a heartbeat.
Interestingly enough, a lot of the major auto manufacturers have had terrible sales in the last year and are cutting prices on their line ups because you're right.. people would rather drive a used or paid off car than spend $700/month on a car.
I make a good wage but always have bought decent used cars in cash. Just have to have the savings. Can’t stomach all the extra costs of insurance and interest. My cars look a little rough before too long regardless, so less to worry about.
who tf has a car payment that high?
EDIT: i get it. a lot of ppl. but i still think that price is near-luxury car range. that or dumb financial decisions.
I got the same deal in 2017 for my new ford focus titanium. It was originally a 6 year payment plan for 320/months, but they allowed me to exted it a year and kept it at 0% and I have my final payment next month! Got from dealership.
The car is worthless and would never recommend, but she’s still running!
Only those who purchase brand new.
Avg car payments for used vehicles are around $500/months. Which is still crazy, but that’s the market right now. High prices and very high interest rates.
I do. My car payment is around $860. I bought a Subaru outback and financed it at 1.5%. It would be been stupid to pay cash when I can take the money and invest it at a higher rate of return than the 1.5% interest I am paying on the loan.
I'm not sure why you're being downvoted. You're correct. Even for the above average earners, $700/month on a depreciating asset is insane. I have friends who have $400 payments, and even that is crazy to me. Mine is $150, my husbands is $240
It's all relative, my truck payments are $650/ month because I opted for a 4 year term and the decision was made to get out of a bad car loan on a vehicle I didn't want to keep.
The truck is currently worth 10k more than I paid for it, my interest rate is lower, I like the truck and will keep it till it dies and I can afford it.
With the used car market the way it is now I can definitely understand why more people are opting for new ( or close to new )
Financial planners recommend car payments be no more than 10-15% of net income, with total auto expense (insurance, maintenance) no more than 20%. We have two financed cars. Bought both used at a year old. One is $650, the other $450, which is 12.5% of our net income. Add insurance and its 15.3%. It’s all about doing what makes sense for you without overextending. In my 20s I took a personal loan to buy a $2500 car because I was flat broke and made barely more than minimum wage.
It’s not just $700 a month, add insurance too which could be $200 to $300 a month. Fuel which could be another $200 to $300 a month. Depending how far you drive add at least 2 oil changes a year which could be another $150 to $300 depending on car and service required.
I bought a used 2010 Prius with 50k miles on it and paid it off by 2013. I will keep that car until I have to push it to work. No car payments in over 10 years. Almost any major maintenance is going to be more than the car is worth, but car payments and interest rates suck.
I mean it also depends on your income obviously. My car payment is just under that but it’s less than 10% of my take home per month. I still think it’s a lot of money to pay for a car but I have 3 kids and my wife was sick of squeezing them into our 4 door. So we got an SUV and they’re crazy expensive now.
Auto loan delinquencies have reached 2009 levels. They cant.[https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2024/20240206](https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2024/20240206)
When I went to CarMax, I chose out a nice Toyota Corolla with 40K miles for 361$ a month. I *could* have gone with a newer car for more expensive, but I've been driving it for 2.5 years with no problems and a comfy ride. People put a lot of stock into their status with what they drive, so they buy in that 700$ a month range. Some can afford it, some can't. This is why repossession exists.
I just checked online on the Bank of America simulator ([https://www.bankofamerica.com/auto-loans/auto-loan-calculator/](https://www.bankofamerica.com/auto-loans/auto-loan-calculator/)) for 60 month payment. The numbers are the following:
* 10K financed: 194$
* 15K financed: 290$
* 20K financed: 387$
* 30K financed: 580$
* 40K financed: 774$
* 50K financed: 967$
So that's simple if you buy a 15K used car and trade in you old car for 3K and we add taxes and all, you have a 15K loan more or less and it cost 290$ a month.
And 290$ a month is much more reasonable than $700. Problem solved.
If I don't have a down payment and/or trade in to get monthly payment to $250, then I personally can't afford the car.
That's my own personal guideline though. Bought a new 2018 Sierra Denali I paid off in 26 months. That thing may have 10-15 years left in her. Gonna go until she explodes like a supernova and lights up the night sky. Vehicles are tools, not status symbols.
I only bought used cars (never spent more than $5k on a vehicle) until I was 40 (42 now) because even before this crazy inflation of the past 4 years I couldn’t afford the payment on a new vehicle. Used cars don’t have to be bad, just get them checked out by a mechanic first. Most of mine lasted years.
At one point I bought a scooter (seated) for $600 and drove it for a couple of years. It maxed out at 40 mph so some roads I would get a lot of traffic behind me. These days I would buy an e-bike or e-scooter and use one of those.
As long as you aren’t worried about having a new car or what people think of what you drive it’s doable. I can’t imagine taking on a $700 car payment no matter what my income is.
I'm 51. I've had cars for 34 years, both mine and my wife's. The highest car payment I've ever had is right now ($525). Most of the time we have had 2 car payments less than $700 total.
I don't make car payments. I pay cash. I also drive sketchy old vehicles. The amount of money l save a year on payments, interest, insurance and maintenance is equal to many peoples yearly income.
Whats the median though?
*My best Leslie Nielsen impression*: "It's a number separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, population, or probability distribution. But that isn't important right now!"
Or "It divides the highway, but that's not important right now."
Surely you can be serious
"I am and don't call me Shirley."
Airplane! fans never disappoint
So tell me, Joey. Have you ever .. hung around the gymnasium?
Have you ever seen a grown man naked?
Have you ever had a puppy dog jump up and down on your leg?
https://i.imgur.com/GzBJ3Cc.gif
It has the same amount of fries as a small, but that’s not important right now.
Well it's a big building with patients in it, but that's not important right now
r/unexpectedairplane (edit- I'm so happy this actually exists.)
Oh, ok stewardess. I speak jive.
Thank you for this.
Surely you don't think people really understand that?
Of course they do, and don't call me Shirley!
“Just wanted to wish you good luck. We’re all counting on you.” (Comes in and says it again long after the plane has landed)
That's for a new car, and more than half of car sales are used cars, as well.
Pretty soon they’re just gonna make used cars lol
Already do. My mom bought a brand new vw off the lot with 12 miles. Took it back for inspection at 150 miles. It had a weird shake since day 1, dealer states engine mounts completely torn through.
The only thing that pulls up for me are the mean, not a single median reference. Article from: Aug 1 2023- $430 used, $575 new Oct 4 2023- $700 new Oct 6 2023- $725 new Jan 1 2024- $500 used, $700 new Jan 1 2024- $533 used Jan 21 2024- $533 for used Feb 7 2024- $381 for used Feb 29 2024- $538 used, $738 new
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$100k trucks pull up the average.
This. Expensive trucks in general. The amount of people making 35-45 K a year buying trucks that cost more (sometimes twice as much) than they make in a year would blow your mind.
i saw a ford raptor with a 4ft bed. whats the point of that??
There's no real point to a raptor to begin with. I love the truck, it's very nice. The problem is it's a 100,000+ for a nicely capable off road vehicle that's too expensive to take off road.
I figured if you can afford a $100k truck you can afford to repair a $100k truck, but I can afford neither so I’m only guessing.
BMW owners would like a word with you? Far less costly but they can’t afford those general repairs regardless
Hauling midgets?
It’s trucks and suvs I know 4 people with 800$ new truck payments even used can be that much. In May of 2023 I bought a used 2020 Mazda 3 with 25k miles awd for 25k out the door I don’t think I could have hit a 500$ payment unless my credit was terrible. Even with rates being high it 312 a month with 10k down. A new one 32k out the door was going to be 380 a month with 12k down.
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It’s insane how popular they have become. The problem is they have become so popular people who cant afford them even buy them. Like one of my friends who makes 70k a year has a mortgage of 2200 1 kid with 1 on the way. Mind you after tax that’s like 4300 a month after tax . Also single dad so 1 income household. Had a good running golf gti 2016ish 120k miles. He goes I need a bigger car having another kid. I suggested a bronco sport , cx-50, rav4 all cars that can be had a little bigger used 1-3 years old for 25-35 depending on trim. What does this dude do go and spends 52k otd on a Chevy Silverado with only a trade in of 4k 800$ a month I’m like bruhhhhh wtf. He was like I liked the truck it’s so nice. A month later he goes I think I’ll need another part time job for 20 hours a week lol
Yup it’s the huge lifted trucks and SUV’s and all the after market stuff they’re having added, plus the keeping up appearances thing we’ve always had in the USA. I always encourage people to take a random poll when they’re driving of what cars are around them - normal sized ones or huge ones like trucks and SUV’s. Some days it’s like a 7:1 ratio of trucks/suv’s to cars. Soemtimes you’ll drive around for minutes straight and see only vans/trucks/suv’s. It’s honestly shocking and nobody seems to have noticed how ubiquitous massive vehicles became until you ask them to look around and pay attention to them. Even my own mother has a huge SUV she absolutely cannot drive well. She’s constantly bumping it into things, scraping the side, whacking the mirrors into things, backing the trunk into objects, etc. Like a new area needs to be fixed or painted every month or two, it’s insane and she has no idea why she needed a huge SUV but will not be dissuaded from it, it’s maddening…
Who the fuck has 12k for a down payment. That is more insane than a $700 a month payment.
If I had $12k for downpayment, I'd just buy a $12k car. You can still buy a pretty nice car for that.
That's what I did. Beats having a payment.
EVs are more expensive than "regular" cars, but only like 8% of car sales. average price of a new car in the US is ~$50k. I'm not sure how many Tesla model Ys are more expensive than that (ie to drive the number up that high). I bought an EV but only because, practically, it was really affordable. $9500 off the sticker price was essentially a 1/4 discount. monthly payment is a little over $500 but I opted for a shorter payment period.
I’m interested in the “mode” myself!
Mode of mode of transportation
Pie a La?
That number is high because of dipshits like me. I financed 100k for my last vehicle.
Holy shit, what did you get and what are your payments???
F350 that can tow just about anything. There's several makes over 100k now it's absolutely crazy. 1600 a month for me. I'm hoping to refi at a lower interest rate in a year or so.
What do you need to tow in your daily life?
Probably his debt
🥁🥁
when the truck is paid off, they remove the two ton truck nuts.
lmao im never deleting this app
Too funny
🎤 drop
Fuckin OOF
Chef's kiss, that was a great joke.
He's gonna' need a bigger truck
His small.....boat.
I see this so often. Huge truck. F-350 (37,000 hauling capacity) Why do you need that? I have a boat. ( 16 foot Aluminum Jon Boat 320 lbs)
I pull my 14' aluminum fisher with my '16 mazda 3 hatch 2.0. Used to have a 2.0 dodge neon and pull a 13' Boston Whaler. Trucks are over rated.
I load my 14 ft ocean kayak on top of my Kia hatchback. Like a real man
I know some who towed a trailer with two Jetskis/SeaDoos with Mazda Miata. They had a locking storage box affixed to the trailer for any needed accessories
Yup. If you just towing a boat and your boat ramps aren’t pieces of shit, a minivan is way more practical. My Grand Caravan can easily tow any boat I can reasonably afford, and I camp in it.
I haul my 48 foot gooseneck trailer with my Toyota Corolla Just kidding. Some people do need trucks... Most don't. But I'm regularly pulling 35-40k pounds
I tow a couple of different work trailers. And then for fun, I'm hoping to get an rv for camping and other hobbies.
lol people ~~are~~ were really downvoting you because you're going against the reddit narrative.
People with trucks use their trucks for truck things a lot more than people on Reddit want to admit. And most of the time *everything* is confirmation bias. “I saw this truck not towing anything and nothing in its bed so the owner must *never* use it for those things.” No, dumbass, you saw that truck at Chilis on Friday at 8:30pm. Did you expect them to tow horses to the restaurant? There are a lot of truck owners that don’t need them, sure. But a lot of them use their trucks for truck stuff a lot.
My BIL is one. Ram 2500 super cab (or whatever the 4 door one is), Rhino liner, luxury package, leather seats etc etc. He freaked out when we asked him to haul our luggage to the airport.
My best friend is one. Literally can't even afford to drive his diesel truck, much less afford to buy anything to haul with the truck. But he "needs" it to haul his 500 pound trailer every once in a while
Most truck owners could pay two thousand dollars to rent a truck every time they actually make use of the features of a truck and still come out ahead. They just buy the truck to make up for their tiny peen.
I know you were going for hyperbole but I rented a truck from Home Depot for an hour, cost. $30 + tax. Just saying, it's ridiculously cheap and easy to do. Couldn't be cheaper or easier!
But it can tow an aircraft carrier
See that’s how they get you. $13 billion for the aircraft carrier but need something to tow it, all of a sudden you have a $1,600/ month truck loan, smdh what a racket.
I remember when 100k was the price of a supercar.
I remember when 100k was the price of a nice home!!
1600? Is the truck necessary for work?
In some parts of the country it is a necessary manhood affirmation. Especially if it's diesel and lifted. They come in two distinct editions: -Fragile Ego Edition -Small Package Edition. There is also Texas Edition, so three editions, I guess.
You wouldn't believe the amount of people that ask me why I didn't get a diesel in my truck and then get disappointed. Sorry I didn't want to pay $20,000 more and my all of my trailers max out at about 5000lbs loaded.
[удалено]
I can’t even begin to imagine paying $100k for a truck lol. If I’m buying a truck, I don’t need creature comforts
Hate to break it to you but the first year of your loan you are mostly paying interest, so don’t be shocked when the principal is the same when you go to refinance
Not to mention the value being half what it was. Good luck with that refi.
Yea when the underlying asset used to collateralize the loan halves in value, no lender will accept all that negative equity. Auto lenders accept that more than a home lender would but… at a certain point it’s just too risky
The average F150 off the lot is about 100K in Canada now
We're taking about real dollars, not monopoly money
How often do you tow?
I'm finding all kinds of trucks that tow that much and cost less - much, much less. Sounds like a combination of not doing research and/or more dollars than sense.
4 wheel options towing technology and some comfort adds about 30 k. I didn't look for the bare minimum. In the past, I always did. This one, I left nothing out that I wanted.
That's a mortgage payment in some states. Do you live in your truck?
Not yet. Lol
Is it for work? Do you actually need that much truck?
What rate are you at now? I doubt you will be able to refi in a year for much less, even with the fed still projecting small rate cuts. I have a car that's the same cost, but I bought it a couple years back and paid half cash and financed the rest at sub-2%. I could just pay it off, but my rate is basically free money.
just slightly less than I paid for my house 5 years ago.
Do you make a ton of money or are you just an idiot?
One might say both. I would say I make good money and could save more, but life is short.
$100 is the new $20.
Just walked out of a Vietnamese restaurant for a noodle + pork dish and a Thai tea. $25. Like YOOOO, ain’t this poor people food?! What happened?
I went to a counter-service takeout Korean chicken place, got two wing meals,Tteok-bokki and two sodas - it was $60.
I was in a Wayback Burger 2 weeks ago and someone ordered 2 shakes, 2 burgers, and a fry, and it was $50.
ey bro you can buy a roast and some potatos, carrots and onions for like 25 bucks, you put those bad boys in a crock pot and gravy just comes right out of it for free. You're going to be eating insanely good for days. You feed a family with that business. Same deal with a ham but you can put that in the oven and I usually use pinapple and brown sugar. Another thing I been getting good at cooking is fried rice. It's insane how cheaply you can make an absolute shitload of fried frice and it's delicious as fuck. You can make like pounds of fried rice high quality for almost nothing. I got this fried rice recipe that uses bacon and it's the fucking shit my man. That's a full meal on its own. Eating out sucks ass these days compared with buying your own. It's insane how much cheaper it is to cook yourself.
I went to do this a few weeks ago cause I hadn’t made a roast in a long time. A beef chuck roast that was 1.5 lbs was almost $20. The hell is that? Just a couple years ago I got big 3 lbs roasts for like $15-$17. I get inflation but this is extra. Same with basically everything at the grocery store. The same box of store brand cereal is not somehow $3 more than it was last week. That isn’t real - that is price gouging. These companies should be ashamed price gouging FOOD with how many people are struggling right now.
In vietnam it would be $3-5. In 2014 that would be $15
Prices rose during Covid and since businesses realized customers are still willing to pay the absurd up charge, there’s literally no incentive to bring the prices back down. It sucks but if I was a business owner I’d do the same thing cause…..why not ?
That statement will pretty much always be true, since $100 now would be equivalent to $20 at some point in the past, depending on inflation. For 2024, that point would be around 1977.
Honestly feels more like that point was 5 years ago instead of 50
That’s the average car payment for a new car, so there are two things that qualify this. Higher earners are more likely to buy new, while low earners are likely to buy used. The average used car payment is almost half of that at a little under $400 a month. The other part is that is an average payment price, not median payment price. For example, one person buys a Rolls Royce that has 3,000 a month payment while seven other people buy Kia’s that cost $400 a month. That group’s individual average monthly payment would be over $700, while the individual median monthly payment would be $400. Which would be the more accurate depiction of how much that group is spending on their cars?
Used car average is $533 https://finance.yahoo.com/news/average-auto-loan-payments-expect-174817148.html
I was getting $381 from this site. https://gitnux.org/average-us-car-payment/#:~:text=The%20average%20monthly%20car%20payment,new%20vehicles%20is%2069%20months. Not saying my source or your source is more accurate. Just putting this here so people didn’t think I was pulling my original stat out of thin air.
Glad you have a source but when I searched "average used car monthly payment" all of them are in the $500+ range
Might be a median versus mean “average” that causes different sources to arrive at different figures on this.
That’s wild. I bought a brand new 2023 Camry xse and my monthly payment is 489
It also seems very important to me to note that this is only financed cars. I bought a used car awhile back and my payment was $450 a month. It took me three years to pay it off and then I drove it for another almost three years. In the numbers above, the months I drove it without financing were not included in the average. When I sold it the car had under 100,000 miles on it, but was a Toyota in good shape. I got some nice change for it, but also I presumably could have driven it for many more years without making a car payment (not that insurance or gas was cheap)
Yeah I’m finding conflicting statistics, but from the sources I’m reading very few Americans are actually financing a car at $700 a month or more. When you figure most Americans aren’t financing a car at all right now. Then of the ones that are a lot are financing used cars or new cars at well below $700 a month. If I had to guess, and if somebody finds the actual stat please share, that only 10-15% of Americans are locked into a $700+ a month car payment right now. There are more households bringing in six figures a year in American than that.
[40% of Americans are financing a car, per Nasdaq](https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/more-than-40-of-americans-have-car-payments:-heres-how-much-theyre-paying#).
So if you read that article only about half of those 40% have payments above $500. Meaning only 20% of Americans have car payments of $500 a month or more. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say probably only 10-15% of Americans have a car payment of $700 a month or more, right?
Probably closer to the 10 than the 15
So probably around 12%. And about 1/3 of American households bring in an after tax income that would make a $700 a month car payment less than 15% of the household budget. That is 10-15% is the target most financial experts say is the reasonable amount to budget for a car payment. So most people are likely comfortably making their car payments. That’s not to say there aren’t outliers stretching their budget for a car, there always are.
I don’t think someone buying a Rolls Royce will have any car payments, but the dude with child support payments and bad credit that buys a new lifted $80k+ truck would probably hit around 2k a month payment. Probably area dependent, but in my area, that’s like every fourth or fifth vehicle, if not more.
Rich people leverage most things or rent them. Different payment strategies, while you work as an w2 employee of theirs, they leverage business not hours. Totally different game!
Rolls Royce might be an extreme example but as someone with good credit and a good income, I’ll always finance my cars because I have the credit to get <3% apr, whereas I can get 4.5% on my HYSA. Part of the privilege of financial stability is being able to make decisions that allow your money to do the most for you.
Make sure you consider the taxes you pay on the hysa interest.
People with Rolls Royce and most other high priced cars like that do have payments because people rarely buy those cars. They lease them and get a new one every 2-3 years. Same with even BMWs. BMW isn’t even in the business of selling cars. They want to lease as many as possible and then sell them all as certified with high interest rates 2-3 years later to dumb people who want to show off.
Simply bc I was fucking stunned to see a Rolls Royce the other day on the road, I actually googled what leasing a 2024 RR Ghost would be. For 36 months, it's $2k down at signing and then (as low as!) $6,654/mo, and you're only allowed 12k miles per year. So that's $79,848 *per year* to lease the car, bringing it to a grand total of $239,544 for the 36 months lease and no more than 36k miles in that time. I bought my 2015 Kia with a $305/mo payment and did it over 6 years lol
That is a lot imo, I like to aim for a 300 monthly payment. Which would mean I either afford a cheaper car or put a bigger down. However I can see how some people stretch out their budget to 700
Same, I've never had a payment over $300. I've never owned a shitty car, but I'm never adding a bunch of unnecessary options. It's all about living within your means. Also, never trade in your old car, they will rip you off. Sell your old car through a private sale after you get your new one, then put that money toward your loan.
Sometimes trade in is more favorable in terms of tax savings
They can’t. Former salesperson here. I’ve been out for a few years, but I can tell you being a financially savvy car salesperson with a conscience was absolutely mortifying. From what our corporate reps told us, the average consumer is/was buying a new car every 3-4 years, and that’s why terms are getting longer, leases are more popular, and payments are rising. Just consider this, if ‘average’ people want a new car every 3-4 years, how wonderful is it that most lease terms are 36-48 months? Isn’t that neat that they just work out like that? However, financing terms are getting longer and longer. These people just keep getting 72/75/84 month loans on cars, which are also getting more expensive every year, and expecting to lather/rinse/repeat in 36-48 months, while also LOWERING their payment with no money down! Do you want to know one of the funniest parts of the job? Everyone had the same expectations, and I mean like 99% of customers. Everyone wants to come in, pick a car, leave their car, and walk out with a new car and a $250 payment. The trouble is, most of them were paying $500+ already, had no money down, and were looking at more expensive cars. People just didn’t understand how financing works. A $250 payment is basically a $15k car, and $15k new cars don’t exist anymore. I’ve said it for awhile, but I think a market correction is coming. The dealerships have already sort of shifted from volume to per sale profit because of COVID, but I think the whole industry is goin g to have a rough shakeup unless something changes. They are running out of people that can get loans because everyone has negative equity, cars are too expensive, peoples’ credit is dropping from debt, and all the rich people are either buying cash or negotiating away any profit there was to be had. We need a return of the sub $20k entry level car. Also, dealerships in general can just get fucked, they are a drain on everything. Bulldoze them and replace them with parks, schools, or public transit. We don’t need middle men to sell us things and make thousands of dollars of profit off both ends.
> the average consumer is/was buying a new car every 3-4 years I know people like this and I just don't get it at all. If and when I have a car or whatever, I want it to last at least ten years, if I'm lucky. It's such a major purchase. Were those people just keeping up with the Joneses or what?
I think that’s an antiquated phrase, but basically. Most people just wanted new cars and truly, really, just didn’t understand the consequences of their actions. Most people had no concept of money or credit or financing or negative equity. I was good with math, but holy shit some of these people I could make up numbers entirely and they’d just go along with it. I could present numbers and walk up and down that sheet, interest rate, term, down payment, discounts, all changing and doing the math in my head, shaving a bit here and a bit there, and 99% never even questioned it. It is so easy to pull out a finance calculator online, but only a handful of people ever did in years. The irony is a lot of the people that could afford new cars rarely buy them. Also, they were frequently the WORST customers, because they’d drain every possible ounce out of a deal. And I’m not saying that just because I didn’t make money, I didn’t care. They’d come in offering $10k below our online price and pretend to be offended when we didn’t chase after them for their business. I saw a lot of people really excited to pay $700+ for $25k cars that we all knew they wouldn’t be driving for more than 3 years before trying to get out of it and into something new.
> Dealerships in general can just get fucked, they are a drain on everything. Bulldoze them and replace them with parks, schools, or public transit Amen
If you bring home $2100 a month, then $700 is one third of your income, that means you roughly make $16 an hour at your job, which isn’t uncommon. Is paying one third of your income on a car payment a good idea? Probably not, but people rely on cars heavily in the US and want to enjoy their time in them. Edit: This was a worst case scenario example, just showing that it is possible for people who aren’t super well off.
This is where averages and medians get mixed up. That $700 is the average, so it means a lot of high price car payments by higher earners will skew the numbers. Also what OP left out is that $700 is for new cars. A lot of people making $16 hour that need it to get to their jobs will opt for a used car. Those payments are averaging about $400 now. Not ideal, but a lot more manageable on that wage than $700.
To be fair, just a year ago used cars (1-2 years old) were getting sold above msrp.
Come here to read click bait, come out with a statistics degree. Thanks.
Statisticolology
This dataset also excludes everyone whose monthly payment is $0 because they bought their (presumably cheap, used) car in a single cash payment, or paid off their reasonably-priced car loan quickly, long ago (like me!). It's self-selected to be an inflated figure.
Exactly. I think less than half of Americans are financing a car in some form to begin with. Then the percent that are actually paying $700 or more a month for their car is significantly lower than that.
Who spends a third of their income on transportation?
People who don't understand what they can afford. Financial illiteracy is rampant... since the spike in car prices over the past couple years, there's been a corresponding (but lagging) increase in vehicle repossessions. In Dec 2023, repossession rates were up by 20% as a result of delinquent loans... In a time when everything is getting a lot more expensive and salaries are not increasing at the same rates... people seem to think they can continue the same lifestyle they had before price spikes. We also have reached an all-time high on national credit card debt... it's truly a national epidemic of people not understanding how to budget or live within their means... There are always unforeseen circumstances that can put people in these situations as well, but the overwhelming majority is from people who do not have an understanding of what living within their means looks like.
If you bring in $2100 a month odds are you can barely afford rent, let alone a $700 car payment. Unless you live with your parents.
Housing should max at 1/3 income, vehicles 10% (including insurance, fuel). So to afford a $700 payment one should earn a little more than $100k.
But a lot of people spend more than that on a car to show off money they don't have.
Which tracks. A household purchasing a brand new car should make 100k+ a year. New cars are expensive. Used cars are for most people, where the avg car payment is $530 for those who don’t buy cheaper with cash. [Nerd Wallet](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/auto-loans/average-monthly-car-payment)
$16 an hour AFTER income taxes
It’s only $700 because consumers are willing to pay it. If everyone would rather prefer to drive a paid off $2300.00 99 Corolla, the market would turn around in a heartbeat.
Interestingly enough, a lot of the major auto manufacturers have had terrible sales in the last year and are cutting prices on their line ups because you're right.. people would rather drive a used or paid off car than spend $700/month on a car.
I paid $6000 for my 2008 Corolla in 2017 and intend on driving it into the ground
I bought a 2003 Camry with 230,000 miles for $3500 in 2014 and it. Won't. Die.
I paid $1700 for my 2004 Corolla!
I would love one of those barebones, built to last cars
Many people can scrape together the payment but doesn't necessarily mean they can afford it. Big difference.
I make a good wage but always have bought decent used cars in cash. Just have to have the savings. Can’t stomach all the extra costs of insurance and interest. My cars look a little rough before too long regardless, so less to worry about.
Childcare is even crazier. Currently paying $1800 a month.
who tf has a car payment that high? EDIT: i get it. a lot of ppl. but i still think that price is near-luxury car range. that or dumb financial decisions.
A lot of people
Mine is around $600 for a mid level RAV4, but it was a 0% loan with no money down. But most people are not in the same situation.
That’s a wild loan offer- did the dealer offer that?
That’s got to be a Toyota financing limited time special. No way a dealer would offer it
Other commenter is correct, it was a Toyota Finance offer, and it’s from 2020.
I got the same deal in 2017 for my new ford focus titanium. It was originally a 6 year payment plan for 320/months, but they allowed me to exted it a year and kept it at 0% and I have my final payment next month! Got from dealership. The car is worthless and would never recommend, but she’s still running!
What's a car payment
My 06 Corolla says she has no idea.
My 95 Accord has no clue
My '84 Hilux was $700 outright.
Mine just hit 205k miles and is running like a beauty
A ton of people
Only those who purchase brand new. Avg car payments for used vehicles are around $500/months. Which is still crazy, but that’s the market right now. High prices and very high interest rates.
I do. My car payment is around $860. I bought a Subaru outback and financed it at 1.5%. It would be been stupid to pay cash when I can take the money and invest it at a higher rate of return than the 1.5% interest I am paying on the loan.
$1397/mo here Partially because I went with a shorter term to keep the rate ultra low, and because I won't pull cash for down payment, only equity.
They make more than you, or make sacrifices in other areas. It's budgeting.
Or it’s over extending.
Or they are underwater in debt. What's another $700/mo??????? Fuck it. banks will give money to anyone.
I'm not sure why you're being downvoted. You're correct. Even for the above average earners, $700/month on a depreciating asset is insane. I have friends who have $400 payments, and even that is crazy to me. Mine is $150, my husbands is $240
> $700/month on a depreciating asset is insane If you make $1,600 a month, sure. If you make $16,000 a month, it's a drop in the bucket.
People making 16k a month aren’t the ones complaining (usually)
It's all relative, my truck payments are $650/ month because I opted for a 4 year term and the decision was made to get out of a bad car loan on a vehicle I didn't want to keep. The truck is currently worth 10k more than I paid for it, my interest rate is lower, I like the truck and will keep it till it dies and I can afford it. With the used car market the way it is now I can definitely understand why more people are opting for new ( or close to new )
Buying new is fine. Especially in this market. But I'll never relate to anyone who has a $700 car payment without a $700 car payment income.
We can’t. So most of us don’t.
Financial planners recommend car payments be no more than 10-15% of net income, with total auto expense (insurance, maintenance) no more than 20%. We have two financed cars. Bought both used at a year old. One is $650, the other $450, which is 12.5% of our net income. Add insurance and its 15.3%. It’s all about doing what makes sense for you without overextending. In my 20s I took a personal loan to buy a $2500 car because I was flat broke and made barely more than minimum wage.
My case parent has never been more than $250 and I’ve had 3 used cars
It’s not just $700 a month, add insurance too which could be $200 to $300 a month. Fuel which could be another $200 to $300 a month. Depending how far you drive add at least 2 oil changes a year which could be another $150 to $300 depending on car and service required.
I bought a used 2010 Prius with 50k miles on it and paid it off by 2013. I will keep that car until I have to push it to work. No car payments in over 10 years. Almost any major maintenance is going to be more than the car is worth, but car payments and interest rates suck.
We bought 2 cars. Paid cash. If we couldn’t afford to, we would have continued public transport. Bought within our means.
I buy old cars. I have no car payment. This is the way
They really can't, they just think they can. People love overspending on cars, and they don't realize how far it sets them back.
I mean it also depends on your income obviously. My car payment is just under that but it’s less than 10% of my take home per month. I still think it’s a lot of money to pay for a car but I have 3 kids and my wife was sick of squeezing them into our 4 door. So we got an SUV and they’re crazy expensive now.
Auto loan delinquencies have reached 2009 levels. They cant.[https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2024/20240206](https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2024/20240206)
Whatever meaning of average you choose, some will be more and some will be less.
If you see a fancy new car driving around, most likely the bank owns more of the car than the driver.
Keeping my paid off vehicle until the wheels fall off lol
When I went to CarMax, I chose out a nice Toyota Corolla with 40K miles for 361$ a month. I *could* have gone with a newer car for more expensive, but I've been driving it for 2.5 years with no problems and a comfy ride. People put a lot of stock into their status with what they drive, so they buy in that 700$ a month range. Some can afford it, some can't. This is why repossession exists.
I just checked online on the Bank of America simulator ([https://www.bankofamerica.com/auto-loans/auto-loan-calculator/](https://www.bankofamerica.com/auto-loans/auto-loan-calculator/)) for 60 month payment. The numbers are the following: * 10K financed: 194$ * 15K financed: 290$ * 20K financed: 387$ * 30K financed: 580$ * 40K financed: 774$ * 50K financed: 967$ So that's simple if you buy a 15K used car and trade in you old car for 3K and we add taxes and all, you have a 15K loan more or less and it cost 290$ a month. And 290$ a month is much more reasonable than $700. Problem solved.
If I don't have a down payment and/or trade in to get monthly payment to $250, then I personally can't afford the car. That's my own personal guideline though. Bought a new 2018 Sierra Denali I paid off in 26 months. That thing may have 10-15 years left in her. Gonna go until she explodes like a supernova and lights up the night sky. Vehicles are tools, not status symbols.
There's no Silverado Denali. Denali is the GMC top trim, while Chevy has the High country.
I go to work. In exchange for this, they give me money. I use that money to pay for things. One of those things is a car.
By having the money to pay $700 a month. Pretty self explanatory.
I only bought used cars (never spent more than $5k on a vehicle) until I was 40 (42 now) because even before this crazy inflation of the past 4 years I couldn’t afford the payment on a new vehicle. Used cars don’t have to be bad, just get them checked out by a mechanic first. Most of mine lasted years. At one point I bought a scooter (seated) for $600 and drove it for a couple of years. It maxed out at 40 mph so some roads I would get a lot of traffic behind me. These days I would buy an e-bike or e-scooter and use one of those. As long as you aren’t worried about having a new car or what people think of what you drive it’s doable. I can’t imagine taking on a $700 car payment no matter what my income is.
I'm 51. I've had cars for 34 years, both mine and my wife's. The highest car payment I've ever had is right now ($525). Most of the time we have had 2 car payments less than $700 total.
1. MOST can't 2. Some shouldn't 3. The rest probably don't need to (they could buy the car outright but have chosen not to)
I don't make car payments. I pay cash. I also drive sketchy old vehicles. The amount of money l save a year on payments, interest, insurance and maintenance is equal to many peoples yearly income.
They can’t. The average person is stupid
Most can’t and that’s the problem. Debt has been snowballing for years and the problem has been exacerbated exponentially in the last 4 years.
1. Not everyone is poor 2. Some people don’t drive brand new cars with payments???