Americans paying $717/month for new cars - 16% paying $1000+

[Brian]

As a person looking to buy a car now for over a year, the prices are insane. I wouldn’t be surprised these numbers are from 72 and 84 month loans. This generation can’t buy houses. Next generation can’t afford cars. 

[stepee]

As someone who doesn’t drive this is my video game money 

[SuperSpreader]

That's nuts. Mine is 385/mo

[Jason]

3 minutes ago, SuperSpreader said:

That's nuts. Mine is 385/mo

 

Mine is $218 a month including tax

[PaladinSolo]

This is mostly cause idiots are back to buying trucks/SUVs like the late 2000s again, cause no way gas prices explode again. 

[marioandsonic]

Mine is 400/month.  I don't know how these people pay more than double that

[GeneticBlueprint]

I had one at $160/mo. Then I had one at $230/mo. Now I don't pay anything per month and it feels great.

[Spork3245]

Car prices have come down a lot in the past year. Cars that were $120k+ on CarMax just this time last year are down to $80k (still a lot, sure, but I'm talking like GT500s and M850s).

I'm paying $410/month for my car and it was custom ordered.

[SuperSpreader]

9 minutes ago, Jason said:

 

Mine is $218 a month including tax

 

Yeah but I'm awesome. 

[johnny]

are there more people putting hardly anything down? 

[SuperSpreader]

1 minute ago, johnny said:

are there more people putting hardly anything down? 

 

Ok richie rich 

[silentbob]

I recently had a lease come up on my 2020 Ford Escape. Trading it in gave me $2k towards my latest purchase. Yeah I’m about $600 a month (about the same as my last car) So I moved from an Escape, which my past 4 vehicles have been (‘08, ‘13, ‘16, ‘20) Now I’m in a ‘22 Bronco Sport Outer Banks. Reminds me of my older ‘08 in the boxier like design. Great thing is that the difference in my monthly payment was almost offset by my insurance dropping $40. If you’re Canadian or live in wintry states, and have experienced a heated steering wheel. . . .there’s no going back. 

[TheLeon]

That’s more than my rent. 

[skillzdadirecta]

53 minutes ago, stepee said:

As someone who doesn’t drive this is my video game money 

Same. Although I AM thinking about getting a car finally.

 

15 minutes ago, TheLeon said:

That’s more than my rent. 

Shit, where do YOU live? That's not even half my rent... closer to a third 

[Fizzzzle]

1 minute ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Same. Although I AM thinking about getting a car finally.

 

Shit, where do YOU live? That's not even half my rent... closer to a third 

You're actually the 4th person I've known who lives in southern california and doesn't drive. I always thought it was a myth.

 

The average American spends between 5-8k/year on their cars. For people in the lowest income bracket, transportation eats up half of their income and their other half goes to rent.

 

Fuck cars. We are shackled to our cars. How does having a car mean freedom when you need a car to do anything?

[Uaarkson]

I pay $250 a month for my piece of shit 2009 Lexus so I can only imagine what new cars are going for 

[Mr.Vic20]

I only buy used cars and pay them off just as fast as I can. I currently have three vehicles and zero car payments. My goal is to reduce to one vehicle in the next decade as I won't need them after the kids are up and out. 

[TheLeon]

5 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Shit, where do YOU live? That's not even half my rent... closer to a third 

Cincinnati (well, that explains it, says everyone )

 

I probably “should” be paying more, but the people who bought my building not long after I moved in have been extremely cool and have only raised my rent once in 4 years, and that was from I think $585 to $615. I’m never moving unless some major life events forces me to. 

[skillzdadirecta]

6 minutes ago, Fizzzzle said:

You're actually the 4th person I've known who lives in southern california and doesn't drive. I always thought it was a myth.

I've been doing it so long I have actually inspired several freinds to potentially give up their cars. I've been able to make it work because I live in an area where everything I need is in walking distance (My supermarket is literally across the street) and I've been working from home for the last four years. Even when I WAS going into the office, most of my jobs were in my neighborhood and I could either walk to them or take a short bus ride. I've been very lucky in that regard. 

[skillzdadirecta]

1 minute ago, TheLeon said:

Cincinnati (well, that explains it, says everyone )

I've heard good things about Cicinnati to be honest. My buddy just took a job at one of the Universities there and will be moving there in August so I'm sure I'll be checking it out at some point.

[Fizzzzle]

2 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

I've been doing it so long I have actually inspired several freinds to potentially give up their cars. I've been able to make it work because I live in an area where everything I need is in walking distance (My supermarket is literally across the street) and I've been working from home for the last four years. Even when I WAS going into the office, most of my jobs were in my neighborhood and I could either walk to them or take a short bus ride. I've been very lucky in that regard. 

I had a coworker who moved to an apartment just a few blocks away from our work. He was worried that the building he moved to charged like $120/month for a parking space. I was like so..... get rid of your car? What do you need it for? You live within walking distance of your work and basically everything you need day-to-day. He lived a 5-minute walk from a grocery store.

 

His response was "what if I want to go to the coast for a day or something?" My response was RENT A CAR. You can rent cars for like $30/day, even 4 days a month (and let's be honest, you're not taking trips to the coast 4 days out of every month) still costs the same as your parking spot.

[TheLeon]

7 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

I've heard good things about Cicinnati to be honest. My buddy just took a job at one of the Universities there and will be moving there in August so I'm sure I'll be checking it out at some point.

Yeah, it’s a fine place to live. And more the topic, I live within about 5 miles of work and everywhere else I need to be. Not exactly easy walking distance, but I’m looking at e-bikes that I could use for my regular commute/errands and keep my car as a backup for longer trips and bad weather. 

[GeneticBlueprint]

33 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

I only buy used cars and pay them off just as fast as I can. I currently have three vehicles and zero car payments. My goal is to reduce to one vehicle in the next decade as I won't need them after the kids are up and out. 

 

This is the way

[b_m_b_m_b_m]

I’m down to one car, and have been for about 6 months now. but the van has a payment because I got it brand new. 
 

im very lucky that I live close enough to my daughters daycare that I can just ride my bike to drop off and pickup safely. She loves it. 

[SimpleG]

My niece has a 1k a month payment .

I just bought 2018 F150 , put 10k down and paying the rest off next month. Fuck a car payment.

[skillzdadirecta]

Used cars were prohibitively expensive the last couple of years although this seems to be changing this year. Now dealers have a surplus of used cars so there should be some good deals to be had. I'm deciding on buying used or leasing... not sure which I'm gonna do yet.

[Spork3245]

8 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Used cars were prohibitively expensive the last couple of years although this seems to be changing this year. Now dealers have a surplus of used cars so there should be some good deals to be had. I'm deciding on buying used or leasing... not sure which I'm gonna do yet.

 

Leasing is good if you like getting a new car every 3 years and aren't planning on keeping it.

[Brian]

90% of the time, my wife and I get can get by with one car. It’s really only handful of situations each month where we need two.  No matter how we schedule, we can’t figure it out. Unfortunately the second car is hitting its end of life.  I am procrastinating due to price and the fact car shopping is a soul draining experience.

[silentbob]

My first car I bought was a used ‘96 Chrysler Cirrus for $11k Cnd. Sadly I also put in roughly the same amount in repairs. So I was bitter on used and will never go back. So when it was paid off, I traded it in for $650 towards my ‘08 Escape. Then I got rear ended 3 years into my Escape $13k+ in repair/labour cost, but covered by insurance. It was fixed, but it never sounded right afterwards. So traded in for the remodel ‘13 Escape . . . and got rear ended by an 85yr old in a Walmart parking lot 2 years in. After that I was all about leasing because if I get rear ended again, I was out of that car in 3-4 years. Plus more standard safety features and Canadian features, like heated front seats. Wasn’t present on basic ‘08 but was on my basic ‘13 model, and here’s hoping they do this for steering wheels. It was sadly only available on their 3rd tier model with rubber seat/trunk backing with leather like seats. Which I for sure need with 2 dogs and taking them somewhere special for a walk. 

[GeneticBlueprint]

2 minutes ago, silentbob said:

My first car I bought was a used ‘96 Chrysler Cirrus for $11k Cnd. Sadly I also put in roughly the same amount in repairs. So I was bitter on used and will never go back. So when it was paid off, I traded it in for $650 towards my ‘08 Escape. Then I got rear ended 3 years into my Escape $13k+ in repair/labour cost, but covered by insurance. It was fixed, but it never sounded right afterwards. So traded in for the remodel ‘13 Escape . . . and got rear ended by an 85yr old in a Walmart parking lot 2 years in. After that I was all about leasing because if I get rear ended again, I was out of that car in 3-4 years. Plus more standard safety features and Canadian features, like heated front seats. Wasn’t present on basic ‘08 but was on my basic ‘13 model, and here’s hoping they do this for steering wheels. It was sadly only available on their 3rd tier model with rubber seat/trunk backing with leather like seats. Which I for sure need with 2 dogs and taking them somewhere special for a walk. 

 

Couldn't Escape the bad drivers, eh?

[silentbob]

5 minutes ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

 

Couldn't Escape the bad drivers, eh?

Sadly no *sad trombone sound* The ‘16 model is the only one I never had any issues with, and my favourite colour of all my vehicles Electric Spice (bronze/gold like yellow) That is my only thing I wish was different on my Bronco Sport, but supplies problems still. Plus the price increase on the newer model year ‘23 were even more expensive and months wait on the build

[AlwaysDyingX]

Buying a new car is just nuts. I bought preowned and it still came with the factory warranty 

[elbobo]

still rocking my 2003 that I bought in 2011 for $7000

[Mercury33]

I have a company car and gas card. Suck it world!

[Nokra]

I'm driving my dad's old 2007 Prius. It's still getting 40+ mpg and is probably going to hit 280,000 miles this week. 

 

I'm very tempted to move closer to work (currently commuting 30 mins each way) and just ditch having a car once this one eventually dies. Between the commute, maintenance, insurance, and paying $200/month for a parking spot in my building, cars are money/time pits, to say nothing of the environmental impact. 

 

I do go hiking a lot, especially in the summer, but even so I'm sure that renting a car for a day even every weekend is going to be cheaper.