• iamjackflack@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    93
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    edit-2
    8 months ago

    Stop buying suvs and trucks. Buy compacts and small sedans. As those markets erode it just makes everything worse.

    • Mr_Blott@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      85
      arrow-down
      13
      ·
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      I’m a multi tradesman and I run about in a 1.2L Korean shitbox with a trailer when I need it

      Same tradesman in the US apparently needs a 6L V12 pick-up simply because of his micropenis? Yeah thanks for the pollution Brad/Chad/Tad whatever

          • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            8 months ago

            Your state most likely has a phone number you can call to report it. I have the contact saved in my phone. I see it, I call it in and read the license plate off.

            • Final Remix@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              4
              ·
              8 months ago

              It’s NJ. They don’t care. I recog used one of the trucks as a cop in my town, and red lights are fuckign optional since covid.

        • VikingHippie@lemmy.wtf
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          8 months ago

          It’s the most Republican thing you can do with a car, except maybe driving into protesters.

      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        10
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        8 months ago

        He isn’t a tradesman. He is either an office worker or unskilled labor.

        The only practical use I have ever seen in my life for those oversized pickups is in South East Asia I rode on one that had been converted into van to go up and down this shit road into the mountains. Moving people. So unless you make a living loading up 8 people at a time to bring them up a terrifying grade mountainside you don’t need a vehicle like that.

          • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            8 months ago

            And random leafs because cleaning is too much effort. In an apartment complex I used to live in my neighbor started blocking my spot with his extra long pickup. He needed it as a semi-retired accountant who lives in an apartment.

      • stoly@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        8 months ago

        LOL I adore how you got 12 downvotes for that comment. I have similarly been downvoted for saying that I prefer standard over automatic. People really do get their panties in a twist when someone talks cars.

        • AlgeriaWorblebot@lemmy.nz
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          8 months ago

          I’m pretty sure the actual penis size doesn’t factor here. It’s the self-perceived size.

          Dude has an inferiority complex & tries to compensate.

          • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            4
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            8 months ago

            The guy they’re talking about isn’t the problem. How do you think men with small penises feel about being used an an insult all the time? Do you really think they deserve to have an inferiority complex?

        • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          5
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          8 months ago

          Can we not with the global warming and killing pedestrians? And yeah it is bloody obvious exactly why a guy would have a truck like that. Micropenis I am sorry the truth hurts.

        • Mr_Blott@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          5
          arrow-down
          7
          ·
          8 months ago

          You might think your perceived moral superiority makes the world better, but it makes it worse, I promise

          • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            5
            arrow-down
            3
            ·
            edit-2
            8 months ago

            You might think your perceived moral superiority makes the world better, but it makes it worse, I promise

  • CoreOffset@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    71
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    8 months ago

    Cars have always been relatively expensive to own and operate and the American way, unfortunately, has been to take out lines of credit in order to purchase vehicles they could just barely afford.

    It’s insane to think about but the average car payment for a new vehicle in 2023 was $726 and the average loan term is nearly 70 months!

    • reddig33@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      22
      ·
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      Brand new cars in 1973 were like $2500 ($17000 in today’s dollar). No one wants to sell compacts in the US anymore because people love their giant SUVs.

    • unalivejoy@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      8 months ago

      By the time you pay off your car, it’ll be a piece of junk. How does leasing the car compare?

      • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        8 months ago

        Leasing is like setting money on fire and using money to put the fire out. The only scenario it ever makes sense is vs buying and selling a car every 2-3 years.

        Modern cars are extremely reliable, there isn’t a good reason to need a new one in less than a decade unless it’s involved in an accident.

        • AA5B@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          8 months ago

          That was my only hesitation for buying an EV: they’re too new and changing too quickly to have much track record on how well they last. I did go ahead though, so we’ll see in 10-15 years.

          Historically my practice is to buy a reliable car new and keep until major repairs, usually 10-15 years. It helps if you are able to set aside sufficient money to avoid a loan

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        8 months ago

        Leasing is usually a worse choice financially. However it can make sense in a few scenarios such as having to always have a new car and business expensing. Now might be one of the few times it’s worth leasing, in the US for some EVs where a lease can take advantage of the full tax incentive but a purchase can not

    • Got_Bent@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      8 months ago

      I’ve always lived by two rules when it comes to vehicles:

      1. Never buy new. Buy approximately two years old used low mileage

      2. If I can’t afford the vehicle on a three year note, I can’t afford the vehicle

      Additionally, always secure third party financing and have it in your back pocket, but don’t tell the dealership that part until absolutely necessary. They may try to match it, but their fine print has always had catches it in that make it a worse option in my experience.

      I’m not sure if these rules will work going forward as prices seem to have doubled in the past three years, and I’m loathe to ponder how purchase is getting replaced by subscribe.

      My current car is ten years old with 110k miles on it. I keep it super maintained because I can’t stomach the thought of my next buying experience.

    • BakerBagel@midwest.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      25
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      8 months ago

      I can barely afford the 2015 Subaru Crosstrek i bought back in July. Even 8 year old base model cars cost over $16,000 these days

      • ripcord@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        8 months ago

        But the topic here is new car prices.

        And presumably, all the people paying these stupid prices, getting 60+ month loans, only focusing on payments, etc.

        This has an impact on the user market as well.

      • Final Remix@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        8 months ago

        Hard to find a decent manual in my area for sub-10, too. Lucked out on a 20-year old f150 with very little wrong with it for 4 grand, then another 4 grand to fix it up.

        Would’ve spend 7 grand on a Ranger with a machinegun rod knock.

    • stoly@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      8 months ago

      I’m not a real man unless I have two bank notes in the $80k-$100k range each.

    • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      8 months ago

      Yeah, but I’m a real man’s man and I have to have a very large truck to hide my small manhood. 'Murica!

  • Smacks@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    68
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    8 months ago

    Couldn’t buy a house, so now we have to rent. Now that we can’t afford rent, might as well live out of a car. Now cars are too expensive, might as well live out of a cardboard box.

    • CatZoomies@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      36
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      Owner Class: “Hey - it should trickle down any minute. I know you’ve been waiting 50 years for it, but it’s gonna come this time. Meanwhile, please subscribe to our Cardboard-Box-as-a-Service.”

      EDIT: Oops, I just got back from my beating. My owners wanted me to add an additional addendum:

      “Cardboard-Box-as-a-Service (CBaaS) has some additional benefits. Our free tier allows you access to the box, along with special promotions from our sponsors that will play inside the box. Parking comes as an extra service in order to comply with the law. We will provide details on what surcharges you can expect, but our partner providers can communicate what rental fees for land for the CBaaS entail.”

      “Our Premium Tier will remove ads. And finally our Super Premium Tier includes a bidet. Water service for the bidet is included with up to 10 bidet cycles per user, with additional licensing available for additional fees. Water pressure may be throttled when many concurrent users are using their bidet. We will release new details on additional plans to increase your booty stream priority, once we figure out how much we can get away with.”

    • rusticus@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      8 months ago

      Bezos just saw this post and cardboard box prices just tripled. Thanks a lot.

    • Wrench@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      8 months ago

      Have you seen how much cardboard boxes cost now?

      Source: just got notice of lease termination, been looking into moving logistics

    • Final Remix@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      55
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      8 months ago

      Right. Cars aren’t really on the market. These cramped, low visibility, shit-mileage behemoths are the reigning force on the market now.

      • Crashumbc@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        4
        ·
        8 months ago

        That’s because Americans are giving idiots that WANT these behemoths…

        15 years ago, I’m worried about spending 25k on a car, my friend went out and bought a huge Chevy pickup that was over 40k…

        Here’s the twist, he made a quarter of what did…

        Less than two years later it was repo’d.

  • BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    55
    arrow-down
    9
    ·
    8 months ago

    If we’d always been accounting for all the actual costs of cars, including externalities, most people would have never been able to afford them, we’d recognize them as the very costly luxeries they actually are, and not have completely dismantled our ability to live without them in every city except NYC, Boston, Chicago, DC, and San Francisco.

    • ExLisper@linux.community
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      25
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      8 months ago

      You could say that about everything. If you would account for all actual cost no one would fly, eat steaks, own 2 TVs or change phones every 2 years either. We would buy things that last 10-20 years and replace them only when they are broken. As we used to…

      • Erismi14@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        23
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        8 months ago

        Slippery slope aside, I think reducing unnecessary consumerism would be beneficial for our most vuneral populations. There would be a lower barrier of entry into the economy and more resources would be available at a lower cost for people who cannot afford them

        • ExLisper@linux.community
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          19
          ·
          8 months ago

          Oh, I wasn’t making a slippery slope argument. I meant that this is what should happen. We exported most of the devastating impact on the environment and the terrible working conditions to developing countries so that we can enjoy tons of crap we don’t really need. If things we buy would reflect the actual costs we would have to limit how much we consume. Of course no one would like it.

      • BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        10
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        8 months ago

        Well, it’s a mixed bag. There have been absolutely incredible advances in efficiency that do enable a lot of things to genuinely be much cheaper and accessible than they used to be, but some of that is also just the ability to throw external costs on other people (climate change, for instance). This is why things like carbon taxes are so strongly supported by economists.

        Steak, for instance, is hugely subsidized by how little farmers have to pay for water, along with other government benefits. Flying has environmental costs, but those are reasonably quantifiable and, per flight and per passenger, not that insane as far as I understand.

        I do think consumer electronics are a bit of a different story though. Yes, cheap labor plays a huge role there, but those labor costs aren’t completely divorced from reality; the fact of the matter is that east Asian labor is actually chap. Ocean shipping and modern production plants are insanely efficient, though again climate costs need to be captured.

    • TenderfootGungi@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      8 months ago

      Cars actually make more sense in low density areas. Farmers need to get around. Urban areas should rely mostly on public transportation.

    • Nomecks@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      8 months ago

      Up until I got an EV I never thought about dollar per 100 km. On “fuel”, I used to be near $20/100km for my premium powered midsize SUV.

  • PeepinGoodArgs@reddthat.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    37
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    8 months ago

    On the other hand, the world could have its first trillionaire within the decade!

    And you know how like 1 billion seconds is 31.7 years…guess how many 1 trillion seconds is in years…

    ...you ready?

    A little under 31,690 years

    But unlike Americans living in an unaffordable country, our future trillionaire earned it…right?

  • LemmyIsFantastic@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    36
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    edit-2
    8 months ago

    It’s self inflicted. Americans don’t buy inexpensive new cars. Now everything new is targeted at upper middle class and financing is expensive + pent up demand from COVID is exacerbating the issue pushing used buyers into the new market.

    But you can still buy a Mitsubishi for under 20k and an Impreza for 22k. People don’t.

    • LilB0kChoy@midwest.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      8 months ago

      Certified pre-owned lease returns! I’m on my second and they’ve both been great cars for $22k or under.

      That said, a big contributor is the amount financed. When we’ve bought new cars we paid $7k up front for mine and $5k for my wife’s plus our trade ins. Many, if not most, people can’t afford to do that so they have huge monthly payments even before interest.

          • LilB0kChoy@midwest.social
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            8 months ago

            You got it. My first was a pretty basic sedan that I upgraded to from my old retired police Crown Vic. My current car was a two year old lease return in the top trim level available and ~15k miles.

        • icedterminal@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          8 months ago

          Key word in there is certified used.

          Certified used means it comes with a warranty. My mother purchased a certified used Crosstrek. It was a returned lease. In fact most certified pre-owned vehicles are returned leases. The manufacturer powertrain warranty still applies and the dealer adds a warranty for everything else. She also had the option to purchase a manufacturer extended warranty because it still qualified, which she did. All for $24k. It’s 2 years old, less than 10k miles. It’s not a bad deal at all when you look at the bigger picture. The new cost of this Crosstrek in the configuration she got it in would have been $31k.

      • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        8 months ago

        People have been rolling negative equity into new car payments, and claiming to be smart because rates were so low… rates aren’t low anymore and that risk is being realized.

        Financing a car is a poverty trap.

  • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    28
    arrow-down
    13
    ·
    edit-2
    8 months ago

    not to mention insurance costs and taxes

    used vehicles cost nearly same in most cases and in poor condition

    yes let us blame trucks not the $7.50 minimum wage and the inflation and what have yous

    biden and electric vehicle are not the jesus of our times

    going to take a lot to make travel affordable again and on that note the more traveling costs the less people do it and the less they travel the more stuck in the state they are at they become

    way more than prohibitively expensive vehicles here this is a means to keep citizens in place and poor

  • AnneBonny@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    14
    arrow-down
    16
    ·
    8 months ago

    According to an October report by Market Watch, Americans needed an annual income of at least $100,000 to afford a car, at least if they’re following standard budgeting advice, which says you shouldn’t spend more than 10 percent of your monthly income on car-related expenses.

    This is a dumb way to determine whether someone can “afford” a car.

      • AnneBonny@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        8 months ago

        Monthly payments depend on loan term and interest rates as well as principal. I don’t think that is a good way to determine whether you can afford something.

        • EatATaco@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          8 months ago

          They didn’t list out every factor of the standard advice. The standard advice also includes 20% down and no longer than a 48 month payback period. So it more or less locks it in, other than rate.

  • Binthinkin@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    arrow-down
    29
    ·
    8 months ago

    NEW cars. Used market is just fine but people always want that new new.

    Absolute losers LOL

    • ickplant@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      26
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      8 months ago

      Someone is stuck in 2010s. The used car market has been ridiculously hot and not buyer friendly for several years now.

    • TheIllustrativeMan@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      22
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      8 months ago

      Have you looked recently? For the past few years buying new was actually cheaper than buying used, and factoring in manufacturer subsidized interest rates, the difference in the current market still makes new a viable option, unless you’re looking at 10+ year old cars (which still start north of $10k these days).

      • ripcord@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        8 months ago

        Fortunately it’s gotten modestly better in the last year, depending on what you’re looking for. But yeah, 10 months ago when I was looking there was virtually no advantage to getting 2-3 year old models of the car I was looking for. Ended up getting a new one for the first time in my life (lucky enough to be able to afford it, though I had kept the previous one for 10 years partly saving up)

        • TheIllustrativeMan@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          8 months ago

          Yeah I’ve been keeping an eye open since my car is likely to die soon. Thankfully some of the specific cars I’m looking at have depreciated like rocks. I feel like I’m probably going to end up with one of the first gen Bolts that GM bought back during the recall, because they’re (comparatively) super cheap.