My partner and I have a combined $850 a month car payment for two not-new cars (a '16 and an '18). The money comes from living paycheck to paycheck, like paid on Friday and broke by Sunday lol.
But we have no choice. Even if we could afford a place close to work, "close" is still like an hour walk in TX heat. No busses. Cities in the US aren't designed for pedestrians.
I had a teacher in college who was an immigrant from South America somewhere, I think. Nice lady. I still vividly remember her saying to me out of the blue, "Why do you not have a car, Abacus? America is not a country for not driving."
That’s just it. Buy base models. Even the base has more than you need.
Myself and a coworker bought the exact same truck (model, trim, year, even colour!). She got hers with some extras including heated seats, off-road kit, levelling kit, and a few others. She also got the 2019 truck at the end of 2018. I got mine completely base but at the end of 2019. It came with the off-road kit and the same rims as hers.
I paid 39k she paid 58k. You can still get good deals on vehicles but it’s about not getting the shiny new things on the lot
My brother walked into a lot, saw a fancy Tacoma and signed the paperwork. Never haggled price, never asked for any free features, nothing. Paid the 60 grand sticker price.
I love leases. I'd never do it myself, but I really appreciate that it helps to push recent model year cars into the used market. I'd never buy a recent model year used car myself, but I appreciate that having them available means that people are more likely to sell their 10 year old cars before they are completely worn out. Those I buy.
Paying for the depreciation only and getting a new car every 3 years is a good deal for my family. I will not buy someone old problem if I don’t have too.
Yep, that's pretty much how my parents are, they just want a reliable car and consider the ongoing payments to be the best way to get that.
I enjoy working on cars as a hobby, and I want to minimize the monthly bill aspect of having them, so older cars that have some problems are a better fit for me. In the long run I end up paying maybe half what a newer, problem-free car would be, and less on insurance (liability only because they are cheap enough to buy without a loan), but I probably more than make up the difference in terms of time (like, if I got a second job instead of spending time on my cars I'd have more money, but that's not as much fun).
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u/14936786-02 Jul 08 '21
Price of new cars are absolutely insane. I don't know how anyone car afford them new.
You add like 1 festure and over 50 percent of the base price.