New Car Prices: I don`t get it?!?

[yg1829]

Hey guys and gals. Sorry this is my first post. I haven`t done an introduction post but I had to chime in. This is a great thread.

Vehicles do cost way to much. It`s truly ludicrous. At the moment I lease. I have a 2014 gmc sierra. I`m actually pretty excited about the lease for a bunch of reasons. I don`t look at it like I`m accepting a car payment for the rest of my life. I could easily go buy a cheaper used vehicle and pay it off in a couple years.

I only had a late model Tahoe for trade and they gave me 1500 for it. Could I have got more selling it...sure but the difference wasn`t worth the hassle. I was looking at buying an 09 with 40,000 miles on it. I would have had to take payments out to 5 years to be able to afford it. Luckily a family friend is the salesman I deal with. Great guy. He said I could lease a brand new truck for an extra $30 a month. Sounds like a no brainer for me. They even pay for all the maintenance for two of the three years. I live in upstate new York so rust is a huge problem. By the time I payed off the 09 there wouldn`t be much left of it and that`s very discouraging. It`s the main reason I don`t want to buy a brand new truck. I`ve seen year old vehicles here with the wheel wells bubbling and rust poking out. How can I justify a huge payment with not much to show for after I own it.

Now in three years I can give it back and have something new to play with. I feel like newer vehicles are obviously much safer and that makes me feel better when the family is in the truck.

Later in life...who know maybe I`ll buy a beater DD. And then actually buy a new summer vehicle that I own.

Everybody has different reasons to lease or buy but the bottom line is they are all too expensive. Just wanted to share my story. Thanks for reading.



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[Ronkh]

How Old People Became the Future of the U.S. Auto Industry

[Oldfordisbetter]

I couldn`t disagree more about quality. I can remember when it was a major milestone to hit 100,000 miles, now it is nothing. Anyone remember the 70`s? Rust, paint and bumpers that faded differently, 200hp Corvettes with 3-speed Hydramatics, freezing your kiester off sitting in a cold car nursing the throttle until it warms up enough to stay running?

IMNSHO cars have never been better or more reliable. I can`t remember the last time I prayed that my car would start on a cold morning. And they achieve this level of reliability despite being unimaginably more complex than cars of the past.

Totally get what your saying. Its just that at least you could work on the older models. These new ones? You dont stand a chance. have to take it to the dealerships. Where they overcharge you even when they dont know what they are doing. Its driving all the small guys out of business. And as far as safety, sure the new ones are safer, but they better be when they have 10 airbags. Oh and dont forget when these these 10 speed transmissions start to go out. Can`t imagine those are gona be a cheap fix. So back to your point, yes new cars are better than ever as far as reliability. But I firmly believe they are becoming more disposable now than ever before.

[Nutbread]

Totally get what your saying. Its just that at least you could work on the older models. These new ones? You dont stand a chance. have to take it to the dealerships. Where they overcharge you even when they dont know what they are doing. Its driving all the small guys out of business. And as far as safety, sure the new ones are safer, but they better be when they have 10 airbags. Oh and dont forget when these these 10 speed transmissions start to go out. Can`t imagine those are gona be a cheap fix. So back to your point, yes new cars are better than ever as far as reliability. But I firmly believe they are becoming more disposable now than ever before.

Speaking of disposability. I can see the day when cars become so complex, and emissions and fuel economy requirements get so stiff that the engines are effectively sealed. You buy (or more probably lease) the car, and if something goes wrong you turn it in and get a new one with the cost prorated by how much use you got out of the car. Kind of like the prorated warranty on tires and batteries. I`m probably nuts but....

[Lonnie]

Should the US government (we, the American people) bailed out the American car industry?? This is a good lesson in economics about business with government support. What would have happened had the car industries been allowed to go bankrupt? Would a foreign company bought them out?
It`s not that the car industry is out of touch with American buyer; they are out of touch with the American worker, both within their plants and the customers they expect to buy these new vehicles. $75,000 for an new Z-28 Camaro? REALLY? I could afford one in the late 70`s when they were $9,500; but not now when I do not make much more than I did 30 years ago. I think that`s true for ALOT of working Americans who are still struggling since the Great Recession "recovery" has taken place. Many are working 2 jobs because of cut-back hours from companies to avoid the Affordable Health Care requirements or avoid paying benefits altogether.
You are also seeing the effects of "the government debt" and its unintended result of inflation. Don`t tell me that cost-of-living expenses haven`t started to out-pace small-growth (or zero-growth) wages. Despite much lower energy cost due to a foreign supply realization that America really could achieve less-dependence on foreign oil, it has not translated to the rest of the economy. Those in the related energy fields know all too well how it is starting to affect their financial situations. It is a great time for the consumer who uses (and pays for) that energy, but as stated previously, someone suffers the consequences of lower prices. It`s pretty elementary economics.

So where does that leave those of us who detail for a living or even as a hobby or side-job?? Are you seeing more customers come in with older vehicles OR are car owners doing just enough to get by and avoiding the cost of good detail as being too expensive and unnecessary (at least in their opinion)? Or are car owners realizing that maybe they can make their older (and sometimes much older) car last a few years longer and make it look decent with a good detail?? How many new cars have you detailed in the last year, whether for profit or just for fun? You know the answer to that question better than I do.

[Nutbread]

Should the US government (we, the American people) bailed out the American car industry?? This is a good lesson in economics about business with government support. What would have happened had the car industries been allowed to go bankrupt? Would a foreign company bought them out?
It`s not that the car industry is out of touch with American buyer; they are out of touch with the American worker, both within their plants and the customers they expect to buy these new vehicles. $75,000 for an new Z-28 Camaro? REALLY? I could afford one in the late 70`s when they were $9,500; but not now when I do not make much more than I did 30 years ago. I think that`s true for ALOT of working Americans who are still struggling since the Great Recession "recovery" has taken place. Many are working 2 jobs because of cut-back hours from companies to avoid the Affordable Health Care requirements or avoid paying benefits altogether.
You are also seeing the effects of "the government debt" and its unintended result of inflation. Don`t tell me that cost-of-living expenses haven`t started to out-pace small-growth (or zero-growth) wages. Despite much lower energy cost due to a foreign supply realization that America really could achieve less-dependence on foreign oil, it has not translated to the rest of the economy. Those in the related energy fields know all too well how it is starting to affect their financial situations. It is a great time for the consumer who uses (and pays for) that energy, but as stated previously, someone suffers the consequences of lower prices. It`s pretty elementary economics.

So where does that leave those of us who detail for a living or even as a hobby or side-job?? Are you seeing more customers come in with older vehicles OR are car owners doing just enough to get by and avoiding the cost of good detail as being too expensive and unnecessary (at least in their opinion)? Or are car owners realizing that maybe they can make their older (and sometimes much older) car last a few years longer and make it look decent with a good detail?? How many new cars have you detailed in the last year, whether for profit or just for fun? You know the answer to that question better than I do.

The trouble is we bailed them out and they still went bankrupt. And Chrysler wound up in the hands of a foreign company again. I do believe there has to be a darn good reason before taxpayer`s money is given to a private company, and that includes financial institutions.

[Oldfordisbetter]

The trouble is we bailed them out and they still went bankrupt. And Chrysler wound up in the hands of a foreign company again. I do believe there has to be a darn good reason before taxpayer`s money is given to a private company, and that includes financial institutions.

If government would keep their fingers and our money out of stuff, it would all work out.

[4u2nvinmtl]

When I walked into the dealers looking for an SRT they all were talking 40-50K for used ones... I told them I had 30k cash (Canadian, worth less than USD) and a few hours later I was in a 09 Jeep SRT8 with 50,000KM (35,000 miles), that was over 3 years ago...

Note: The dealers wouldn`t go lower than 35k if I didn`t take the extended warranty so they got me on the extended warranty for $7k ($37k total before tax) but consumer protection got the extended warranty money back with interest ($7.8k) for me, because the dealer kept messing up on repairs and outright lied about the warranty.

Now I maintain it myself and I couldn`t be happier!

[RaysWay]

What ever happened to those Nissan/Datsun concept cars? I remember they were receiving a lot of positive feedback since they were supposed to be priced low for a brand new car. If I remember correctly it was about ~$10,000 brand new?

[Migue]

wow, those look really nice IMO, i can see a retro look to them. I`d pay double that for one of these.

[Accumulator]

Wonder how they could do all the mandatory safety stuff for ~$10K. I do like that type of retro-look!

[rlmccarty2000]

Those cars remind me of the first generation Toyota Celica I had in the seventies. That was a great car. They used the engine from those cars in taxi cabs in Japan. Overhead cam and Macpherson struts. We paid less than $3000 for the car when it was new and I sold it for $500 in 1986. I saw it years later still running. Definitely bang for the buck.

[Ronkh]

What ever happened to those Nissan/Datsun concept cars? I remember they were receiving a lot of positive feedback since they were supposed to be priced low for a brand new car. If I remember correctly it was about ~$10,000 brand new?

gas got cheaper?

[trashmanssd]

This is the car it was model after Datsun 510. Late 60`s early 70`s from what I have read it is a very popular Japanese tuner/restomod car.

[nothingface5384]

I bought one of the cheapest cars that got around 40mpg in 2011 and i literally hate new car preventive maintenance, and xar payments
Got like 2 more years
Hopefully my kia class action lawsuit comes through soon.
Once monthly payments are done im selling then buying another 60s/70s car
Miss driving vintage everyday
Something goes wrong like a transmission

Th350 is like 50 bucks used
Buick v8 is 50 to 350
Rearend 200 lol