Average American can no longer afford "average-priced" new car or truck

[38P]

Probably something most of us already sensed, but here's a story on it: https://autos.yahoo.com/news/average...lkA1ZJUDMwMV8x

And it's going to keep getting worse because of "increased cost of new mileage, emissions and safety regulations."

One commentator says "Americans don't care about cars anymore" because:

~~1. The Infiltration of Technology Has Killed the Act of “Driving.”
2. No More Turning Wrenches In the Garage — Cars are Inaccessible to Mr. Fix-Its.
3. Cars and Their Owners: Now [seen by some as a public] Menace.
4. Cookie-Cutter Copy-Cat Cars: Un-American and the Antithesis of Innovation.

http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2014/03/02/4-reasons-americans-dont-care-about-cars-anymore/?singlepage=true

[antmnte]

I agree ,a new Impala loaded up is 38 grand. Thats nuts! Even with inflation its too much. Sure there are cheaper cars but its a full size Chevy not a Caddy.

[squirrel]

uhh....if you can't afford an "average priced" car, then you'll have to get a low priced car.

Or a used car.

It's been that way for a century or so

[Deaf Bob]

Never had a new car! 72 LUV in 74... Brand new bike.. Last year's model..80 in 81 $3210 with helmet.. Now new bikes are approaching $20,000

[1970camaroRS]

It's not the problem of the car being so complex that a Mr. Fix-it can't work on his own car. It's just that there are fewer and fewer people capable of being Mr. Fix-its in this world. Electrical and computer controls are intimidating, but it's just another technical skill to learn just like welding, hydraulics, plumbing, metal-work, painting, machining, and general mechanics. "Too complex" is a sorry excuse.

[oldsman496]

I think this is tremendous. Not all people should have cars. it causes too much air pollution and is killing the planet, so the more expensive cars get, the fewer there will be. and the fewer carbon emissions will be in the air I breathe. We neeed high speed rail and more community paid for bus services. Taxes should be brought to accomplish these objectives. we gotta save the planet. it's the moral thing to do for the sake of everyone.

if Govt does the right thing, they will make the new driverless cars mandatory and incredibly expensive... If you can make a driverless car you can make a driverless bus for all the schleps in this world.

[RockJustRock]

Happily they DO seem to be built to live longer. Back in the day 70K miles was high mileage and if the clock was "rolled over" (100K) it was crusher bait. Of course in those days a Lambo Miura was $20K, just over half the price of that loaded Impala. Shucks a Z-28 could be had under $4K.

[1970camaroRS]

Happily they DO seem to be built to live longer. Back in the day 70K miles was high mileage and if the clock was "rolled over" (100K) it was crusher bait. Of course in those days a Lambo Miura was $20K, just over half the price of that loaded Impala. Shucks a Z-28 could be had under $4K.

Yeah, but you were doing good if you made $7,500 a year in 1970.

[PatricksDad]

Every time I've ever looked at this, a dollar has bought roughly competitive performance and market placement, since about 1970 or so.

[38P]

I think this is tremendous. Not all people should have cars. it causes too much air pollution and is killing the planet, so the more expensive cars get, the fewer there will be. and the fewer carbon emissions will be in the air I breathe. We neeed high speed rail and more community paid for bus services. Taxes should be brought to accomplish these objectives. we gotta save the planet. it's the moral thing to do for the sake of everyone.

if Govt does the right thing, they will make the new driverless cars mandatory and incredibly expensive... If you can make a driverless car you can make a driverless bus for all the schleps in this world.

I hope that was sarcasm . . . really I do.

[Matt Cramer]

Only in Washington, D.C. could the typical median-income household afford to buy the average new vehicle based on what is known as the 20/4/10 rule, which factors in a 20% down-payment, a four-year loan and insurance – all of which should not exceed 10% of a household’s gross income. Using that formula, a typical Washington resident could afford to buy a vehicle priced at $32,531, with a monthly payment of $641.

A $641 monthly payment seems like a strange definition of affordable to me. That's like having a car eat three starters a month. I've owned some pretty bad lemons, but never a car that required spending that much to keep it on the road. Even the worst cars I've owned have required less than half that in fixes (and were paid for in cash).

uhh....if you can't afford an "average priced" car, then you'll have to get a low priced car.

Or a used car.

It's been that way for a century or so

Agreed - being able to buy an "average" car brand new is something that's generally taken above-average levels of affluence.

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

Probably something most of us already sensed, but here's a story on it: https://autos.yahoo.com/news/average...lkA1ZJUDMwMV8x

And it's going to keep getting worse because of "increased cost of new mileage, emissions and safety regulations."

One commentator says "Americans don't care about cars anymore" because:


http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2014/03...inglepage=true

sorry this is NOT true.. not at all..
most buyers don't change cars like underwear anymore.. they tend to keep them 7-11+ years.. mostly to have a a few years of no payments before going back to the payment book, allowing them to get a down payment started.. also.. used cars cost is high.. a 200+ car well cared for is got 100k+ left in it.. and they sell for 3500 and up.. 10-14 years old..

now if you said the avg. family can't afford a new car in the 72 months loan.. I'd still question that as it be 370.oo give or take if your credit isn't all that bad.. NO ONE BUYS AN IMPALA for sticker, let me rephrase that ,well anyone with a brain.. so you can't swing the 370.00 payment.. YOU don't have to..
welcome to the world of leasing, yes it is stupid for a lot of people because of the mileage limits and the fee's for a door ding/etc but for the family that has to have a new car.. they can lease it, and then at end of lease buy it (a.k.a. used car loan) yes you'll in the end pay more to the banks in % over the life of the loans, but you'll have that new car and know it's history.. and a workable payment < #1 reason
this pertains to those that have to have new.. or that 2 year old used car is within shooting distance of the new one after rebates/etc (happens allot)
I haven't looked at a lease paperwork in years.. 2004 was the last time a dealer tried to push me that way.. but they used to have a buy it at end of lease and it was a fixed price listed on lease, or fair market value at time of lease end, and like when you buy it. no one pays the full buy it at end of lease number either.. unless they are crazy over the mileage limit..
new vehicles need to be looked at as RENTING them over owning out wright, for those that need a reliable car for the wife and have to have new...
this brings the payments down to 200.oo if not less.. (accords are like 79.00 )
It's more about living within your means.. most don't need that IMPALA and it's size.. most don't wait until the dealers want that model year off the lots.. it's also amazing what % rate they can get you when you get up to walk,
Truth of the matter is most can't afford a new car for the family because between late 2007 -now.. they have had some hard ship, job loss, less hours,etc and their credit rating took a hit, so the % rate they'll get isn't good..
nevermind that todays cars go 200k without needing much.. and used can be a better option.. as the used car market slowly comes back to earth after becoming overpriced from Obama's cash for clunkers..
My. credit took a major hit from the issues (health) since 2010.. so I'd not even try to buy new,, and if I took a loan on used.. it be paid off ASAP..
the other problem is the fact that people today have to have everything in the car, it has to be loaded.. back when the family bought a new car, most didn't buy the loaded unit.. it was the basic car.. today the oem's don't build that.. because the buyers today are spoiled brats that have to have it.. loaded, cause it be to embarrassing to show your friends a stripper model.. or a middle ground one.. it has to have all the bells and whistles.. AND THATS THE HONEST REASON A FAMILY TODAY CAN'T AFFORD A NEW CAR the keep'n up with the jones.

[38P]

Every time I've ever looked at this, a dollar has bought roughly competitive performance and market placement, since about 1970 or so.

Okay . . . Let's say you were a young driver in 1967 . . . The M.S.R.P. for a G.T.O. hardtop was around $3,000 (http://ultimategto.com/cgi-bin/stats...ataplate+price ). . . Let's say you went wild with the options and bought it for $3,500 . . . .

Lots of guys did that back in the day . . . It was a basis of the "youth market." They started killing it off in the '70s. First it was insurance surcharges. Then energy and emissions.

Fast forward to 2014 . . . . Average Annual Inflation 1967-2014: 4.25%. (and no, wages for young workers have not risen 4% every year) http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation...3500&year=1967
Total Inflation 1967-2014: 608.36%. So even if they offered a car like that G.T.O., the $3,500 M.S.R.P. in 2014 dollars would be $24,792.44. It would be challenging to get a four-bangin' Focus ST for that money. No new V8s are that cheap. None. Challenger is the cheapest at ~ $29,500 (before rebates and incentives).

Draw your own conclusions . . . .

One more case study


. . . If memory serves, Joe Oldham's famous 1969 Motion Phase III Camaro (http://www.carguychronicles.com/2013...ro-wanted.html) was about $5,000 (according to his book) . . . that would be $32,823.80 today . . . Could you really get a new 500+ h.p. tuner car for that kind of bread now?

[38P]

It's not the problem of the car being so complex that a Mr. Fix-it can't work on his own car. It's just that there are fewer and fewer people capable of being Mr. Fix-its in this world. Electrical and computer controls are intimidating, but it's just another technical skill to learn just like welding, hydraulics, plumbing, metal-work, painting, machining, and general mechanics. "Too complex" is a sorry excuse.

No one suggests that enterprising folks can't learn the skills. (Although apparently not nearly enough people are doing so: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money...oms/57414464/1 )

Rather, the point is that the growing complexity of modern vehicles does intimidate many typical untrained D-I-Y "mechanics." In contrast, the cars that popularized early auto enthusiasm, grassroots motorsports, and hot rodding were generally simple enough that mostly untrained farm boys could figure them out. This does tend to reduce hands-on participation in various sectors of the hobby, regardless of whether or not it's a "sorry excuse."

[Barry Donovan]

Happily they DO seem to be built to live longer. Back in the day 70K miles was high mileage and if the clock was "rolled over" (100K) it was crusher bait. Of course in those days a Lambo Miura was $20K, just over half the price of that loaded Impala. Shucks a Z-28 could be had under $4K.

good point.

I remember even in my own time, minimum wage and still somehow getting a car or truck.

there were some freaks in the durable category, the 8 lug chuvy with the last of high compression 5.7 liter.. that is where time stands still, 1972.

the rest is money dumped into terrible theories, that is the cost.
chemists, inlines, tangents.. psychotics with money, supremicists and more theories on economy and "the people".

I chuckle sometimes.. "what if" scenarios.
America would have had a holocaust to stop it.