New cars cost what a house used to cost. 7 year loan is wild.
New cars are the house
In the future instead of renting an apartment you will rent a parking space and P.O. Box so that you can sleep in your car. The laundromat and showers might be included or they might be pay per use.
you need an address to rent a PO box
My parents were crazy apocalypse preppers, the first 10 years of my life we lived in tents and vans, they had PO boxes the entire time. It’s not exactly nuclear-bunker level security.
Also, commenter above hypothesizing a new housing/living regime entirely which doesn’t seem that far off tbh.
From the USPS. But there are other places like the UPS Store that don’t have that restriction.
I mean if I get a decent mobile I might as well
Yeah, and pay hasn’t gone up for over 20 years
CEO pays have. Everyone else … not so much.
It’s like every car salesman next to a military base spread to the whole country like an invasive species…
Well, some do.
Now, these alarming average new car prices aren’t indicative of pricing across body styles and brands; KBB data shows consumer choice was in no small part behind the increase, as the number of full-size trucks hit a five-year high through the end of 2025. U.S. buyers purchased over 233,000 full-size trucks in the fourth quarter of 2025, at an average price of $66,386. Similarly, the average EV sat around $58,034 through the end of 2025, further driving up the average new-vehicle transaction price.
A new Camry is $30k, half that.
Who are these people buying all these vehicles? I would NEVER consider spending that much on a car and I make decently above what the average household does…
$66k? For transportation?! I’m on year 11 of owning my 3 year pre-used car…
But only 1 retains it’s value. 10 years in and that car is worthless.
My prius cost nothing when I got it and it’s still worth shit
Depends on the car, if you look at land cruisers for example, they hold their value insanely well
That’s longer than most US made cars last
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What’s the name of that US built car that lasts 84 months…?
HOLY SHIT.
84 months!
We are going to continue to drive our 16 year old car and 8 year old car around for a while longer, I hope. I cannot imagine paying for a car for 7 years, damn.
My previous car I did 60 months at 0%. They were offering, I knew I’d drive it that long, so why not.
And for a solid five months I had no car loan to pay!
Doing that now. If you can comfortably afford it it’s the way to go. The problem is many many many people can’t afford it or don’t qualify.
You don’t have to get an 84 month loan. We just did a 48 month loan on my wife’s new car. The trick is, buy within your means and don’t roll negative equity into your new loan.
Yes, that’s so true. I remember coming into a small amount of money and had been saving a little bit, and had just paid off a ridiculously long car loan on a used car - still one of the dumbest financial decisions I had made in my youth - 5.5 years on a used car, WTF was I even thinking, LOL.
Anyway, I was itching to buy some new car possibly, as I had never bought new. Someone handed me a book about finances and the author reiterated what my parents had always tried to drill into my head - about the only worthwhile debt is real estate.
For cars, he had this notion of “paying yourself” the car payment once you pay off a car. Do that for many years, and use that savings for your next car, preferably used, about 2 or 3 years old, after which the depreciation has had the steepest drop.
So I skipped buying something new or used. For so many reasons, I am glad my co-worker lent me that book at that particular time.
What book?
This one - Live Debt Free, by Ted Carroll
https://archive.org/details/livedebtfreemake00carr
Even reading this in the early 00s was kinda wild when it came to some of the talk of house prices. Most of the principles still hold, though, especially when it comes to deferring gratitude and so on.
The notion of moving somewhere low-cost is probably more relevant than ever, though, given the idea of remote work having been broken wide open because of Covid. Prior to that, most companies viewed it as something slightly scandalous to even ask about.
They’re bundling and selling these loans off just like they did real estate up until 2008. When it all exploded in their faces.
I’m jacked, jacked to the tits.
HOLY SHIFT.
Mine’s 18 years old. Aside from some clear coat chips, she drives great. No need for a new car. I plan to drive this car til the wheels fall off.
If they’re offering 0% for 132 months, I’m doing it.
Especially as cars do come with 7 or more years of warranty, like KIA.
If you give me 0% for more than 5 years? Sure, I’ll take it. Our EV is 2021 model, I’m in no rush to sell it. I’ll reach the mileage warranty unfortunately before the timed one.
That’s a crazy decision to make. I own my car outright thankfully. In the future once my car is used up and completely in the green as an investment to commute to work, I’m going to consider leasing a very modern electric vehicle for 2 years.
People buy new cars?
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Used car? $3000
New car? Sell three children and keep a monthly payment plan.
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You’re kidding. I have never paid more than $3300 for a used car.
South Mississippi. It’s not even hard yo. I got a 1995 GMC truck for you for like $400, it just needs new keys, a new battery, and maybe some gasoline.
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I guarantee you can go on Craigslist for your area right now and find cars that run for like $1k or less.
Probably all hoopdie ass shitboxes, but wait a couple months and keep an eye and you’ll find something that runs from the 2000s that’s not a total piece of shit for like $3k, with around 300-350k miles.
Are they great? No. Cheap as hell to insure? Yes. Cost the same price as 5 months of a car payment, and last for years with basic maintenance costs and worse gas mileage? Very likely yes.
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Can everyone quit giving me shit?
I got a 1995 GMC Sonoma for sale right now, only asking $400
Yeah it needs a little work, it needs a new battery and new key+ignition lock.
Fuck, where the fuck you people getting used vehicles for $10K?
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Last year, I paid around $5k for my car. It runs well, needs work (that I can do myself), but is overall in good shape. I could have gotten a better deal on it, had I had cash on hand.
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Where can you find a used car for $3k?
Craigslist. Local auction. Random crap for sale at the curb in neighborhoods.
Apparently not. Apparently they rent them, just like their homes.
I’m nursing a 23 year old VW along. 1.8T 5mt Jetta; it’s still fun to drive, though I really do need to go through it when I have time and replace all the ancient rubber components. But it still runs fine. Fantastic city car too, because it’s easy to park because it’s so small, and old enough that I don’t really care if someone bumps into it a little bit.
You need to have the tapered oil plug re-drilled and replaced.
Please trust me on this advice, as VW totally fucked up when they designed tapered oil plugs.
I bought my current car new - over 20 years ago.
Got me beat 2008 bought new (Toyota Tundra) still love it. It was the first new car I ever bought and it has been great. Also been nice not having a payment since 2011!
2008? Information for your vehicle should be available in Operation CHARM manuals actually…
Wow, I never run across that !
If you have the means to archive that site, hit up their about page.
It really needs to be archived!
How many years did it take you to pay it off?
Buy a used car, it’s yours, no bills.
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And I grew up on a junkyard. Nobody ever signed up for a payment plan, they just paid straight cash.
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I’m literally trying to hock off a 1995 GMC Sonoma for $400 right now. Nobody seems to want it.
New battery and new keys and it should run just fine.
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Well, that’s no time to tale a loan for a new car.
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No sympathy for modern car buyers. There are almost no limits on size at the moment. Things have gone way out of reasonable limits. We need to strike down vehicle size limits by a huge amount.
To elaborate on the no sympathy part, most new vehicle on the road are oversized. For example, SUV death wagons, and the odd clown truck bringing their 6 wheeler for a lettuce and bread trip to whatever other spot dealing with their misery.
Wait stop don’t.
-Willy Wonka
Under 3% I’ll take the longest loan I can… It’s free money. Above 6 it’s a perpetual loss. 4 or 5 is borderline.
Vehicle loans are the antichrist
Mortgages used to be 7 years, and car loans were unheard of on the gold standard. Cheap debt changed all this, and we chalked up the economic growth as a positive thing.
Now we act aghast when high debt loads exist.
There’s a balance to be struck. Interest rates used to be 15 or more percent, that’s no good. Free or almost free debt is also no good.
Yeah, if we can stick the prime rate somewhere in the middle, we’d be happy. Also, if we can raise the top tax rate on individuals and more importantly corporations, that will incentivize them to spend their profits rather than hoard them.
I didn’t do a dissertation on this or anything, don’t ask me anything I will lose my mind it’s already been a month
Guys, just lease the damn car.
Or buy used and stop contributing to that disposable bullshit industry
You will rent everything, own nothing. And you will love it.
Sorry for the downvotes but I do the same and in my situation it makes the most financial sense. I compared buying to leasing and if I bought a car and traded it in at the end of a typical lease term I would owe more money on the car than it would be worth. Even if I paid straight cash the depreciation would be more than I paid for the lease.
I mean, I would rather lease than paying a 7 year note on a car.
That’s crazy. The car legitimately might not last that long.
