Posted on 03/05/2023 1:02:09 PM PST by CFW
A growing number of Americans are falling behind on their car payments, an ominous sign for the U.S. economy as high car prices and persistent inflation strain household budgets.
Car repossessions tumbled in the early days of the pandemic when the government sent $5 trillion in stimulus money to American homes and businesses. But they have progressively ticked higher as sky-high prices for used and new cars alike forced consumers to take out bigger loans.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxbusiness.com ...
$1,000 per month vehicle payments.
What could possibly go wrong?
Haven’t had a car payment in 30 yrs.
Smartened up.
Buy used and pay the cash you can afford.
“Buy used and pay the cash you can afford.”
Yes.
sky-high prices for used and new cars alike forced consumers to take out bigger loans.
``````````````````````````````````````````
“Forced”? Really?
Right, some recent poll said the majority of the chumps are “optimistic” about the way the economy will go in the next months of this year and mostly agree Biden is handling it all well.
All is well. So they think.
“Buy used and pay the cash you can afford.”
Good advice. We always buy used vehicles. I did finance my last one through my credit union. 1.67% interest rate was a great deal for financing a used car. I paid extra each month and paid it off in a year. There is no way I would buy a new car and pay $1,000 per month.
I was listening to an auto guy’s video the other week and he was talking about why these repo’d cars aren’t hitting the used car market. When they go to auction, none of the usual buyers will pay enough to entice the financing company to sell it so they “no sale” the vehicle. The cars are then returned to the auction lot and brought out again the following week. The companies want to recoup at least a majority of their costs for the cars, but the buyers will not pay the prices they demand. Thus, the cars remain off the market.
Dems hate individualism that car owners have. Either self driving that can be turned off for being naughty or else all public transportation (except for Dem elites themselves).
Try waiting for a bus or train with thugs monitoring you or walking to the station or bus stop from home in the dark or 10 degree cold while someone waits to mug you. Not good. That’s why even urban criminals do carjackings.
I saw this in the Wall Street Journal, too. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
I can imagine what young couples are going through in trying to find a car they can afford for getting back and forth to work. It has to be stressful. People need to invest whatever needed to maintain their current vehicle by regular oil changes and tune-ups. It’s worth that investment.
We just sold my late mother’s car for less than $2,000. to a young mother with two children. Her husband is deceased and she is struggling financially. The car has less that 150 thousand miles on it so it was a good deal for her. I hope it serves her well. It felt good to be able to do that for someone.
We have always bought new and keep a very long time.
We save to pay cash for our new vehicles.
I want to know how it was maintained and driven.
I always buy new cars but the last one I bought was in 2005.
Dropped a new engine and transmission in the truck a few years back and its good to go for another 5-10 years.
This should drive down the prices of used Tesla’s BMW’s and such when they start getting towed away from Millennial’s places of residence.
“Buy used and pay the cash you can afford.”
And do what I’m doing today, fixing a 19 year old
FORD.
A case of beer and a few dollars in parts is far better than $1000 per month for 5 years.
Reports are lenders are giving out money for people to get second cars without trading in existing cars with outstanding loans. A planned repossesion cycle of older used vehicles. They are destroying their industry for short term profit. This will soon be a disaster. Used car prices will however crash for responsible people.
What gets me is that Buick and other brands got out of making sedans because people wanted the SUVs and other such types of vehicles. It really doesn’t surprise me that many are in that sort of situation when they wanted these bigger and more expensive SUVs.
Not really. They got out of making cars because of regulations. Such as MPG fleet requirements. By going to an SUV class, they got around that rule.
We gonna need Uncle FJB to cancel our car payments. Come on Joey! Get with the program bubba!!!
I see the cars, houses, furniture, vacations… people have and have no clue how they can afford it all. My household income is higher than most yet will live like poor people compared to what we see around us.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.