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 ...
who in the world is gonna buy a repossed car?
the car coompanies/unions have just about priced themselves out of business.
I watched some auto guy's videos, perhaps the same one you listened to. He would go back week after week and bid on the same repo'd cars until they hit his price point, the ones that were "no sale" from before. Sellers kept losing money until they had to let it go. Auto guy buying 5 or 6 cars at a time had huge discounts from normal. Financing companies losing tons of money on repo's.
And people are just wrapping that old car loan into the new one. They buy a new car, add it to the debt from the previously purchased car, and now they owe $100,000 on their auto loan.
Not teaching basic economics and budgeting has done a great harm to our youth. When I was in high school, we had to take a six week course on business/financing/interest rates, etc. during high school. It was just the basics, but I learned a lot in that little business course.
Make sure to buy an EV car in the first place, as you will certainly be glad to turn it in when when the purchase due-date arrives.
Style has avoided me for 30 years now. My wife is pavlovian when it comes to commercials on television. We learned many years ago to not act on what we are shown. We act on what we define over careful tested deliberation as “Need”, not “Want”.
Amen!
Are used car prices coming down?
No problem says the car seller. Trade it in and roll over your loan. Out the door for only 300 more per month and we will do 84 months.
My last car payment ended 12 years ago. I banked every payment since. More than enough to pay cash now but I plan to drive the wheels off it instead!
Are you saying that many or most repo-ed cars cannot be sold at auctions for as much as half price??
A whole case? I’ll make a note not to buy a used car from you..LOL.
Some of the companies realize this and are toying with a scheme where hardly anyone owns a vehicle anymore...they basically force everyone into the corral of leasing and never actually owning.
“I watched some auto guy’s videos, perhaps the same one you listened to. He would go back week after week and bid on the same repo’d cars until they hit his price point, the ones that were “no sale” from before. Sellers kept losing money until they had to let it go. Auto guy buying 5 or 6 cars at a time had huge discounts from normal. Financing companies losing tons of money on repo’s.”
Exactly! The sellers eventually have to move some of the cars, if for no other reason than to make more room on their holding lots and to recoup some of their losses. Eventually, the prices may start coming down for used cars, but it’s going to be a few months.
“Thus, the cars remain off the market.”
How long can this last?
Are cars being destroyed, a lá Cash for Clunkers?
Hubby drives a 2008 Toyota Corolla with just under 200,000 miles. We hope to keep it a while longer, at least until our 2018 Murano is paid off. Our mechanic said he’d buy it off us, whenever we’re ready.
If and when I get the bills of the major medical misadventures paid off or at least way down, that’s the plan with the long languishing K5 Blazer.
Not happening this year from what I can see.
I’d love to make it fuel injection. Me and setting carbs never had much of a history.
Mortgage forgiveness? Borrow my neighbor's chainsaw forgiveness?
“We have always bought new and keep a very long time.”
Until it needs to be junked.
My desired vehicle for decades has been a turbo gas/Diesel, manual transmission, AWD/4X4, box-on-wheels [van, suv, station wagon, x-over, etc.].
Not too many choices new, much less used.
Although what I did last time was financed the car but made sure there was no pre-payment penalty.
Then you can focus on negotiating a better price, because they think they’ll make their money on the loan.
Then you simply pay off the loan a month later.
You are more likely to get a lower price on the car if they think you’re financing it.
This is all part of the WEF great reset plan.
Buying those $70,000 Jeep Wranglers and $80,000 pickup trucks that they neither take off-road, nor haul anything in, for fear of scratching them or fetting them dirty.
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