Posted on 05/15/2023 5:42:11 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — With new and used cars still painfully expensive, Ryan Holdsworth says he plans to keep his 9-year-old Chevy Cruze for at least four more years. Limiting his car payments and his overall debt is a bigger priority for him than having a new vehicle.
A 35-year-old grocery store worker from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Holdsworth would probably be in the market for a vehicle within a few years — if not for the high cost. For now, it’s out of the question.
“You’re not going to get one for a price you can afford,” he said.
Holdsworth has plenty of company. Americans are keeping their cars longer than ever. The average age of a passenger vehicle on the road hit a record 12.5 years this year, according to data gathered by S&P Global Mobility. Sedans like Holdsworth are even older, on average — 13.6 years.
Blame it mainly on the pandemic, which in 2020 triggered a global shortage of automotive computer chips, the vital component that runs everything from radios to gas pedals to transmissions. The shortage drastically slowed global assembly lines, making new vehicles scarce on dealer lots just when consumers were increasingly eager to buy.
Prices reached record highs. And though they’ve eased somewhat, the cost of a vehicle still feels punishingly expensive to many Americans, especially when coupled with now much-higher loan rates.
Since the pandemic struck three years ago, the average new vehicle has rocketed 24% to nearly $48,000 as of April, according to Edmunds.com. Typical loan rates on new-car purchases have ballooned to 7%, a consequence of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive streak of interest rate hikes to fight inflation.
It’s all pushed the national average monthly auto loan payment to $729 — prohibitively high for many.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
I was just thinking about the age of my wife’s car this morning. We’re fixing to drive it most of the way across the country in two weeks. It’s a 2015 Chevy Equinox. I had a mechanic give it a once over a few weeks ago.
We’ve only ever bought late model high mileage used cars and had very good results.
The last one I bought for myself was two years old with 145,000 miles. I put another 300,000 on it before selling it.
For the last few years I’ve been blessed with Company pickup trucks that they turn over at way too low of a mileage number.
Is that a loan payment over 5 years, 7 years, 15 years? Probably 7, which is ridiculously high. $50,000+ for a new car is getting a bit ridiculous.
One more thing....... in addition for the new paint job, spring for new headlights. The new polished head lights make all the difference in the appearance world.
Our ‘98, that is 1998, Civic has been very well maintained and with a new paint job in the original color with new headlights makes the age unrecognizable.
I worried about the milage. My Honda specialist mechanic told me not to worry because it was in some ways better than some newer models.
2 years ago, car lots were very much devoid of new cars. I had an eye on a 3-cyl turbocharged Ford Escape, but couldn’t find one. Finally tracked one down and grabbed it.
The hybrids were even harder to get. About all the Ford dealers had on their lots were F-150s (their big $$ makers) and a few larger SUVs.
So when you can’t find new, you keep what you’ve got.
The subject of this article believes his 2014 Cruze will last another 4 years?
He’s new to the Chevy cruze game, isn’t he?
I was in an O’Reilly’s when a woman came in to ask a question. She had a 2016 Honda, and the collision alarm was going off continuously. She had done what was suggested in the owner’s manual and Googled the problem, to no avail. The clerks started researching and the list of stuff to replace was very long. For the most part, cars built in the last seven to ten years are not intended to be “owned.” They are intended to be “leased.” After the lease, the cost of repair will often exceed the value of the car. It’s a new business model intended to generate churn by forcing people to spend on a new lease every three years.
Part of the problem is all the government mandated gadgets like backup cameras and useless emissions garbage like EVAP.
Not to mention the now ubiquitous touch screen.
And now automakers want you to subscribe to functionality in your purchased vehicle.
The hassle and expense of maintaining an older vehicle is now vastly lower than a new vehicle thanks to the stupidity of the government and the auto maker.
That was not the case even a few years ago. Then, it was possible to get a new car with a payment that wasn’t too far off from the repair costs of an older car. And you were freeing yourself from the hassle of fixing the old car.
Who can afford a $40,000 POS?.....................
I have a 2008 F-250 with about 85,000 miles on it. Only use it for hunting and carrying large/heavy stuff. It has a few dings and scratches, and the fuel-level sensor is getting wonky but not yet worth spending a lot for a new fuel pump. I could probably sell it for more than I paid for it new, but I plan to keep it for a long time.
“The problem is that people consider the cost of maintenance to be an unnecessary burden”
While necessary, it is really expensive. What used to be an $18 oil change in the 1990’s is now $85. Our diesel engine vehicles are $277 for a standard oil change. We get two years worth as part of the purchase price, but starting later this year, that maintenance runs out and I’ll do ours. Still, the cost will be $80 for the two gallons of oil and filter.
Our little Toyota Corolla has two years of oil changes, but after that it is $85. I’ll do those oil changes myself for about $30.
First, let me say I could pay cash for a $100k truck.
Second, No way in hell!............................
There would be a LOT more older cars still on the road if not for Obama’s cash for clunkers giveaway.
Pandemic?
No, AP!!!
The government mandated freaking lockdown.
NO MORE!
Vehicles these days last longer. They are better built.
As an engineer in college, I studied construction equipmet costs. The same concepts can and should be applied to automobiles and pick up and especially to private air craft.
Consider the cost of ownership and operation costs on a per mile basis. That is all the costs of the original purchase plus all the subsequent maintenance costs divided by the miles. That yields a number.
Consider the same based on the present original cost and you can see the benefits of maintenance
Yep. TCO is always calculated with maintenance.
I did, in Florida 3 years ago. So far, so good..
Who can afford a $70,000 POS?
USED 1976 1 ton 4 speed dually Chevy cost me $4000 in 1986.
USED 1979 Buick station wagon cost me $3500 in 1981.
Still driving both. 569,000 combined miles.
NO COMPUTER JUNK——Fuel pumps on engine block-—NOT in fuel tanks-—EASY to work on.
I don’t blame it on the pandemic.
I blame it on the bureaucratic, democrate response and mandates they imposed from 2020 until the end of 2022.
They did it. They own it.
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