Americans Are Falling Behind on Their Car Payments
Americans Are Falling Behind on Their Car Payments
A record number of owners spend more than $1,000 on their monthly car payments. Read on to learn how to cope with payments that are too high.
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Well, yeah, when people are spending $30K-$80K on a car, they're likely gonna miss payments eventually. The car market, including used cars, has been over-inflated for years.
We had a 2003 Honda Element that we bought in 2008 for $8000. It had less than 50,000 miles on it. We saw that same exact model in a car lot this year, with over 150,000 miles and they were selling it for $10,000. Over 15 years later and over 100,000 miles more on it and it's selling for more. There is a serious problem with the car market right now.
Honda Element isn't the best car to illustrate overall inflation. They're kind of in trend right now, so the price is higher than similar cars of same era/mileage.
Wtf, Honda elements are trendy? We used to rag on my friends element because it was like half plastic. Can't imagine that has aged well.
Wait till you see FJ Cruisers selling for $20,000+ with over a quarter million miles on em.
Vanlife YouTube got to them.
During peak COVID, the dealer wanted to buy back my Q50 for $6k more than I paid them for it four years prior.
Elements are enjoying a Renaissance more than a lot of other cars out there
The price of cars was relatively flat from about 1998 until covid, actually. In 2019 cars were a bargain compared to the 80s and 90s.
You're also comparing 2003 prices to 2023 prices. Inflation occurred in the last 20 years. Like, this is just what happened to all goods and services.
It hurts to agree with you. Like I wanted to downvote you but then I checked an inflation calculator. The problem is wages haven't kept up. In a normal period of inflation nobody notices because their purchasing power is unaffected. But if prices go up while wages stagnate then everyone notices.