Regular people can’t afford them any more.
I’ve never bought a new car, and there’s no way I’d do it at these crazy prices. At some point, though, you’d think that one of the automakers would go after this unserved market, and drive prices down with some competition.
And of course higher new car prices pushes up the price of used cars as well. My wife recently purchased a 2018 Mazda3 with 70k miles, $19k with no negotiation possible. Of 8 vehicles we looked at prior to purchasing the one she ended up with we were offered about 8% off the listed price on ONE of them. Definitely a sellers market right now.
I understand the Ford F150 is the most popular model being sold right now…
Ford gives customers an option. They can pay ~$35k for a brand new one, or well in excess of $85k for one. Both with gasoline engines and 6-seats.
The customer has the choice.
$777 a month will just about get you a new 2023 Civic Si or Camaro LT1 with a 6-speed manual transmission paid in full at 36 months.
It has now become cost effective to do major overhauls on a car, assuming the body and interior are in decent shape. New or reman engine or transmission is way cheaper, particularly if you have the ability or friends to do it yourself.
Replacing an engine could range between $6k to $10k depending on engine type and new or remanufactured. This is one reason I stick to four cylinder engines.
I’m including labor at around $140 flat rate.
The CAFE and safety crap makes it difficult to make basic transportation anymore.
They sure have made it lucrative to steal catalytic converters.
Will we be looking at a universal “cash for clunkers” when the government succeeds in eliminating fossil fuels? Cars with internal combustion engines will have no trade-in value, yet everyone will be forced to buy an electric car.
It seems like they haven’t thought this through very carefully…
Yeah, it seems like many other policies and initiatives are not thought through these days.
Oh, they think them through. You just have to understand what the goal is. It’s certainly not “meeting the needs and desires of the average citizen”.
Well I have been looking at buying the Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE (PHEV) for a few years now; but due to several factors it is now on indefinite hold. Factors such as high price, very low availability in general and particularly in my area and the final straw the $7500 PHEV/electric vehicle tax rebate doesn’t apply to it. Apparently to be eligible said vehicle needs to be assembled in the States; the Prime is assembled my understanding in Japan still.
Cars are about twice as expensive as they were 30 years ago. I had a 1991 Toyota Tercel 4 speed, which cost $8K new, right now a 2023 Nissan Versa 5 speed can be had for $15.5K new. What’s the definition of “normal?” Someone who lacks the self discipline to save up $15.5K? How much of the problem is housing aggrandizement? Does a “normal” person who can’t afford a new car live in a single-wide? Or in a stick built $500K pile of lumber? Are you forced to live in California or New York? I paid $42K for a decrepit double wide. And so I’ve bought four new cars in the past 30 years, and still have 3 of them (I traded the first for the second). When I was a kid, seeing a new car parked next to a shanty brought racist sneers. Does it still? Therre are lessons to be learned. Oh, and my shanty came with 5.3 acres. Your mcmansion?