Mastodawn

Americans can’t afford their cars any more and Wall Street is worried

Americans can’t afford their cars any more and Wall Street is worried - Lemmy.World

If only we had invented and built some sort of alternative mode of collective transportation. Maybe it could be in tunnels and ride on metallic rails. It would serve many people and make periodic stops to the same locations instead of the highway clusterf- we have today. Sad that we don’t, but a man can dream though. A man can dream though. A man can dream.

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IninewCrow Oct 21

Buying a new vehicle hasn’t made sense for about 30 years now.

I’ve been driving for about 30 years and in all that time, I’ve never owned a new vehicle. I kept buying used vehicles for about $2,000 - $3,000 per vehicle. The oldest one I’ve ever had is a 2004 Volvo station wagon and I still maintain it and it’s still running as one of my main vehicles. My other main vehicle is a 2010 GMC Truck which I also maintain. They don’t look new, they show a bit of rust around the edges, but they are still very good vehicles that will last several more years.

Once they break down enough … I’ll buy another used vehicle. In all, over the past 30 years, I’ve spent about $30,000 on multiple vehicles (I think I’ve gone through 8 or 9 in that time).

It has never made sense to me to buy a brand new $40,000 car that will only be used for about five years before you buy the next one.

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hydrashok Oct 21

Speak for yourself.

I have purchased multiple new cars over the last 25 years, and, while they’re more expensive than a used car although that difference is shinking all the time), I also run them for years because I can keep up with maintenance. My last new car was bought 14 years ago and is pretty much still new condition. I still even have the plastic film over the climate control screen.

I don’t care about depreciation or resale values.

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thepompe Oct 21

I have purchased multiple new cars over the last 25 years,

You’re an actual dumbass. New cars lose 20% of their value the moment you drive it off the lot.

I don’t care about depreciation or resale values.

Clearly. You’d rather get ripped off by the dealership.

How about you get some life experience and try buying and maintaining a used car? Then you can see for yourself how stupid your assumptions are.

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Bluewing

If you buy a piece of equipment new and keep it for the expected lifespan of the machine, then you get to ‘keep’ the depreciation. Depreciation only matters if you plan on replacing the machine BEFORE the end of use life. And with things like cars, people often get rid of them long before the use life span is reached. And it’s at that moment that the depreciation is a problem. I too, find it doubtful that hydrashock has kept multiple new cars long enough to personally use up the depreciation value of any one of those cars.

Example: That shiny new iPhone you bought took a depreciation hit the moment you paid for it. And when you trade it off when the next new model comes out you pay the cost of that depreciation through the trade in value. Had you kept your phone until it no longer worked before you replaced it, you would have recouped the cost of depreciation.