This is a load of buckshot aimed directly at Stellantis.
I am glad I own a TJ
- Thread starter HDRider
- Start date
Doesn't really matter what Jeep charges for their new vehicles. The US consumer will pay as long as they are approved for a loan. 10 year amortization is the way of the future.
People are nuts. I buy something and drive it until the wheels fall off. Then I put on new wheels.
Americans shoulder $1.61 trillion in auto loan debt, according to the Q4 2023 Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The level of auto loan debt is nearly double what it was just 10 years ago in 2013, and the figure has risen almost every quarter since 2010. In the fourth quarter of 2023, credit bureau TransUnion estimated that the average auto borrower had an outstanding balance of $23,945
Those numbers fit with the double inflation increase in Jeep prices over the period since the late 70’s. Insanity.
Buy what you can afford. Don’t take loans on cars. Buy them outright. If you can’t, you really can’t afford it. If you can afford it, wait till you’ve saved and buy used in good condition. My .02c
I may die in my 05’ TJ
Most people buy too much of a car or truck. Who needs a Platinum or King Ranch pickup? Have not had a car loan in over 30 yrs. Always pay cash and never tell the Salesman. I wait till I get to the closer. I drive my vehicles until they become unreliable. I usually get over 300K and 13 plus yrs before I send them to the HS auto shop or to the scrapyard. The problem with most people is they don’t know how to save money. As soon as they get it they spend it. I’m lucky and married a frugal woman. It’s not what you make it’s what you do with it.
I have over a million $ worth of RVs in my RV storage lot and 98% of them never leave more than once or twice a year. That’s a lot of money just depreciating daily and I’ll bet the majority of the owners are upside down on them.
I have over a million $ worth of RVs in my RV storage lot and 98% of them never leave more than once or twice a year. That’s a lot of money just depreciating daily and I’ll bet the majority of the owners are upside down on them.
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Its more of the smartphone mentality as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't matter a bit what it costs, gotta have the latest techno-marvel irregardless of the cost. And "upgrade" every 2 or 3 years.
might as well lease at that rate, as long as they’re just throwing money away.
It is a sad state of affairs. But as long as parts stay available to keep older vehicles on the road we should be ok. It’s all this new computerized stuff that makes me worried. It’s untested, it’s fragile and it fails in ways that only the OEM and dealer networks can remedy.
It is a sad state of affairs. But as long as parts stay available to keep older vehicles on the road we should be ok. It’s all this new computerized stuff that makes me worried. It’s untested, it’s fragile and it fails in ways that only the OEM and dealer networks can remedy.
100% agree with this. Not how much you make that's important, but how much you keep. That applies to investments and savings as well as income.
Most folk likely use less than half of the capabilities of the device they have before they upgrade to something new. Sad, but the manufacturers are expert at pigeon holing the consumer into having to upgrade. They add one service or feature only available if you upgrade to the newest version of whatever. And they make all the accessories purchased for the current version incompatible with the next version so you have retool everything.
I got sucked into the void on this. I am an Apple fan. The ecosystem is rock solid and having everything I need/want available via any device I pick up makes access incredibly easy. I was using a non-Apple subscription app called Evernote to compile and catalog a ton of stuff.. receipts, manuals, health info, home/auto/flood insurance, logs for all my Jeeps... There is a feature that allows you to link these notes to each other making things even easier to find. Over more than a decade of using Evernote, I was stuck paying for the monthly subscription and only using a tenth of the services I was paying for. Along comes Apple Notes. It offered just about all of the services I was using in Evernote and no monthly subscription but no ability to link the notes. My filing system was FUBAR without linking. Some time later the linking feature was added to Apple Notes. Finally I could ditch the monthly fee for Evernote. Wait.. the linking feature is only available on the newest models of Apple devices. Ah, upgrade time. Faster, more storage, better screen, note linking.. great. Oh, wait.. new devices use a USB C instead of Lightening charging cords.. Gotta upgrade that too. Can't have Notes linking on one device and then not on another, so I ended up with a new iMac, iPad Air, iPad mini and a MacBook just to have the notes linking.
It's complete manipulation of the consumer. Planned obsolescence.
Almost as bad as social media... watch The Social Dilemma
These ideas have always made sense from a financial health standpoint. In present day America it also makes sense from a practical standpoint; with the ever increasing Bidenization of our culture, driving a shiny new expensive ride signals to many that you may be a hard working tax paying citizen that should be punished accordingly by being relieved of your property, after all you don't deserve it because you didn't earn it, and somehow this makes sense to the hoards of shithead criminals and the politicians that worship them.
Drive a shitbox, draw no attention to yourself, & stay financially sound.
I just heard that 10 year vehicle financing is already here. It was just a few years ago that I first heard of 8 year auto loans, now 10 is available.
I was talking to a neighbor last month who was looking for a 1 ton truck, and he said the dealer (new GM) was pushing $90-100K trucks on 10-year loans.
We feel so blessed to have completely climbed out of debt several years ago . Hopefully we will never have another loan for anything .
I intend to drive our 2004 LJ and 1986 F150 from now on . The 1993 30ft diesel pusher motorhome we'll keep until it gets too expensive to enjoy it .
It takes sacrifice , discipline and being content with what you have to become debt free . We don't have the latest and greatest stuff or a fancy homestead and vehicles, but we feel blessed and are happy . Everything here is temporary , we should store our treasures in Heaven where neither moth nor rust can destroy .
I intend to drive our 2004 LJ and 1986 F150 from now on . The 1993 30ft diesel pusher motorhome we'll keep until it gets too expensive to enjoy it .
It takes sacrifice , discipline and being content with what you have to become debt free . We don't have the latest and greatest stuff or a fancy homestead and vehicles, but we feel blessed and are happy . Everything here is temporary , we should store our treasures in Heaven where neither moth nor rust can destroy .
This is exactly what a financial advisor told us almost 30 years ago. In that time we never took a car loan and this is one of the major reasons we now have a very comfortable retirement, that money went to investments instead. I've never bought a new vehicle except for one work van and only then because there were no used high tops available anywhere, but that was a tool and it made me money. My wife did buy a new car before I met her but I straightened her out
and once she figured out that I could fix things it was OK.So many people look only at how much the monthly payment is, instead of the total. I have tenants who have cars that cost a lot more than mine. Our 4 passenger vehicles and a motorhome are all together worth under $90K, and they're all nice, no junk.
I agree cars are a waste of money & drive what you can afford. With that said, I'm not hoarding up every penny I make just to leave it to family when I die.
That is likely the mistake I will make, my kids are going to be very well off when I croak.
I grew up dirt poor. I learned early that if I wanted something I had to earn my own money. I also learned to be happy with what I had. Most people can’t plan 1 yr in advance let alone 5-10 or 20 yrs. You don’t get rich over night. It takes planning and persistence. My goal was to retire at 55 and have enough life left to enjoy myself. I missed that goal by 1 yr. When all my friends were buying new cars I was buying houses. I bought the worst house on the block rehabbed it and rented it out. Rinse and repeat. I learned early on that it’s other people who make you money.
The monthly payment is all the generic consumer cares about when buying something, car, house, it really does not matter, and they're living check-to-check.
One think I am noticing about comments about driving til the wheels fall off is that most/all are not in the rust belt... At any rate, I am trying to do the same....
This is true and living in the desert most all my life I do tend to forget about you guys that like in snow country.
Dad! Come look at the view from the top of the stairs!!