Monthly car payments hit record high of $712 in May

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Average monthly car payments hit a record high in May while the cost of new vehicles continues to rise, according to industry insiders.

A report from Moody's Analytics found that typical monthly car payments hit a record high of $712 in May. Kelley Blue Book data found that new vehicle prices averaged $47,148 in May, the second highest on record.

Vehicle affordability worsened again because of higher interest rates and increased car prices, according to a recent Cox Automotive & Moody's Analytics vehicle affordability index report. The report said "the estimated typical monthly payment increased 1.7% to $712," which is a new record high for monthly payments.

It would cost 41.3 weeks of median income to buy a new vehicle, which is a jump of 19% from May of 2021, according to the report.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/monthly-car-payments-hit-record-high-of-dollar712-in-may/ar-AAYvM5x

[Initech]

1. Man I am so glad I bought when I did.

I got an incredible deal on a very well equipped sedan for like $410 a month and 0% interest. This was back in the beginning of the pandemic when no one was buying new cars. I'd hate to have to deal with new car payments now.

[captain queeg]

2. Now would be a bad time to buy a car

New or used. I have a 2015 Honda Civic and paid it off when I retired. If I don’t get in a wreck or something it ought to last me at least 5 more years. Even used cars are over priced these days.

[SheltieLover]

7. Mine is 10 yrs older than yours & I love it

Getting 47 mpg on avg tank.

No desire for a new car without a key or steering / brakes / throttle controlled only by sensors. Boggles my mind.

[Thomas Hurt]

3. My dealership keeps hitting me up to trade my car and get new one. Sure isn't going to happen now.

[MiniMe]

4. I'm glad I can afford to pay cash for a car

[jmbar2]

5. OMG! How can anyone afford that plus housing?

Capitalism has jumped the shark. It just doesn't make any sense for working people.

[dweller]

6. Really, why

should the oil companies get all the glut gouge …




✌🏻

[bluedigger]

8. Sometimes it feels like everyone but me makes $100k a year.

I've been disconnected from this economy for three decades, at least.

[JI7]

10. Most people don't. And things are bought on credit

[gldstwmn]

9. It's going to go up again after the Fed rate increase today.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. No one should ever finance a car except perhaps their very first one.

You buy something you can afford, with reasonable payments that don't last more than three years, and when the car is paid off, put those payments into a separate savings account, so that when you need a replacement car, you have the money to pay cash. The important thing is that you buy only what you have the cash for.

By the time each of my two sons was ready to buy their first car, we looked at what they had saved, then went shopping for cars in that dollar amount. I do recall that a few months after my older son got his first car, the younger son asked me what his brother's car payment was. I said zero, that he'd paid cash. Clearly that son and his friends were already discussing these things, and my son was genuinely shocked that his brother didn't have a car payment. A few years later when younger son went to buy his first car, he happened to have somewhat less money than his brother had had, but that was what he had to spend. And he got a perfectly adequate car for that amount.

Many years ago when I was an airline employee at Washington National Airport and didn't own a car but took the bus to and from work, and spent all of my spare cash on travelling, I had more than one fellow employee ask me how I could afford to take so many trips (our pay scales were public, so we all knew what each other made, even at other airlines) and I always said, "I don't own a car."

[helpisontheway]

12. We just put a deposit to reserve a vehicle for our son today

His car needs a major repair (engine). It is 10 years old and my husband did not want to put more money into it and have something else break down. Especially since he is taking it out of town (three hours away) when he returns this fall for his senior year. We do not have car loans. Our 2018 and 2019 SUVs are paid off. However, we did get a loan for his vehicle. We are going to put down a decent down payment to get his payment low. It will probably end up about $260 a month (maybe a little less). We told him that we will pay half of that until he graduates next year. Then he can take over payments.

And let me tell you…I have always hated car shopping but I really hate it now. Car lots are empty. Every website lists cars that are no longer available. Then the ones that are listed as in transit are not available either. They are all reserved and you have to hope that you call when the next allocation rolls out. It is stressful. We finally put a deposit on one in another state. It should be here in a couple of weeks. So if any of you can avoid shopping for a new car right now I would do that. Oh and the used cars cost more than the new cars. No way was I going to pay more for used. The car market is insane now..

[Sympthsical]

14. Whut

I would never pay that much. Ever.

I paid off my car (2011 Corolla), and even then my monthly payments were like $185.

I could see maybe - maybe - $400/month for something newer. But after that, no.

Granted, I haven't looked at car prices for a few years, but that seems completely insane to me. Before he died, my dad bought a Ford F350. When he told me the payments were $700/month, I looked at him like he was crazy. But it was kind of a they were retired, didn't have a lot of monthly expenses, you only live once sort of thing.

But that seemed way out of the norm astronomically high to me.

[yellowdogintexas]

15. I about had a stroke when I started looking at cars

Another driver ran a red light and totaled my completely paid for car which I had planned to drive for another 5 years.

Fortunately, we can get by on one vehicle since neither of us is commuting somewhere every day. So we are in a wait and see mode.

Currently driving a rental due to some body work on my husband's truck - Nissan Sentra. I like it a lot. It is nice to drive a car instead of that humongeous F150 4 wheel drive pickup. It may be a year before I replace my car.