For "reasons", we had to purchase a vehicle yesterday. It's the best, most luxurious vehicle we've ever had...

[Ferrets are Cool]

a 2008 Lexus RX 350 with 114k miles. Looks brand new. The point of this post is to point out that this 15 year old vehicle cost MORE than the first home I ever lived in, and the first home wifey bought with her ex.
It also blows my mind that people will pay 70-75K for a new pickup truck. I've never made so much money that I would be able to justify that kind of purchase just to get from point A to point B.

[mitch96]

1. Auto manufactures and dealers (stealers) took advantage of the pandemic (slow down of manufacturing)

Associated shipping problems creating a sacristy of autos. So of course
never let a good crisis go to waste
they jacked up the prices like crazy. Now there is a over abundance of cars/trucks and they can't sell the overpriced product.
Good Toyota models last a very long time. Hybrids are still in short supply so the prices are still high..
YMMV
m

[Ferrets are Cool]

4. Yeah, we were going with Toyota or Subaru. Nothing else was in the equation.

We currently have/had a 2004 and 2005 Rav4's. They have been tanks. Mine has 252K miles on it and still runs great and wifeys 2004 has 150 and is like new.
This Lexus was bought for tax purposes and will get very little real use until we sell my 2005.

[erronis]

30. My Toy 4Runner (first year model) got 390,000 miles on it before the crankshaft broke.

And I put a lot of very hard miles on it. Cross country, roll-overs. The exterior/interior weren't in great shape when it had to be junked but I have some very good memories with it.

Next was a Cressida (Toy) - fancy but no thanks. Then a Camry wagon - meh. I'm now into Subarus.

There is a story about Henry Ford touring the Model T (or A?) factory and asking the foreman which part lasted the longest. The foreman said "the crankshaft - never breaks." Ford told them to decrease the specs on that part. Probably just a story.

[CrispyQ]

9. Over 160K miles on my 94 Toyota 5-speed truck.

I bought it from a dealer who had an old Toyota truck in his show room with 230K miles on it. It was owned by one woman who drove newspapers from Denver to Colorado Springs everyday. She bought it from his dealership & they maintained it & used it as an advertising tool when she bought a new truck.

[miyazaki]

25. My 95' Tacoma got to 273k. Never stranded me in the 20 years

I drove it. I was the original owner.

[Shermann]

2. The $75K pickup truck is bonkers to me

You can splurge on having mulch delivered for yourself and all your neighbors for 100 years for that.

[calguy]

8. Doesn't everyone need the multi-function 'pro' tailgate that opens automatically?

[LakeArenal]

26. To drive to the Dairy Queen.

[Marthe48]

10. I remember Time magazine ran an article in the 70s about vehicle prices

As I recall, the article mentioned that pick-up trucks and, at the time, utility vans were cheaper than cars. Guess the auto industry fixed that.

I went out car shopping with my daughter last summer-for her. I about fainted at every car lot. She ended up getting a Hundai. She drives a lot and even with maintenance, wears her vehicles out

I'm driving a 2008 Prius, 106,000 miles. It is holding up.

[Shermann]

13. I bought a used Ram 1500 two seater many decades ago

It was a daily driver and I eventually determined it to be impractical in that role. You generally need more secure storage space than unsecure (unless you are hauling said mulch).

[TexasBushwhacker]

18. Heavy trucks and SUVs are usually bought through businesses

My former boss's wife is a real estate agent. When he paid off his big ass truck, which he only used for commuting and deer hunting, she went out and got herself the biggest new Tahoe on the lot. Because each vehicle weighs over 6,000 lbs, they are considered "heavy trucks" and can be depreciated all in one year. Of course that doesn't make them free, just paid for with pre-tax dollars. Believe me, the dealerships all have lists of vehicles that qualify too.

[Diamond_Dog]

3. I couldn't agree more, Ferrets are Cool.

Vehicle prices are RIDICULOUS.

[calguy]

7. They'll keep jacking up the prices

as long as people keep paying them. Unfortunately, cars wear out, and they know sooner or later we'll have to succumb and buy their over-priced merchandise.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Beware, I traded in a 2008 Lexus 350 with low mileage for my brand new 2019 Versa. People

asked me why I did that since my Nissan is a no-frills manual. The reason was the sun roof leaked and Toyota (no Lexus dealership with in 150 miles) couldn't fix it. I took it to a non dealer repair shop and they found black mold under the entire headliner. I inherited the Lexus after my brother-in-law died. I had it for 4 years. Sure miss those heated seats.

[justaprogressive]

17. So you didn't know how to clean out the drainage tubes

easy fix when the tubes are clogged...

ToyotaNation.

[sinkingfeeling]

20. Wasn't the problem. I've never been a certified Toyota mechanic and they couldn't fix it.

[justaprogressive]

24. 100,000+ Toyota Owners know more about Toyotas than American Toyota technicians

Jus' sayin'...

[Ferrets are Cool]

21. Yeah, i I saw the fix immediately after

Reading his post.

[doc03]

6. I bought a new car in March 2020 for $31K, today the same exact model

stickers for $37k. My 2006 Toyota Tacoma costs $26 18 years ago, I don't need to buy a new truck for $60 k to haul some mulch.

[KPN]

11. Crazy isn't it? I can't figure it out. Are there really that many people out there who can buy that

spanking new 4-WD 250 or 350 crew cab pickup with a 6 or more foot bed and stay within their means? I mean, I don’t get it? Either I’m not as relatively well off as I think I am, or 15-25 percent of the people I see driving around are in debt well over “up to their eyeballs”. Am I missing something?

Crazy! At the same time, I’m happy as hell for the autoworkers and the general resurgence of unions.

[3Hotdogs]

12. I buy the top of the line of the cheapest brand.

Example: Hyundai Elantra, Limited.

It has all the stuff of the Sonata Limited, except the heated steering wheel.


$10k cheaper than the Sonata.

[Emile]

14. In 2011 I bought a crew cab, 4wd, hybrid V8 Silverado for $32,000.

It now has 39,000 miles on it and still looks brand new. It has always been garaged and never left outside. I took it in for an airbag recall and the mechanic came out to the showroom waiting area to ask if I would be interested in selling it to him. I can't imagine how GM can justify jacking up their prices this much over a period of 12 years.

[Ferrets are Cool]

15. The only reason I can think of is that people just keep paying those prices.

I know I will never buy another "new" car/truck. It just doesn't make sense for me.

[leftieNanner]

28. The last new car I bought

Was a 1983 Isuzu! Kept it for 11 years. All used cars since then.

[mike_c]

16. we needed a replacement and bought a lightly used Elantra two weeks ago

On Thursday, my wife was driving to visit a friend and unsecured construction materials blew off a truck on the interstate and bashed in the front. Thankfully she wasn't hurt. Naturally nobody stopped, so repairing it is on us. It was a nice car for about a week. Haven't even made the first payment yet.

[Ferrets are Cool]

22. Oh crap. That's terrible

[JoseBalow]

19. I buy disposable used cars, with cash

No payments, and only the minimum required liability insurance. My cost of ownership averages less than a grand per year, which includes everything. If something breaks, I either fix it if it's cheap or I just cash out and replace the vehicle. I don't drive much, so this approach works particularly well for me.

[Ferrets are Cool]

23. That's a good policy

I needed a tax write off so I paid a bit more than I would have otherwise.

[leftieNanner]

27. My sister had one of those

She loved it.

You're right about car prices though. I would replace my 2010 with a hybrid but we're retired and can't afford it.

[moniss]

29. It's all about the monthly payment

and you can now stretch that whole mess out over 8 years. I'm so old that I remember when you 2 years was standard and 3 was a stretch. Then came 4, 5, 6 and 7 as stagnant earnings kept requiring a longer term in order to get people to swallow that monthly payment amount. I had a mortgage in the mid'70's on a 3 bedroom house in the country with a payment of $169.00 per month and my property taxes just over $400 for the year. I have a pal who bought a new pickup and his payment is just under $1000 for the next 5 years.

You can buy a fairly decent redone vehicle from the '70's for $10,000 or less and still get about 20mpg with a 6 cylinder and automatic. It's way cheaper to keep fixed than anything newer today. When you're done with it you can likely sell it for what you paid for it. There are companies now financing vintage car purchases. You do need to get a good independent inspection before buying and you need to buy from a reputable classic car dealer. But if you put in a little time you can come up with something that will fit the bill. Stick with a basic 6 cylinder if you can. You'll find that almost any major part under the hood like a starter, alternator, water pump etc. will be available as new or re-manufactured and neither one will break over the $50 mark. Most of these had front disc/rear drum brakes and so if you drive reasonably your stopping will be just fine. The pads and shoes for the brake job won't go over $20 and the rear drums will be about $10 each if that. Plain old spark plugs are right there and easy to get at. Replace them all for less than $20 compared to some modern V-6 engines that cost well over $2000 to do plugs and coil packs because they have to tear off the top of the engine to get at the plugs and then you can hope the shop gets it back together right so you don't have problems. Smaller, cheaper tires. Cheaper windshield if it needs replacing. Cheaper A/C.

That classic will have lot's of plastic in the interior........just like the new cars today. My cars from then with a basic straight 6 cylinder all started every time in my northern climate and took me every place I wanted to go. If something did go wrong, rare but it did happen, I didn't need to take out a 2nd mortgage to fix it. The speedometer topped out at 85 mph and I didn't miss not having the equivalent of racing horsepower under the hood like so many vehicles have today. You also got a nicer choice of colors then also instead of mostly silver, black, red and white.

[erronis]

31. Excellent advice and philosophy.

Hoping my 10yo Subaru keeps on keeping on beyond my expiration date. In another few years people will be taking my keys away, in any case.

[kimbutgar]

32. I had a 2011 Dodge Avenger with 98,000 miles and getting to the point where the cost of repairs were

Going to get crazy. So we brought a brand new Hyundai Sonata hybrid. What we paid was more than I had when I made the down payment on my house 30 years ago! When I paid off my last car I had the amount of the old car payments still being deducted into my savings and I was able to make a comfortable down payment on the new car. My parents used save money like that when and were able to always make a hefty down payment for purchasing a new car.