Car owners can't afford their loans any more. It's bad for everyone.

[mburtsvt]

There is a tool for folks that are concerned about this, and like to switch cars frequently, it's called a lease. ?

I remember taking a little heat from boards about the Ford "options" program back in 2021. I did it and now rolled into a new 2024 GT. Ford will more than likely have to sell it at a loss. I did get the GT on a lease. The 8k rebate was the icing on the cake.

Sponsored

 

[rpr]

Easy way to "solve" this "problem".... drive it until the wheels fall off....

Or get some different wheels. My bicycles may have depreciated at a similar rate to my mach-E, but since even the most expensive one cost about 10X less it doesn't stress me out.

For the record, if I had to rank my favorite and "fun to drive" vehicles over my lifetime, there are about 3 or 4 bikes ahead of the mach-E...

 

[Monke]

Good thing cars are tools and not investments then (like all durable goods).

Yes. Car depreciation is not new. If someone cares about depreciation and does not mind driving a boring car, a Toyota would be a good choice.

On another note, I paid $130 for a miter saw 7 years ago. The similar brand/model list price is $270 as of today. A tool can appreciate in value overtime.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Or buy used. Even a year old car will have a significant chunk of the depreciation taken off from the brand new price.

These people don’t want to buy used. They want to trade in a 3 year old vehicle for a new one when they can’t afford the current or the new. They are financially illiterate and need a slap or two to wake them the hell up.

 

[devmach-e]

Yes. Car depreciation is not new. If someone cares about depreciation and does not mind driving a boring car, a Toyota would be a good choice.

On another note, I paid $130 for a miter saw 7 years ago. The similar brand/model list price is $270 as of today. A tool can appreciate in value overtime.

Part of that can be explained by inflation. Part of it can be explained by an improved version with better features, and therefore commanding a better price. But trying to compare a $130 tool to a $50K+ tool is more than just a bit foolish.

 

[Monke]

Part of that can be explained by inflation. Part of it can be explained by an improved version with better features, and therefore commanding a better price. But trying to compare a $130 tool to a $50K+ tool is more than just a bit foolish.

I'm sure everyone knows that things are not really comparable. It is very foolish for someone to mention that it is foolish to begin with.

 

[devmach-e]

I'm sure everyone knows that things are not really comparable. It is very foolish for someone to mention that it is foolish to begin with.

Well, we are not known on this forum for not being foolish.

 

[kens]

I've never been able to convince myself to buy a new car, just never found the value. Two years is the newest I've bought, a couple times, older than that most times. Guess I'm cheap, but it works for me.

A couple weeks ago I found myself interested in a Lightning. Had never done a lease, but was seeing some appealing numbers that didn't pan out in the end, started looking just a bit too late for the nice year end deals. Only found one Lightening Lariat in town, did an extended overnight test drive... funnily enough a friend of mine leased that truck this week.

While I was contemplating upsetting myself by leasing the Lightning I decided to check the MME, and being the guy I am started looking at cheaper used examples. Ended up buying one, and I'm personally pretty grateful for the depreciation they've seen these last couple years. Found a 22 Gt under 25k, and with the 4k fed credit and 4k state rebate I'll be under 17k. The car is a buyback, but the Ford program on these looks decent. I feel the 50k discount is worth it on a just over two year old car that stickered over 66k. I tend to drive my cars for a while and expect to get more value out than I have in.

I am curious what the original buyer actually paid on this then 66k car... the timing I guess could have gone either way, with COVID and the chip shortage I know a lot of stuff saw markups around then, otherwise there were likey great incentives.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

Go buy a refrigerator and sell it two years later, see what happens.

You can't compare the Mach-E to a refrigerator, the Camry already has that distinction.

 

[Shepherd]

Or get some different wheels. My bicycles may have depreciated at a similar rate to my mach-E, but since even the most expensive one cost about 10X less it doesn't stress me out.

For the record, if I had to rank my favorite and "fun to drive" vehicles over my lifetime, there are about 3 or 4 bikes ahead of the mach-E...

I bought an e-bike (BH) in 2015, nine years before my first BEV Mach-e. It is fun to drive too.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

Yes. Car depreciation is not new. If someone cares about depreciation and does not mind driving a boring car, a Toyota would be a good choice.

On another note, I paid $130 for a miter saw 7 years ago. The similar brand/model list price is $270 as of today. A tool can appreciate in value overtime.

Yah, sure, maybe a hammer used by the Roman Empire but short of that, good luck getting more than you paid for a seven year old tool. The only cars that appreciate are rare, collectors models.

 

[67 Stang Convertible]

you just need to buy a car that does not depreciate!!!

 

[DennisD]

Yes. Car depreciation is not new. If someone cares about depreciation and does not mind driving a boring car, a Toyota would be a good choice.

On another note, I paid $130 for a miter saw 7 years ago. The similar brand/model list price is $270 as of today. A tool can appreciate in value overtime.

Well for starters, most Toyotas are much better in the quality department than almost ALL Fords thus bringing you more value when trading it in than most Fords. If you want a dependable daily driver, the Toyota is the best brand that I have found to purchase. I guess if I were still a teenager I would care about "boring", but I guess I have matured in my later years and I care more about getting from point A to B w/o incident and watch the "excited" people being stranded on the Roadside.

Secondly, the Miter Saw that you purchased was a "cheap" one at $130 7 years ago and you would be hard pressed to find someone giving you more than $130 now. (for the price, that is not an Industrial one I am guessing?) Even though they have gone up, only a fool IMHO would give you $130 now. The average time for a Miter Saw is 10 years (if it is used "normal") and I would guess the best you could get would be $100 if it was barely used. I have a woodworking shop and I typically purchase DeWalt and I would guess none of my power tools (and I keep them in great shape) would come close to selling for the price I purchased them for.

Albeit tools don't typically depreciate as much as cars, they still do depreciate.

The example you showed is apples to oranges. The "tool" you purchased inflated new but depreciated as a used one. Both depreciation and inflation can exist in harmony if you will.

 

[SonicBlue]

I am approaching 4 years of ownership, and there’s still nothing out there that’s materially better to buy. My car has actually gotten better over the past 4 years due to software upgrades.

Oh, and I already paid off my loan. Because it’s been close to 4 years.

So I don’t understand the problem?

 

[Fred Bombelyn]

Simple answer: Don't borrow money, if you don't have the funds on hand to buy something, don't, you can't afford it.

Sponsored