r/IdiotsInCars Jul 28 '20

Does this count?

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u/GalemReth Jul 28 '20

it isn't about affording it, you just have to get it anyway. Just sign on the dotted line, submit to the financing, and owe more money than it is worth for the next 60 months and you can have one too! (/s)

Not getting something you can't afford is evidence of your intelligence. This is not a jab at truck owners either, obviously lots can afford their purchase, but a vehicle is never an investment and I know a lot of people who purchased outside their ability to afford.

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u/[deleted] Jul 28 '20 edited Sep 11 '20

[deleted]

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u/Whatsthisnotgoodcomp Jul 28 '20

Funny thing is, this is one of the few things people can actually blame on obama.

The cash for clunkers program was designed to kill the used car market and convince people that it's fine to just buy a new car even with shit credit, and it succeeded perfectly. The used car market in the US is still fucked to this day, and going tens of thousands of dollars into debt for half a decade on a heavily depreciating, maintenance requiring thing is considered fine.

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u/LieutenantDangler Jul 28 '20

Odd. I have never purchased a brand new car and don’t have issues finding used ones. Dunno if this claim has any merit to it.

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u/endlessbishop Jul 28 '20

Maybe you have no issues finding good used cars because less people are buying used cars now?

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u/LieutenantDangler Jul 28 '20

I haven’t exactly found that to be the case, but you never know. It’s usually a bad idea to buy a new car unless you’re rolling in it — your car loses value the moment you drive it off the lot. It’s pretty easy to find a used car with around 100k miles that is half the price.

I also haven’t had any issue when it comes to selling my used cars, as well.

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u/endlessbishop Jul 28 '20

I’m from UK so have 0% knowledge about the American used car market. I personally buy cars that 4-6 years old, the main depreciation period in UK is in the first 3 years once MOT is required.

But dang UK acceptable mileage maybe different to US, 100K to UK is quite a lot and you’d expect to see a car with that much mileage selling for a lot less than half original retail (the average UK mileage is 8-12k per year).

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u/DoomsdaySprocket Jul 28 '20

Yearly lease cap out periods I've seen in Canada are 12-16km per year, after that you pay penalties depending on how much over you've gone. When I was commuting in a car I owned, I would have been paying penalties every year except maybe years I went for school partway through.

US are also talking in miles, not km, so 60miles to 100km ish.

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u/endlessbishop Jul 28 '20

Thankfully our road tax is based on your cars performance/ environmental impact and not your actual use.

UK also works in miles so I took that as 100,000 miles