3 ms·

Purely anecdotal, but my wild-assed guess is that most middle class Americans spend $20-30k on one every 4-5 years. Some people are enthusiasts and will spend m

by mwfunk 10y ago

Purely anecdotal, but my wild-assed guess is that most middle class Americans spend $20-30k on one every 4-5 years. Some people are enthusiasts and will spend more than that on the same timetable, and some people are extra frugal and will spend less, less often. People with families will probably spend a little more for a minivan or SUV, which will skew it higher. Students (or people in their 20s in the early phases of their careers) will spend less, balancing out the minivan purchasers. Totally guessing though.

joezydeco 10y ago
most middle class Americans spend $20-30k on one every 4-5 years As long as most middle class American don't total their cars at the end of 4-5 years, I'd say they probably get 1/2 of that value back as trade-in. I'd wager it's more like 8-15k every 4 to 5 years in installments of $300/mo for those staying in a perpetual mode of making car payments.
- jwatte 10y ago
  After five years, you get more like a quarter to a third in trade in. For sports cars, you lose half just by driving it off the dealer lot... And that is assuming you aren't leasing, which a lot of people do. No trade in value there.
  - Cookingboy 10y ago
    There is not a single sports car that you would get hit with a 50% depreciation just for driving off the lot. For leasing, you aren't paying for the full cost of the car either, in fact, depends on the company you could actually come out ahead when compared to purchasing.
  - joezydeco 10y ago
    No trade-in, but you're only paying the depreciation and not the full value of the car either. I've had friends lease recent model cars on 3year/12K terms and get about 60% residual value on their term sheet. I think 1/4 to 1/3 is an extreme case, unless you're choosing really crappy manufacturers that are known to fall in value quickly
- jwatte 10y ago
  After five years, you get more like a quarter to a third in trade in. For sports cars, you lose half just by driving it off the dealer lot... And that is assuming you aren't leasing, which a lot of people do. No trade in value there.

by mwfunk 10y ago

joezydeco 10y ago

most middle class Americans spend $20-30k on one every 4-5 years As long as most middle class American don't total their cars at the end of 4-5 years, I'd say they probably get 1/2 of that value back as trade-in. I'd wager it's more like 8-15k every 4 to 5 years in installments of $300/mo for those staying in a perpetual mode of making car payments.

jwatte 10y ago
After five years, you get more like a quarter to a third in trade in. For sports cars, you lose half just by driving it off the dealer lot... And that is assuming you aren't leasing, which a lot of people do. No trade in value there.
- Cookingboy 10y ago
  There is not a single sports car that you would get hit with a 50% depreciation just for driving off the lot. For leasing, you aren't paying for the full cost of the car either, in fact, depends on the company you could actually come out ahead when compared to purchasing.
- joezydeco 10y ago
  No trade-in, but you're only paying the depreciation and not the full value of the car either. I've had friends lease recent model cars on 3year/12K terms and get about 60% residual value on their term sheet. I think 1/4 to 1/3 is an extreme case, unless you're choosing really crappy manufacturers that are known to fall in value quickly
jwatte 10y ago
After five years, you get more like a quarter to a third in trade in. For sports cars, you lose half just by driving it off the dealer lot... And that is assuming you aren't leasing, which a lot of people do. No trade in value there.