5 ms·

Is the average American buying a new car or new to them car every 4 years? Last I checked, new car loan terms are 3-5 years.

sharkmerry 7y ago
they have 6 or 7 years now average is 65 months for new cars https://www.autotrader.com/car-shopping/buying-a-car-what-term-should-your-loan-be-222114 https://www.autotrader.com/car-shopping/buying-a-car-what-te...
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- gruez 7y ago
  Doesn't look like that includes leases
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
not_a_cop75 7y ago
I got rid of my first post college car 2 years ago. I had that car 15 years, so I definitely beat the odds. I've never understood the desire for a car to be more than a source of transportation. Some people seem insistent on extending their sexuality with a car. Others feel that having a different cars makes them a better person, but these are just externalities. I feel like the bigger reason students leave the US and shirk responsibility is because they can. They took a degree that doesn't pay as much as they'd expect, or maybe they are just poor planners that don't care about the future. These are exactly the types that you would expect to take on high risk behaviors for smaller rewards. There's nothing wrong with that, except for claiming that it was the only option they had. Certainly they (and many others) have plenty of options. Some have the habit of making poor decisions until they paint themselves into a corner.
htrp 7y ago
Car loans are stretched to the 84 month and 96 months now (and they'll helpfully roll your last car loan into it too)
- cr0sh 7y ago
  I know this info - but just reading it makes me wonder why people go along with the scam. I get it - I once had a car loan too; it wasn't even a new car (but I bought it from an actual dealer, so it wasn't some weird sketchy loan). Paid it off, had the car for a while, then it died and I moved on. That was the last car I financed, too. Since then, my wife and I only pay cash for used cars, and spend the extra money normally used for payments, for maintenance and upgrades on the vehicles (upgrades are on my side, mostly - I own a Jeep Wrangler - don't own one unless you like to throw money into a hole - but it's more fun than a boat, so there's that). We own our cars for as many years as we can, until it becomes more expensive to repair than to buy something else. But, there again, I think my wife will keep hers for as long as parts can be found for it (2013 Outback - solid vehicle), and I'll keep my Jeep until I can no longer get into it from age (then I'll probably just delete the lift and put regular tires on it). My VehiCROSS on the other hand...I'll cry the day I sell it, unless it's at a car show auction should it ever become a collectible. Heck - I'll still cry - I love that truck.
mikeash 7y ago
No way is it possibly a new car every four years. There are over 200 million licensed drivers in the US and less than 20 million new cars sold per year.

sharkmerry 7y ago

they have 6 or 7 years now average is 65 months for new cars https://www.autotrader.com/car-shopping/buying-a-car-what-term-should-your-loan-be-222114 https://www.autotrader.com/car-shopping/buying-a-car-what-te...

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
gruez 7y ago
Doesn't look like that includes leases

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

not_a_cop75 7y ago

I got rid of my first post college car 2 years ago. I had that car 15 years, so I definitely beat the odds. I've never understood the desire for a car to be more than a source of transportation. Some people seem insistent on extending their sexuality with a car. Others feel that having a different cars makes them a better person, but these are just externalities. I feel like the bigger reason students leave the US and shirk responsibility is because they can. They took a degree that doesn't pay as much as they'd expect, or maybe they are just poor planners that don't care about the future. These are exactly the types that you would expect to take on high risk behaviors for smaller rewards. There's nothing wrong with that, except for claiming that it was the only option they had. Certainly they (and many others) have plenty of options. Some have the habit of making poor decisions until they paint themselves into a corner.

htrp 7y ago

Car loans are stretched to the 84 month and 96 months now (and they'll helpfully roll your last car loan into it too)

cr0sh 7y ago
I know this info - but just reading it makes me wonder why people go along with the scam. I get it - I once had a car loan too; it wasn't even a new car (but I bought it from an actual dealer, so it wasn't some weird sketchy loan). Paid it off, had the car for a while, then it died and I moved on. That was the last car I financed, too. Since then, my wife and I only pay cash for used cars, and spend the extra money normally used for payments, for maintenance and upgrades on the vehicles (upgrades are on my side, mostly - I own a Jeep Wrangler - don't own one unless you like to throw money into a hole - but it's more fun than a boat, so there's that). We own our cars for as many years as we can, until it becomes more expensive to repair than to buy something else. But, there again, I think my wife will keep hers for as long as parts can be found for it (2013 Outback - solid vehicle), and I'll keep my Jeep until I can no longer get into it from age (then I'll probably just delete the lift and put regular tires on it). My VehiCROSS on the other hand...I'll cry the day I sell it, unless it's at a car show auction should it ever become a collectible. Heck - I'll still cry - I love that truck.

mikeash 7y ago

No way is it possibly a new car every four years. There are over 200 million licensed drivers in the US and less than 20 million new cars sold per year.