4 ms·

$0.10/mile is $1k-$2k/year. I agree that car consumers are in general very irrational (in the economic sense), and car purchases are often far more about proje

$0.10/mile is $1k-$2k/year. I agree that car consumers are in general very irrational (in the economic sense), and car purchases are often far more about projecting an image than they are about practicality. But that also means that consumers don't give a damn about slow recharging or battery degradation. It's mostly what will other people think about me for driving this vehicle. Thus the big pickups whose truck beds never see any duty.

akomtu 5y ago
Someone who's concerned with $2k/year would buy a used honda for under $10k.
- d3ad1ysp0rk 5y ago
  $2k is $10k at a 5 year loan (+ ongoing!), so a considerable part of the economic equation for most car buyers (avg US car purchase is $47k).
  - vel0city 5y ago
    Interest rates on cars can be stupid cheap. $2k on the loan on my car works out to $2,046 after 5 years at the 0.9% rate.
    - epistasis 5y ago
      That's $2k/year, which works out to $10,230 on a five year loan. Plus the $2k/year savings every year after that when the car is still in service. It's a classic stock versus flow problem in economics. People irrationally over-weight the pain of a big lump sum, and under rate the pain of ongoing monthly payments. They misevaluate even as they convert a stock into a flow with an auto loan. Similarly, people underestimate the cost of driving everywhere, when they have already sunk so much into the units investment. I swear that there's something about cars that turns people's brains off. They are so deeply ingrained into our way of life that we basically refuse to consider costs and alternatives.
  - maxerickson 5y ago
    There's no way the median vehicle purchase is $47k. I'd buy that the mean new car price is $47k, but that's not the right average if you are trying to estimate typical vehicle acquisition costs.

4 ms·

$0.10/mile is $1k-$2k/year. I agree that car consumers are in general very irrational (in the economic sense), and car purchases are often far more about proje

by epistasis 5y ago

akomtu 5y ago
Someone who's concerned with $2k/year would buy a used honda for under $10k.
- d3ad1ysp0rk 5y ago
  $2k is $10k at a 5 year loan (+ ongoing!), so a considerable part of the economic equation for most car buyers (avg US car purchase is $47k).
  - vel0city 5y ago
    Interest rates on cars can be stupid cheap. $2k on the loan on my car works out to $2,046 after 5 years at the 0.9% rate.
    - epistasis 5y ago
      That's $2k/year, which works out to $10,230 on a five year loan. Plus the $2k/year savings every year after that when the car is still in service. It's a classic stock versus flow problem in economics. People irrationally over-weight the pain of a big lump sum, and under rate the pain of ongoing monthly payments. They misevaluate even as they convert a stock into a flow with an auto loan. Similarly, people underestimate the cost of driving everywhere, when they have already sunk so much into the units investment. I swear that there's something about cars that turns people's brains off. They are so deeply ingrained into our way of life that we basically refuse to consider costs and alternatives.
  - maxerickson 5y ago
    There's no way the median vehicle purchase is $47k. I'd buy that the mean new car price is $47k, but that's not the right average if you are trying to estimate typical vehicle acquisition costs.