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According to the windows sticker, the $19,045 price is after options and a delivery charge, both of which would have been added to the MSRP of any VW Beetle "ba

According to the windows sticker, the $19,045 price is after options and a delivery charge, both of which would have been added to the MSRP of any VW Beetle "back in the day". According to this windows sticker a 1963 beetle cost $16,500 in today's dollars. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/931335.jpg https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/931335.jpg That's 1963. A 1973 optioned, delivered, Beetle (again, the cheapest car you could buy at the time) would have been closer to $18k, much higher than its MSRP of ~$12k. Not far off from the $19k of 2023 for an inexpensive automobile. But markups vary so much from state-to-state and dealer-to-dealer you can't compare and can only use MSRP as a "good enough" basis of comparison. $16,500 -> $19,045 is a 15.4% increase and you get airbags, a backup camera, better gas mileage, and more reliability for your 15.4%. Also, today MOST PEOPLE are paying 3-6% on a car loan. In "the good old days" it was 10-20%, depending on the year. In 1972: "a bank charges roughly 10 percent annual interest to lend money on a new car bought over a three‐year period. A finance company, on the other hand, charges about 11.84 per cent over a similar period." https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/28/archives/personal-finance-loan-rates-on-cars.html https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/28/archives/personal-finance... That's not, as the article puts it, "for the rich".

derstander 4y ago
I think the goalposts here have shifted a bit. > That's not, as the article puts it, "for the rich". I agree with that statement. But > You can walk onto any Nissan dealer's lot anywhere in the country and drive off in a brand new Nissan Versa… Does not support the first statement. Avshalom posted a link to a Nissan dealer where new Nissan Versas are not available to drive off the lot at all. I looked at my local dealership and it also does not have any new Versas available. As both of these dealerships are indeed in the country and neither have new Versas available, the assertion just isn’t true. I think you’re overestimating how well Nissan is stocking their affordable models and trims. But to your point about new cars being solely for the rich, I could drive off my local Hyundai dealer’s lot with a new Elantra for something like $23k which I also consider within reach for those not rich. I also looked at my local Honda dealer, but they apparently want to play games and refuse to show prices on the web without jumping through additional hoops. Regardless, I would probably buy a lightly used car again.

derstander 4y ago

I think the goalposts here have shifted a bit. > That's not, as the article puts it, "for the rich". I agree with that statement. But > You can walk onto any Nissan dealer's lot anywhere in the country and drive off in a brand new Nissan Versa… Does not support the first statement. Avshalom posted a link to a Nissan dealer where new Nissan Versas are not available to drive off the lot at all. I looked at my local dealership and it also does not have any new Versas available. As both of these dealerships are indeed in the country and neither have new Versas available, the assertion just isn’t true. I think you’re overestimating how well Nissan is stocking their affordable models and trims. But to your point about new cars being solely for the rich, I could drive off my local Hyundai dealer’s lot with a new Elantra for something like $23k which I also consider within reach for those not rich. I also looked at my local Honda dealer, but they apparently want to play games and refuse to show prices on the web without jumping through additional hoops. Regardless, I would probably buy a lightly used car again.