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I've noticed this a lot in my previous work sector (real estate). I've seen many coworkers who would buy these luxury cars, paying almost $1,200/month for the p
by notaustinpowers 3y ago
I've noticed this a lot in my previous work sector (real estate). I've seen many coworkers who would buy these luxury cars, paying almost $1,200/month for the payment and insurance. Mainly because it's what was "expected" of someone in that field. My brother who works in construction is paying a $1,300/month car payment and $350/month insurance for an F-150 because it's what everyone else drives, even though he's 19 and the only thing he hauls in groceries from Aldi.
I think a major culprit is our social-focused society creating this desire to keep up with the Jonses' in your social/work circles.
- chinchilla2020 3y agoThe same people complaining about affordability are usually middle class folks driving a Mercedes.
- smileysteve 3y agoLow interest rates from the 2000s really shifted the American middle class from buying used it off lease into new. Normal rates are doing to shock consumer consumotion, really soon.
- globular-toast 3y agoWhenever I hear anyone making dubious claims about struggling (like "we make over 100k credits and barely making ends meet"), I always ask, what car do you drive? It's amazing how quickly people's expectations change. Once they get in that new car it's the new normal. They'll get just as angry and frustrated in it as any other, but it's now an essential with an insanely high cost. It's also full of hidden costs. People can usually tell you how much they're spending on rent, but what about how much they spend on the car? You need to add up any interest, depreciation, insurance, tax, fuel, regular maintenance, repairs, consumables, tolls, cleaning, and that's not even counting your priceless time spent driving. Car people will just gobble up a random 1k credit repair bill when their gearbox randomly gives out then forget all about it in a few months and never once question if this thing is worth it.
- all2 3y agoHe could have gotten a Ford Ranger for dirt cheap and it would do everything that his F150 does.
- notaustinpowers 3y agoThat's what I tried to explain to him. He had a paid off '04 Excursion before this car that he wrecked, after putting about $15k worth of aftermarket stuff in it. Now he's wanting to put a lift kit and all this aftermarket stuff in the F-150 and won't listen to reason when I tell him that is the stupidest idea I've ever heard.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- globular-toast 3y agoA 19 year old who works on a building site and has already spent 15k on a vehicle that he wrecked? Sounds like a pampered upbringing has instilled no concept of money.
- washadjeffmad 3y agoLikely the opposite, for the same reason you'll never find more luxury cars than at apartment complexes. Mistaking being able to make a payment with being wealthy is a common poverty trap mistake. It's also part of the unfortunate engine of our middle class and upper classes.
- globular-toast 3y agoI agree but I was referring more to the 19 part. It's presumably close to a minimum wage job and having already dropped the 15k means he somehow had that cash at 18? Perhaps you're right though. I went to uni etc so didn't have that kind of cash until much later but might be different for those who leave school earlier.
- gottorf 3y agoA 19yo paying $1650 every month just to get around! That would have paid for my first car and insurance for six months, just a scant decade and a half ago. > I think a major culprit is our social-focused society creating this desire to keep up with the Jonses' in your social/work circles. Society may very well pressure individuals to keep up with the Joneses, but individuals do not have to yield to that pressure. Let's retain some individual agency. Nobody has to put themselves in a lot of debt to appear a certain way to their peers.
- colechristensen 3y ago1650 could buy my first two cars.
- mistrial9 3y agothe economic deal you got at that age, is not the economic deal that 19 year olds are getting now. (let that really sink in for a minute)
- dghlsakjg 3y agoThis can be true while at the same time it can also be true that this kid bought something completely unnecessary. You can still buy an old Toyota sedan for $2k.
- falcolas 3y agoMine too. Granted, neither could run without another few grand pumped into them (my dad thought he was being frugal).
- notaustinpowers 3y ago> Society may very well pressure individuals to keep up with the Joneses, but individuals do not have to yield to that pressure. Let's retain some individual agency. Nobody has to put themselves in a lot of debt to appear a certain way to their peers. Agreed, but those outward pressures can be pretty harsh. I left real estate because I was told by my boss I needed to upgrade my car to, at a minimum, 2yr-old Lexus NX or I'd be relegated to internal work rather than meeting with clients. I was driving a 2019 Kia Forte at the time. Some industries just tie your personal life and expenses to your work life way too much.
- bryanlarsen 3y agoAt least with a 1300/month payment I assume/hope he actually has a decent loan term. I hear people bragging about their $400/month luxury car payments. What's that, a 7 year term + residual ensuring you are underwater on that loan for 10 years?
- notaustinpowers 3y agoOh no, it's a 6-year term...
- mcbutterbunz 3y agoI've said this before and I'll say it again but one of the best things the auto industry did for itself was to tie a person's identity to the type of automobile they drive. In today's society, you can completely disregard someone based solely on the car they drive (cough, Prius).
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- falcolas 3y ago> (cough, Prius) How rude. No, seriously though, a Prius is pretty underrated. Especially when you put it in sport mode and push your passengers into their seat with the acceleration. And you'll still beat 30mpg. Heck, I bet it has better power:weight than that F-150...
- BoxOfRain 3y agoI've never seen a prius in the UK that wasn't a taxi, it's interesting how some car stereotypes (like BMW owners failing to indicate) seem pretty universal but others don't cross borders.
- dazc 3y agoI heard Alexi Sayle (minor celeb in the UK) saying the other day that he had a friend who drove a Prius but got rid of it because he was fed up of people randomly getting in because they assumed it was a taxi. I have always said, however, that if you're looking a for a good value reliable car you should always take note of what cars taxi drivers buy.
- gedy 3y agoWow I haven't heard that name since 'The Young Ones' (I'm in the US)
- 3y ago
- 0xbadcafebee 3y agoParticularly when your culture emphasizes it. Conservative heteronormative culture requires performative displays of manhood, and in the USA that means truck ownership. I can't imagine how humiliating it would be for a conservative man in the rural south to drive a sub-compact.
- BoxOfRain 3y agoThis brings to mind that infamous part of the early Top Gear America special where Clarkson, Hammond, and May are chased out of a rural Alabamian town by some of its inhabitants for decorating some trucks in a less-than-conservative fashion.
- ojhughes 3y agoWhy is car insurance so expensive in the US? I pay £300 per annum in the UK
- dazc 3y agoCar insurance in the UK is hugely competitive with many businesses losing money on new policies. Not sure about the US market but this could be a factor?
- globular-toast 3y agoSafer roads probably. Speaking to Americans it's like crashes are an everyday occurrence and everyone seems to have experience of one. Over here it's more likely someone goes there entire life without a single collision or insurance payout at all.
- tonyedgecombe 3y agoAlso Americans tend to be more litigious which has its costs.
- pojzon 3y agoBecause we have requirements for driving cars. Its not easy to get a driving license, ppl know how to drive. In US its “hey have you seen a car in your life, here have those keys”
- kalleboo 3y agoYoung people in overspecced cars? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgDoXu__KyM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgDoXu__KyM
- notaustinpowers 3y agoI wish I knew, lol. I've never met anyone who's paid less than $100/month for car insurance. For my brother though it's probably on account of him being 19, being at fault for an accident that totaled 2 cars, having a speeding ticket for going 25mph over the limit, a $40k+ truck, and car loans like this requiring a $500 deductible at the highest it can be set. He's not the best candidate for an insurance policy...