• adhocfungus@midwest.social
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    2 days ago

    I was about to harp on people throwing money away on new cars, but then the article said Americans are paying an average of 30k for used cars. Every day I understand my countrymen less and less.

    • nomecks@lemmy.wtf
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      13 hours ago
      • Dealers jack prices way up
      • High prices allow them to give ridiculous trade in value
      • Trade ins scrapped or exported
      • Sky high used car prices due to constrained supply
      • Buyers forced into new cars

      See how that works?

    • OldCrow@lemmy.ca
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      1 day ago

      Know what? People used to be able to understand contracts. This is what’s happening. People are so dumbed down, they don’t even know what they’re signing. Welcome to the USA , and soon to be Alberta, Canada

    • the_q@piefed.social
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      2 days ago

      What’s not to understand? The system here is literally setup to create consumers and it does a great job.

      • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        We bought a brand new corolla last year for about $24k. Most people convince themselves they “need” much more car than they do. The auto manufacturers focus on giant luxury cars because those giant luxury cars sell. Yes, there’s always a desire to push larger because of the higher profit margins. But people still have to make the choice to buy the giant expensive cars.

    • ToastedRavioli@midwest.social
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      2 days ago

      Theres a variety of factors here. For one, more and more people are rolling their already stupid high loans into their next loan on a new used vehicle. So that is driving up the overall price. Second is that the new car market average price is well over $40k on average. Since people who cant get a new car have to buy used, then used car prices will creep as close to that point as they can regardless of actual vehicle values. The actual value of the vehicle is irrelevant in a country where cars are a necessity for the majority of people. What dealers are selling is the opportunity to have a vehicle more than the vehicle itself, and so they are gouging the shit out of people who have no reasonable alternative outside of buying on the used car market