Are We Witnessing The Demise Of The Affordable Car?

[FusedLogic]

Oh, and while I'm ranting, I'll go ahead and say that the dealerships are complicit in ruining the industry. The attitude of my local Ford dealer is pathetic and from what I hear, it's typical these days.

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[Clank]

Justin Trudeau and Klaus Schwab have both said that by 2030 you will own nothing and be happy.
High cost is mostly due to government regulations forcing cars to be equipped with more and more stuff that costs money.

Yes and no to the part about equipping with more stuff. There are still a lot of these vehicles that are 40k+ and the extra safety equipment is all optional. Parking sensors, blind spot, forward collision warning, lane departure, etc. I always look at the vehicles on sale at local dealers and what comes with them and I have to laugh when you see a 60K truck and you don't even get LED headlights and leather seats. That should be a minimum for something that expensive.

 

[AzScorpion]

Oh, and while I'm ranting, I'll go ahead and say that the dealerships are complicit in ruining the industry. The attitude of my local Ford dealer is pathetic and from what I hear, it's typical these days.

They (not all) almost have this "you need us more than we need you" attitude now. That one dealer who said they were charging $30K for a Raptor said "Good Luck" very sarcastically when I said I was looking to get on a list for MSRP. There are some good dealers out there and I don't mind traveling if I have to but it's sad it's come to this.

 

[got3fords]

Yes and no to the part about equipping with more stuff. There are still a lot of these vehicles that are 40k+ and the extra safety equipment is all optional. Parking sensors, blind spot, forward collision warning, lane departure, etc. I always look at the vehicles on sale at local dealers and what comes with them and I have to laugh when you see a 60K truck and you don't even get LED headlights and leather seats. That should be a minimum for something that expensive.

But you have airbags all over the place in newer vehicles. And pre-collision, not sure if that's an option or not.

 

[Friday yet?]

I've always had F150 but now I have no need for a large full size truck. I found some of my old window stickers and they were all around $30K-$33K and that's MSRP which I never paid. Now they're so expensive and you'll have what use to be a mortgage payment for one truck.

My buddy back east just ordered a stripped down base model F150 and it came to $42k. He has 3 other vehicles and is using it for deliveries for his maple syrup business so at least he can write it off but it's still a lot of cash for a base model truck.

Luckily in my past I've had F150's as my company vehicle for many years. So always had one on the weekend when I needed it for the next honey do project. But all in all, especially when it is my money, I just like the mid-sized. Of course we see where my tastes in mid-sized trucks are: First truck I bought was a '06 Frontier NISMO. POS it may have been but doesn't change the fact that it was a very capable and very nice looking truck. Now fast forward many years and I have the Tremor. Mid-sized with offroad packages seem to be my niche. Lucky this time Ford was an option!

 

[9zero1790]

Oh, and while I'm ranting, I'll go ahead and say that the dealerships are complicit in ruining the industry. The attitude of my local Ford dealer is pathetic and from what I hear, it's typical these days.

normally i would agree with you fully as im no friend of car dealers esp dealer service. however, the one my 5g is at currently has done a great job with up dates and being in touch after the first few days of zero. im not holding my breathe its fixed perfectly but at least at this point i dont wanna burn down the service center lol.

 

[LaBalbe]

Justin Trudeau and Klaus Schwab have both said that by 2030 you will own nothing and be happy.
High cost is mostly due to government regulations forcing cars to be equipped with more and more stuff that costs money.

To be fair, Justin Trudeau doesn't even own a functioning brain cell, and he certainly seems happy enough.

 

[dtech]

Still far ahead of most developed countries.

Car ownership rates are ticking upwards in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 91.5% of U.S. households had at least one vehicle available in 2020, compared to 90.9% in 2015.

The United States consistently ranks near the top in terms of car ownership, and in several states, at least 95% of households have access to a vehicle. There are, however, a few areas with more robust public transportation systems that buck the norm, including Washington, D.C., New York, and New Jersey.

https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/research/car-ownership-statistics/

 

[subquark]

There really isn't much (that's good) in the sub $30K range and the prices of vehicles over $60K have soared 163%.

Agree that not much good is available under $30K, but thank God the very best is possible (and in the besterest color, of course):

Behold Soupie! the 2022 Ford Ranger for $26,020!

Don't point out the $7K+ of aftermarket accessories and deleted items added later. =p

Or the @AzScorpion-created-drug-addicted-like dependency on a perpetual supply of Graphene ... =D

At least I was fiscally responsible and now able to afford eggs! Plus I get the Federal tax break for providing a habitat for under-represented rodents with that engine cover ...

 

[dtech]

https://www.ksn.com/news/business/tesla-plans-to-cut-costs-of-next-generation-cars-in-half

and the stock price went down 6% after his announcements ? Tesla will sell a lot of $25k cars if they are able to pull it off for the US market (big if), but if Elon says he can do it then not to be out Musked perhaps we will see a sub $25k EV announcement from CEO Jim Farley.

 

[AzScorpion]

and the stock price went down 6% after his announcements ? Tesla will sell a lot of $25k cars if they are able to pull it off for the US market (big if), but if Elon says he can do it then not to be out Musked perhaps we will see a sub $25k EV announcement from CEO Jim Farley.

The Maverick started out at $29K. So there's no reason they can't make a good EV for around $25K.

 

[Dereku]

I suppose I'll open up this ol' can of worms. Would you purchase a car that costs considerably less than "the cheapest car on the market" knowing full well that you are buying a sub-standard product in terms of longevity and in terms of safety? I'm talking like if we were able to buy a $10,000 - $12,000 Mahindra. (For this game let's ignore environmental factors although we know full well those also prevent vehicles like this from being sold here.)

On one hand you've got the argument of; every person should be allowed to assess their own level of risk. On the other; should a person in a "safe car" have to live with the burden of taking a life for a simple mistake that could have easily ended in a brief hospital visit at worst?

There's a lot to blame for the inflation of basic car prices, but it's the safety barriers that keep manufacturers like Mahindra (India) or other Chinese manufacturers from selling here. And again, we've got CAFE so...


Edit: I realize I didn't answer my own question. I would not living in a big city like I am now. Perhaps if I lived in a more rural area where traffic incidents are more of a personal liability due to lack of traffic I would consider it..

I would totally buy some indian or Russian shit box as a second car to not care about. Those Russian ones are made with lead and depleted uranium, completely indestructible.

 

[LaBalbe]

The Maverick started out at $29K. So there's no reason they can't make a good EV for around $25K.

The Chevy Bolt starts at $26,500, so it should be feasible...although, I don't know if it meets your "good" criteria.

The Nissan Leaf's MSRP was around $41K Cdn, so that's what, around $30K US?

 

[dtech]

The Maverick started out at $29K. So there's no reason they can't make a good EV for around $25K.

BYD is set to announce a $13k city car over in their neck of the woods and Musk seems to understand better than some that higher sales volumes of Teslas and EVs are cost dependent and he seems committed to pulling it off or getting close. Maybe CEO Farley is working on an electrified Pinto , but with an crash protected lith-ion battery.

 

[AzScorpion]

The Chevy Bolt starts at $26,500, so it should be feasible...although, I don't know if it meets your "good" criteria.

The Nissan Leaf's MSRP was around $41K Cdn, so that's what, around $30K US?

So it is doable. I haven't really checked out car/EV prices in a while now mostly just trucks. I guess good is subjective but anything that isn't like one of those ugly Cubes. They look like a clown car. lol

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