Are We Witnessing The Demise Of The Affordable Car?

[JohnnyO]

I ended up with 4x4 the same way. The dealer had literally the EXACT truck I had spec'd out at Ford.com, except for 4WD. I mean exact color, packages, etc. Everything, but it had 4x4, and I could get it NOW. So I did (Helped that my wife said "If you like it, you should just get it.") LOL. Paid the extra money for something I will rarely use, but IS cool to have...

DO shift it into 4wd once a month even if you just drive it straight ahead down the street for a block to your house. If the shift motor doesn't get exercised then it might not work when you really do need it. Common problem.

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[JohnnyO]

Perhaps car loans should be paid off instead of student loans, maybe better for the economy . I don't currently have an auto loan but I'd get one if I knew someone else would pay it off. Got go now and write my elected representatives.

I owe more on my truck loan than my student loan.

 

[JohnnyO]

I ordered a Maverick for my wife, which will be a couple thousand more than my truck, but I started at an XLT, added quite a bit, including AWD and 4k tow. Originally, I opted for the hybrid, but the chances that we would receive it would be low, so I changed the order and we'll order a hybrid next year, if we still want that cost savings and the Ecoboost likely won't lose any value to sell.

I don't think you can get AWD or the tow package with the hybrid anyway.

 

[dtech]

I owe more on my truck loan than my student loan.

Were you in Caddyshack - maybe Bill Murray posting under an alias ? I played golf on a course a day after Bill Murray played in Denver - he went to college there for a year or two and would come back for renunions. Clubhouse guys said he's a real good guy.

 

[yamahaSHO]

I don't think you can get AWD or the tow package with the hybrid anyway.

You can't, but since I moved to gas, I thought it would be stupid not to add those. Especially since I'll be working out some OTS tunes for them and I'd blow the tires off if it were just FWD.

 

[brroberts]

I guess my point is it is all a matter of perspective. Under 100 HP was common back then and we somehow survived. Cars these days have WAY more power than they "need". Is it cool? Is it fun? Sure! I love the power of my Ranger - but It certainly is not NEEDED.

It is needed. I’ve spent time pulling my 4700lbs travel trailer up 15% grades. While it ran fine, it certainly was needed and not too much. It depends on what you do with a vehicle. I wouldn’t want a truck with less than 270ft lbs of tourque by at least 2500- 3000 RPM.

 

[brroberts]

I just did a quick pursue of Edmunds and every non luxury manufacture has multiple models with a MSRP under $30k and a number of them have a model for under $20k. The issue is you will never see them on a dealers lot because no one will buy them. Virtually everyone wants all the bells and whistles in there vehicles. I am no different, my Lariat has every option that was available with a MSRP over $48k. A 2wd XL for $25k would have served me just fine but that was not what I wanted.

Before I retired I was always amazed by the number of high end vehicles in the parking lot at work. A very high percentage of these vehicles belonged to hourly production workers that did not earn enough to really afford them. The manufacturers offering ultra low mileage leases are the only way they could afford the monthly payment. Not sure what percentage actually could meet those low mileage constraints but dealers will keep rolling them over into a new lease.

IMHO, the demise of the affordable vehicle is just as much the fault of the consumer as it is the manufacturers and government.

Many of us do want them. I have to fix it when it breaks, and I hate working on cars. If it’s not on the car, it can’t break.

 

[9zero1790]

And we crushed and destroyed all the older vehicles a few years back. They would be filling the gap now, but...

yep. cash for clunkers... step one demonize them step two remove them from supply lol.

 

[Cabose-1]

Well even if its affordable it isnt! The cost of maintenance, repair, . Just to change tires, check an engine light fix the stupid screen some lane assist thingy back up camera 1234 ac all of it costs a lot of money to maintain and repair. So even if the car was 20k, to fix it cost 30k. Just ridiculous. So yeah, affordable car becoming a thing of the past. We all drive bmws and just dont know it.

 

[JohnnyO]

Were you in Caddyshack - maybe Bill Murray posting under an alias ? I played golf on a course a day after Bill Murray played in Denver - he went to college there for a year or two and would come back for renunions. Clubhouse guys said he's a real good guy.

Gunga la gunga.

 

[9zero1790]

I have noticed that used cars even non running are bringing a stack of cash like I have never seen. I talked to a couple guys that run a roll back wrecker yesterday. They said about half of the jobs they have had the past six months is getting non running cars back to some ones home or shop of choice to get it back on the road. people are going back to the derelicts instead of new cars. cannot blame them.

 

[FunInTheSun]

2WD STX here... Paid $29k, and I have the locker, carpet, 8" Sync, BLIS, etc. This is the most expensive vehicle I've ever purchased (not to be confused with the most I've ever spent on a car), but I was looking for bang for buck. I priced out an F-150 and stopped when I saw it would cost me about $65k... Nope.

I ordered a Maverick for my wife, which will be a couple thousand more than my truck, but I started at an XLT, added quite a bit, including AWD and 4k tow. Originally, I opted for the hybrid, but the chances that we would receive it would be low, so I changed the order and we'll order a hybrid next year, if we still want that cost savings and the Ecoboost likely won't lose any value to sell.

Nice looking truck. Almost looks blue.

 

[FunInTheSun]

DO shift it into 4wd once a month even if you just drive it straight ahead down the street for a block to your house. If the shift motor doesn't get exercised then it might not work when you really do need it. Common problem.

Thanks for the tip.

There's a big grassy parking lot near me.
I'll start popping in there every so often for some "exercise".

 

[rydfree]

I just built a new '23 Ranger exactly the same as my '21 that I paid $39K for OTD, it would now cost me close to $50K for the same truck OTD, with Tax, Lic, & Reg. That's a $10K increase, and that is for a XLT SC 4X4, can't imagine what a Tremor build would be

Reading this prompted me to go build a 2023 with the same stock features that my 2020 came with. Holy @#^#@! $52,800 !

I would not buy it today at that price

 

[Big Blue]

I just built a new '23 Ranger exactly the same as my '21 that I paid $39K for OTD, it would now cost me close to $50K for the same truck OTD, with Tax, Lic, & Reg. That's a $10K increase, and that is for a XLT SC 4X4, can't imagine what a Tremor build would be

Reading this prompted me to go build a 2023 with the same stock features that my 2020 came with. Holy @#^#@! $52,800 !

I would not buy it today at that price

Makes me even more happy I bought my 2019 than the fact I have all the deleted stuff.

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