$100 Grand for a New Pickup?

[frozenchurchwarden]

I was about to say look at the base price of the F150, but then I saw the base price went up $2,500 from 2022 to 2023.
10 years ago you could get an F150 for just over $20,000 and today they're $36,000 minimum.
Hello inflation.

 

[pappymac]

New vehicle prices have gotten ridiculous while the trade-in value of used vehicles have gone down.
I recently took my 2016 Nissan Frontier in for an oil change and one of the sales people said they would give me $6K for a trade-in. Mind you, my Frontier only has 89,000 miles on it and no body damage. I told him no thanks.

A week later I get a piece of mail from the Nissan dealer telling me my truck according to Carfax (or one of those places) is worth $14K.

On a sad note, I bought a 2006 Dodge Dakota in December 2005. I drove it until I bought the Frontier. The dealer lowballed the trade-in value so I kept the Dakota and transferred the title to our oldest son who recently passed it on to one of his sons. The Dakota just gave up the ghost with just over 264,000 miles on it.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

$100k for a vehicle is insanity. I bought my house (20 years ago) for $97k.

I work in a shop that pays really good wages, especially when the overtime hose it turned on full-blast. The parking lot is full of these fancy trucks, but when the OT dries up a lot of these guys panic. One of my friends is fond of saying that the average American is about two months away from bankruptcy. I believe it.

I have another friend that manages a large Cadillac dealership in the area. He recently told me that every single of of the Caddys is sold before it hits the lot. People are still spending money at an absolutely insane rate. Me? I'm rat-holing every penny I can these days.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I recently bought an EV. Love it.

 

[Egg Shen]

I notice now they offer 8 year payment plans. When I bought my car in 2010 the choice was 3 or 5. So yes, they are trying to keep people enslaved with heavy debt.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yesterday noticed an ad [as I was looking at EV's and Hybrid sedans], of a few trucks listed at $35K.... not so unusual.... but you could spend $50K more to trick it out!

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

...
Me? I'm rat-holing every penny I can these days.

Just as long as it's not actually held in cash.
Inflation is the most heinous tax.

 

[olkofri]

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Dropping 100k on a truck appeals to me, especially if it makes all you biatches whine, h aha.

 

[telescopes]

I notice now they offer 8 year payment plans. When I bought my car in 2010 the choice was 3 or 5. So yes, they are trying to keep people enslaved with heavy debt.

This concerted action to keep so many bound to so much debt has a direct impact on how people view freedom. To any sane minded person, this heavy debt will eventually be used to limit choice and narrow the possibilities of people to question corporations and government actions because if they fail to go along they will be prohibited from taking actions they might otherwise take. It's a new serfdom.

 

[mso489]

I've let my subscription to Motor Trend lapse. They do some interesting pieces on vintage cars, the pros and cons of EV's pretty well balanced, and good reviews and competitive ratings of similar cars, but since I feel pretty much priced out of the new car market, I've lost some interest.

It seems the new car market now is pretty much not a middle class field. I think you have to be very prosperous if not downright wealthy, with presumptions of even better times to come. Most retirees don't fit the profile.

Ev's don't sound ready for the masses yet -- not enough charging stations and no uniformity in charging connections, limited range, etc. But when you get beyond the "basic models," which aren't moderately priced, it is staggering the amount of horse power some of the EV's pack.

It used to be if you bought a sporty car with more than 500 hp, you were offered a class to learn to drive it so you didn't kill yourself. Some of the up-market EV's have 800 and more hp and accelerate like a Saturn rocket. Hmmm.

One of my favorite driving experiences was a little two-place three-on-the-floor Dodge pickup the newspaper let me use to do reporting that I had to get back to the office by mid-afternoon to let the guys use it to deliver the papers that were printed in the shop. I still swoon momentarily when I see the little two-door pickups, real worker burros, all work and no play.

 

[sablebrush52]

With the possible exception of Medical Industrial Complex, which I consider an existential threat to health, prices are set by buyers, not sellers. Don't like the price? Don't buy the dingus.

Part of this is the cost of developing new tech. The first couple of generations of product are always expensive and then the prices drop as the new tech matures and gets disseminated. Part of this are echos of worldwide supply line chaos brought about by Covid. Part of this is the very basic reality that humans will always push for an unearned advantage and will be loath to give that up. And part of this is a mentally ill culture of relatively extreme consumerism, with people buying into the latest "thing" and making their "stuff" their identity.

Americans are loaded up with debt, record amounts of it, which is good for banks and bad for consumers. And consumers have put themselves in this situation through their choices. Gotta have the biggest and best "stuff", or lots of "stuff" or the newest "stuff", and go into debt buy "stuff" they "can't live without" and can't afford. They have bought into the mantra of "the boy who dies with the most toys wins" and other stupid credos.

Personally, I stay debt free. That way I can save up for what I want, rather than pissing away money on payments. I bought my townhouse for cash. I could have bought a lot more, but I don't actually need more, and I can use my money to invest and make it work for me, rather than work for a bank.

I don't care about a $100,000 truck any more than a $10,000,000 Bugatti, or, for that matter, $500 Stonehaven or expensive artisan pipes. It's not going to be part of my world. I'm not exactly a Calvinist, so I do blow money on pleasures from time to time, but I won't go into debt over it.

 

[UB 40]

Who needs a brand new car anyways?

 

[georged]

I'm not exactly a Calvinist, so I do blow money on pleasures from time to time...

It's true.

Twice---in 1983 and 1996---he treated himself to a second helping of gruel.

 

[sablebrush52]

It's true.

Twice---in 1983 and 1996---he treated himself to a second helping of gruel.


View attachment 245281

It was half a bowl, and I saved half the 1983 bowl to enjoy in 1996. Wouldn't do to go wild.

 

[brian64]

An interesting piece worth reading on the EV topic:

3 Reasons There’s Something Sinister With the Big Push for Electric Vehicles

They’re trying to manufacture your consent for a scam of almost unimaginable proportions.

internationalman.com

 

[ssjones]

I presume the price includes a set of step ladders to actually get into the vehicle .

Regards,

Jay.

My neighbor, my age, with a bad hip, has an aftermarket modified full-size Ford 4x4. You literally have to climb up into it. I asked him, does that get old? He said it did and he regretted buying a customized truck.

My wife's truck cost a Kings ransom, but had retractable steps. That will likely break as soon as the warrant is over.

I had an issue with and posted a question on the Chevy Silverado forum, suggesting Chevy could have done better with a feature. One guy said "why did you buy it" I replied I didn't buy it, my wife bought it, I wouldn't drive a truck every day if you paid me (I prefer a sedan for my daily use). That unleashed the bro-dude on the Facebook group to pile on. What a bunch of morons.

 

[proteus]

Maintenance, wear and tear, interest and principal, insurnace, car property taxes, sales taxes, leasing payments, gas, electric rates, let's face it...there's no free ride. Moving one's ass from point A to point B costs money and time. Even a pair sneakers costs money and time. Lyft services, buses and taxis cost money and time. It's about where you want to spend that money and how much you want to spend - never a question of if...transportation will cost something.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

An interesting piece worth reading on the EV topic:

3 Reasons There’s Something Sinister With the Big Push for Electric Vehicles

They’re trying to manufacture your consent for a scam of almost unimaginable proportions.

internationalman.com

I was thinking about this the other day.

From what I've read you could power all human activity on Earth with the solar energy collected from one patch the size of Arizona, efficient collection and distribution is the main question, plugging into coal to get the network started does make sense.
But then again what also makes sense is that trees are the best solar collectors on the planet and a properly managed forest can give you an infinite supply of 100% renewable hydrocarbons that uses all of the existing infrastructure we already have.
Rather than filling the world with more man made structures we really should just be growing and harvesting more organic material.
The gas powered Internal Combustion Engine is the most environmentally friendly kinetic energy device that will ever be invented.

 

[mingc]

Dropping 100k on a truck appeals to me, especially if it makes all you biatches whine, h aha.

Yes, but does it come with Grey Poupon?