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An Auto Loan Debt Crisis Looks Imminent
(www.automoblog.net)
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this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2023
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Buy another beater. At $1500, how long does it have to last to cost less than car payments? Four or five months?
The other answer, from someone who used to buy beaters - you learn real fast what not to buy.
Right to repair laws should apply to cars, imo.
Definitely they should.
The Magnuson Moss Warranty Act has given people the right to repair cars since the 1970s. Most people just don't have the skills, time, or tools to fix them on their own.
There are no viable $1500 beaters anymore. Those vehicles now cost $3000-$4000. More if it says "Honda" or "Toyota" on the front.
You gotta keep your eyes open. This was summer before last:
Okay, so two years ago. Currently the cheapest two used cars in my local market are a Civic with 348,000 miles on it for $2000, and a 2010 VW with a blown engine for $3000. Even a clapped out 90's Blazer is $5000 if it runs. That's what's out there on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace. Maybe I can go hang around every shady parking lot in town looking to see who's got a lower number soaped on a window someplace, but people in the real world tend to have to work during daylight hours.
And then: Okay, so you found one 80's Chevy Nova that might run. You got extremely lucky. If, as the other poster suggested, you'll treat it as disposable and plan to ditch it after a few months and "buy another," can you do it again? That's even less likely.
Used car prices are still too insane for poor people to be able to count on reliably finding and scraping by with a beater.
You're right. My experiences aren't universal. I am aware that cheap cars have become much more scarce than they used to be.
I inherited the cheapskate gene from my dad, and I like cars, so I do that sort of thing for fun.
Bold of you to assume that people have an extra $1500 lying around.
If people can't scrape together $1500, they should go buy a new car?
And just cross your fingers that you don't lose your job because you've called in 8 times with car trouble. Buying beaters isn't the right path for most.