US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago

Re:US inflation means families are spending $709 more per mo... by gruez on Sunday August 13, 2023 @03:25PM (#37113368)

In other words, it's actually available for $22k. You just get it right now. That seems... fine? I guess it sucks for the people who need a new car in the past 2 years, but given that the average age of cars on the road is around 12 years, that's a small fraction of people. It certainly doesn't support the original claim that $30k cars are the reason why people getting in debt.

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Re:US inflation means families are spending $709 more per mo... by qbasic_forever on Sunday August 13, 2023 @03:32PM (#37113444)

I don't think you understand how new cars are sold in the US. You can't click buttons and order the car from the website, you have to work with a dealer and convince them it's worth their time to order a car for you.

I got some bad news, there is no dealership that thinks a $22k Corolla is worth their time when dozens of other buyers are willing to spend $30-40k or more for other models. The higher the price out the door generally the more money the dealership is making.

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Re:US inflation means families are spending $709 more per mo... by scarface_74 on Sunday August 13, 2023 @03:42PM (#37113577)

Not if you buy used…

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Re:US inflation means families are spending $709 more per mo... by gruez on Sunday August 13, 2023 @03:42PM (#37113582)

> You can't click buttons and order the car from the website, you have to work with a dealer and convince them it's worth their time to order a car for you.

I'm well aware. It's just that toyota.com is an online resource that's easy to find and and verify. Sure, dealer pricing is more "accurate", but it requires much more legwork on my part and even then it turns the whole thread into an anecdote-fest with people saying "well the dealers in my area are charging $9000 market price adjustment (or whatever) so you're wrong!" or "I called around a few dealerships and found one that gave me a $2000 discount!". Doing a quick search on reddit for "dealer markups" in the past 6 months turns up plenty of anecdotes of people being able to secure cars with no or very little dealer markups.

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Re:US inflation means families are spending $709 more per mo... by zeroonetwothree on Sunday August 13, 2023 @05:31PM (#37114750)

I just checked and my local dealer has a Corolla in stock for $28k. That seems consistent with other people in this thread.

In 2018 I bought a top end accord for $31k. So prices are definitely much worse now.

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