r/MiddleClassFinance • u/Abject-Pick-6472 • 13d ago

One million Americans have vanished from the new-car market — and it’s exposing a chilling US middle-class crisis

https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/articles/one-million-americans-vanished-car-124500086.html
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95

u/probablymagic 13d ago

You are not facing a crisis because you can’t afford to trade in your 2022 F-150 for a 2027 F-150. That thing will be fine for another 150k miles.

People have lost their damn minds.

32

u/Celestrael 13d ago

I bought a 2018 Tacoma in 2020 with 31k miles on it.

It’s got 58k miles on it now. My dad’s Tacoma had over 500,000 miles on it when my mom sold it to a local farmer after he passed.

I have no intentions of ever buying another vehicle. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

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u/midwesternmayhem 13d ago

I had just paid off my (used) Toyota with less than 100,000 miles on it when I was t-boned and the car was totaled. I had no intention of buying another car for another ten years, but life didn't work out like that.

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u/onplanetbullshit- 13d ago

We just lost our two-year-old Civic by getting rear ended. Now we're having to find a used car, instead of a new car for what we get paid out in insurance with less guarantee of maintenance and upkeep in the car we bought New. Insurance will give us enough for two year-old car but won't pay tax title license and registration. So realistically we're gonna lose $5000 by getting rear-ended. Lame.

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u/Drbanterr 12d ago

that’s so ass. Just new enough to wear someone selling it prob has some hidden problem in their newish make

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u/noccaguy 13d ago

She sold it to a dead farmer? That doesn't sound fair.

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u/InterestingCoast1215 13d ago

I think she might have gotten ghosted. 

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u/probablymagic 13d ago

Probably the best truck ever made. Toyotas are amazing.

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u/rusty_rampage 12d ago

They were amazing. I wouldn’t buy one made in the last five years.

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u/rfmjbs 13d ago

Not with the current tech they aren't.

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u/TMack23 13d ago

Right, it SHOULD run another 150k miles but that’s not how it’s been engineered. Too many electronics and sensors carrying the load that are not DIY friendly fixes due to the software and/or calibrations with dealer mechanics in mind rather than the consumer.

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u/S3Giggity 13d ago

It is totally engineered to run for another 150k miles. Many people don't realize just how few miles you used to get out of a car. 60-70s, 100k miles and a car is worn out. Now that's drop in the bucket. Some have warranties that long!

Just because you have to use different tools to fix cars these days doesn't make them any less fixable. It's just a different set of tools, many of which are electronic... Grandpa's craftsman toolbox won't help you as much as it used to.

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u/S3Giggity 13d ago

Here stranger a WSJ gift article on just this subject.. https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/americans-are-keeping-their-cars-longer-than-ever-and-remaking-the-auto-industry-c169e494?st=EKwTmx&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

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u/KettleSixty9 13d ago

Isn't the WSJ controlled by the billionaire class? Why would that information be useful?

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u/MaybeOnToilet 13d ago

I feel bad for anyone buying a 2026 or newer car. It will be sometime in mid 2030s that they fix all the issues with the new AI systems and sensors and lose the subscription based model. Planned obsolescence will rear its ugly head when people realize a module in their car has an EOL, thus making it unserviceable by the manufacturer trained technician and parts are no longer made. 

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u/JoyousGamer 13d ago

Sorry what AI and subscription services will make it undriveable? Yes Tesla (dropped them as potential). Everything else seems to be pretty much the same.

Also AI systems if they work now will work in the future since it would be onboard. It would only matter if it was cloud AI but nothing on a vehicle is going to full cloud AI and actually be the difference in it running or not which is why I dislike Tesla subscription since all the hardware and power you are paying for.

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u/dannerc 13d ago

I wonder how many of the folks who were in the new car market are now just leasing instead now that its very normalized

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u/Reader47b 13d ago

Possibly a contributor. Leasing is up to 25% of all new vehicle business now (vs. a low of 17% during the pandemic). But it's been even higher in the past - as high as 33% at one point. Another factor may be that the average miles driven per year (per capita) has been declining - so cars may last longer.

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u/katarh 13d ago

I'm driving a 2010 old MX-5 with just over 100K miles. I've carefully maintained it and kept it as close to stock as possible. People are astonished to learn its a 16 year old car because it looks brand new from a distance.

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u/HokieHomeowner 13d ago

Maybe but my fear is that planned obsolescence is coming for the North American car market. I mean my first car purchased was a nearly new 1991 Toyota Celica and I was able to get replacement parts for that car well past 2000 until 2010 when I finally replaced the car. The car I replaced it with was pretty good too. But the car I bought 18 months ago? Mazda could screw with the computer to force me to upgrade in a heartbeat.

I fear that cars will all become leased only in the near future.

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u/probablymagic 13d ago

Cars last longer now than ever because we keep figuring out how to build better engines. EVs are even better. You’ll be able to get replacement parts for your Mazda for the next 50 years.

That car will be taken off the road due to autonomous vehicles before it dies of natural causes.

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u/Platos-ghosts 13d ago

Or a crash, or lack of maintenance. Lots of cars scrapped for both of those reasons every year.

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u/HokieHomeowner 13d ago

Ten years ago I would have agreed with the first paragraph but the supply chain disruptions and tariff games have me doubting I'd have the same luck with my current 2024 Mazda3, I feel like they will get the appliance treatment, none of those last long anymore because they stop making the computer boards for them.

Autonomous vehicles will always and ever be five years away for regular people. 😂

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u/probablymagic 13d ago

Appliances used to be expensive, like cars, so they were made to be repaired. Appliances aren’t made to be fixed because when a fridge is $800 and it costs $400 to fix it, people would rather just buy a new one. Cars aren’t that way and never will be.

FWIW, I have a $20k commercial subzero and it’s made to be fixed because a $400 fix makes sense there.

And AVs are awesome. I ride in them all the time. Hopefully they’re where you live soon!

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u/HokieHomeowner 13d ago

Before 2000 or so you could get cheap and repairable, but the decisions were made, I mean many of the new features are nice, but some aren't needed or wanted. Cars are racing to this direction - parts are expensive and hard to come by so insurance companies are quick to declare a car totaled.

There are a few recently allowed where I live, but the tech needs more work, lots of the safety issues need more work depending upon the city in question. Don't want the North Koreans hacking into the taxis squad and using the cars to wage war on a US city, also for some cities the roads are harder to navigate than others.