RSS FeedAutos in the Economy | The Big Picture
Bsneath, new loans are just as long. they just have higher interest rates. and they much more picky about who gets them than before. the biggest driver of the length of the loan was how much the cars cost (though they are still less than what they used to cost versus income. the problem is incomes haven’t gone up but have been declining and we have lots more to spend on than before). and we never were really much of a car exporter. we bought almost all that we ever produced locally, and that made a large number of people involved in sales of new cars (would include almost all of the manufactures and the dealers too, plus their finance arms, plus a big junk of the banks, credit unions etc).
and people eventually have to replace them. after all there are a lot of them, and there are still a lot of people owning them, and won’t keep them for 20+ years (at the current rate or replacement) and how many of us will keep any of our cars that long? and that replacement rate is lower than the one from the GD.
How did we ever arrive at the place where it is normal practice to get something now and pay for it later?
Why not save your money and then buy a car. Once you have that car, save a little money for the 10 years you are driving it so you will have the money to buy a new car when you need it.
How did Americans get sold such a scheme to not only have to pay for the things they need but to pay an added charge on top for everything. And some of those charges (30% interest on credit cards) can add up with enough time to exceed the actual worth of what was originally purchased.
Being in debt must be like living in Hell. Owing money on things you bought in the past must be like being a slave. A modern day nation of slaves.
How did we become so fooled?
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