Author Topic: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior  (Read 4497 times)

caracarn

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New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« on: July 05, 2017, 06:48:32 AM »
Saw this this morning http://money.cnn.com/2017/07/03/autos/long-auto-loans/index.html

Car loans are driving up to nearly 6 years as standard with an average monthly payment of $517.  It was also interesting to read ""You can still get a perfectly nice compact car for under $20,000," Caldwell said. Not as many customers want those, though, especially with gasoline prices at historic lows."  Guess people forget that gas is not the only cost of a car, the cost of the car also includes the $40-60K you are spending to buy it.

WhiteTrashCash

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2017, 06:51:29 AM »
Advertisers have convinced people that nobody will want to have sex with them if they have a compact car. So people shoot themselves in the foot financially and chain themselves to a soul-crushing job in the feeble hope that their car will make someone love them. Sad but true.

caracarn

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #2 on: July 05, 2017, 06:56:38 AM »
Advertisers have convinced people that nobody will want to have sex with them if they have a compact car. So people shoot themselves in the foot financially and chain themselves to a soul-crushing job in the feeble hope that their car will make someone love them. Sad but true.
After all one of the popular songs lately includes the line "Girls with good bodies, like boys with Ferrarris".  Must be true.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #3 on: July 05, 2017, 07:29:18 AM »
It drives me nuts that people think they need a third row car if they have kids. You don't need a seven-seater for your family of four!

We fit our three (little) kids in our C-Max Energi and it baffles the other parents, most of whom seem to only have two kids and a minivan.

Even people on this forum seem convinced parents need a big car with kids.

Laura33

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #4 on: July 05, 2017, 09:58:09 AM »
It drives me nuts that people think they need a third row car if they have kids. You don't need a seven-seater for your family of four!

We fit our three (little) kids in our C-Max Energi and it baffles the other parents, most of whom seem to only have two kids and a minivan.

Even people on this forum seem convinced parents need a big car with kids.

Well, you don't *need*, but it's sure nice to have -- we use the third row all the time to ferry the kids and their friends places.  Much easier than taking two cars.

Travis

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2017, 10:08:47 AM »
It drives me nuts that people think they need a third row car if they have kids. You don't need a seven-seater for your family of four!

We fit our three (little) kids in our C-Max Energi and it baffles the other parents, most of whom seem to only have two kids and a minivan.

Even people on this forum seem convinced parents need a big car with kids.

Either third row of seating or a big storage area.  It depends on what the family does with its time. Quite often that family of four includes "stuff."  I have one coworker whose wife insisted on a new minivan for the four of them because it just simply made her feel better, and another family where everyone plays a musical instrument.

All that being said, I agree with the original premise.  My wife drives a 2003 Ford Focus in which the price point has remained almost unchanged in a decade.  I was in a showroom a couple years ago and smiled when I saw a new one sitting there for $18,000, and then frowned when right next to it was an $80,000 F-whatever pickup.

ducky19

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #6 on: July 05, 2017, 11:30:58 AM »
It drives me nuts that people think they need a third row car if they have kids. You don't need a seven-seater for your family of four!

We fit our three (little) kids in our C-Max Energi and it baffles the other parents, most of whom seem to only have two kids and a minivan.

Even people on this forum seem convinced parents need a big car with kids.

Well, you don't *need*, but it's sure nice to have -- we use the third row all the time to ferry the kids and their friends places.  Much easier than taking two cars.

Agreed! I drive a 2007 Pontiac Vibe which is great for when I have to pick up our two kids from school or run them to sports, but if we are carpooling with their friends for any reason (which we do several times a week), it's impossible to fit them all in my car. The minivan is also great for driving vacations - each of the kids has their own space without being crowded, and we can still fit everything we could possibly need in the back. We have driven straight through to Tucson, Colorado, South Dakota-Wyoming, and Florida from central IL - believe me, the comfort of a minivan is well worth it on those drives!

daverobev

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #7 on: July 05, 2017, 05:31:40 PM »
Yeah I'll admit to buying a minivan, for a family of four. Most of the time the car gets used, though.

We did Ottawa to Florida this winter in the van and it was great. No real regrets (I bought new - just seeing how un-cared for most cars are, ie no undercoating, and how rusted my prior car got), though it's a bit of a waste.

The main reason I got it was so I could turn it into a mini camper, ha. Need to do that soon, get away for a few days.

mm1970

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #8 on: July 05, 2017, 06:34:41 PM »
It drives me nuts that people think they need a third row car if they have kids. You don't need a seven-seater for your family of four!

We fit our three (little) kids in our C-Max Energi and it baffles the other parents, most of whom seem to only have two kids and a minivan.

Even people on this forum seem convinced parents need a big car with kids.
Not gonna lie.  I'm jonesing for a minivan.  Space for the kids AND their stuff AND their friends.  Much more comfy for vacations/ road trips.  Or an SUV, something that can tow a teardrop.

Do you know how hard it is to get the hubby and kids exciting about camping or road trips in a Matrix?  Seriously, put the Thule on top of the car, pack the car to the gills with tent, sleeping bags, cooler, etc.  I'm just *lucky* my kids are shrimpy.  Can you imagine the two kids in the back if they were the size of some of my friends' kids?  It's seriously uncomfortable.

But dammit, the car is paid for, only 11 years old.  I know a guy who just got a $40,000 pickup.  His backseat is bigger than mine.  But then you realize how much money each drive costs you.  Ugh.

redbird

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #9 on: July 06, 2017, 12:57:37 AM »
In my family my parents had a compact for part of my childhood. They only got a minivan later because they kept having kids and actually needed it. We were a family of 7 total in the end.

Husband and his sister fought a lot as kids. His parents bought a minivan when they were growing up so each kid could have their own seat row so they wouldn't punch each other. The parents felt their sanity was worth the expense! This was just for a family of 4.

SavinMaven

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #10 on: July 06, 2017, 09:54:05 AM »
It drives me nuts that people think they need a third row car if they have kids. You don't need a seven-seater for your family of four!

We fit our three (little) kids in our C-Max Energi and it baffles the other parents, most of whom seem to only have two kids and a minivan.

Even people on this forum seem convinced parents need a big car with kids.

We need a seven-seater for our family of four. On holidays, when we drive the grandparents around. On vacation, when our nieces come along. And throughout the whole school year, when it's our turn to drive carpool. That third row gets a lot of use!

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #11 on: July 06, 2017, 04:11:37 PM »
I wonder if there were similar purchases-- and rationalizations-- back in the horse and buggy days. Especially due to the lack of birth control; families could get pretty large.

"Honey, since we're going to have a ninth child, don't you think we should upgrade to a Clydesdale? Besides, the neighbors just got a new Percheron."

"I heard it was a secondhand Percheron. And you know it's dangerous to buy a horse secondhand. Nobody ever sells a horse because it runs too fast or eats too little."

"You really want to be the horse's first driver? Isn't that a little, well, physically dangerous?"

"Nonsense. You should see all the improvements they've made to harness in the last year."

markbike528CBX

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #12 on: July 06, 2017, 04:22:45 PM »
I wonder if there were similar purchases-- and rationalizations-- back in the horse and buggy days. Especially due to the lack of birth control; families could get pretty large.

"Honey, since we're going to have a ninth child, don't you think we should upgrade to a Clydesdale? Besides, the neighbors just got a new Percheron."

"I heard it was a secondhand Percheron. And you know it's dangerous to buy a horse secondhand. Nobody ever sells a horse because it runs too fast or eats too little."

"You really want to be the horse's first driver? Isn't that a little, well, physically dangerous?"

"Nonsense. You should see all the improvements they've made to harness in the last year."

I grew up in Amish country (Central PA) and can only imagine that the above conversation is what they've been explicitly avoiding all these years.   I'm sure they would find the modern equivalent just as funny.

talltexan

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Re: New cars continue to drive stupid behavior
« Reply #13 on: July 10, 2017, 12:48:30 PM »
It drives me nuts that people think they need a third row car if they have kids. You don't need a seven-seater for your family of four!

We fit our three (little) kids in our C-Max Energi and it baffles the other parents, most of whom seem to only have two kids and a minivan.

Even people on this forum seem convinced parents need a big car with kids.

We need a seven-seater for our family of four. On holidays, when we drive the grandparents around. On vacation, when our nieces come along. And throughout the whole school year, when it's our turn to drive carpool. That third row gets a lot of use!

I read this post and got afraid that my wife was secretly posting on here...

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!