Time to ditch cars and switch to e-bikes...
Used car market gets even more bizarre
241–250 of 340 posts
Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre
#242Earlier quoted context omitted.
Jumping from only light maintenance to changing a rear main seal is quite the leap!
No better feeling though! Especially when running the numbers post-fix (insert CS joke here) and comparing to shop quotes. I keep spreadsheets for two cars and an older jet ski and I've saved ~$12k this year alone by wrenching solo assuming $100/hr = standard labor rate. I've learned a TON of cross-functional skills, have full control over the parts and repair, and it's just a feel-good way to step away from my desk…
That $12K is tax-free as well. You’d likely have to earn ~$20K to pay $8K in taxes to be left with the same $12K net.
Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre
#243Earlier quoted context omitted.
I still won't even buy a car with GPS. Seems I'm in a vanishing minority. It won't pass, because people born after 1990 have spent their adult lives in a world with surveillance machines in their pockets at all times. Their cars are just big phones. By 2040 you probably won't even be allowed to drive your own vehicle.
Just unplug the GPS/cell antennas if you're that paranoid? Newer cars will not be made without them anyway because they are actually safety features.
Being spied on is always a safety feature. That's why North Korea is the safest country in the world. No one ever dies there. Not a single case of covid!
Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre
#244It's interesting as this is mostly an American phenomena. In other places, where cars are ordered weeks/months out, the price is set and the dealership does a flat value add on at best.
In USA, it is common to have hundreds, if not thousands via floor financing - too bad for FIAT. If they could've held on they probably would be having a good year.
I've seen the trend of cheaper to buy a new car then a used one for 1-3yr old models for a while but now it has fully encompassed the whole market it's bizarre. 10yr old cars selling for 50% still. With high usage, 100k+ on odometer in miles.
I'm still confused if it's a sign of inflation/weak money or just true demand.
Where are all these cars going?
Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre
#245I know this is anecdotal, but I ran a Carvana offer today just to see what they’d give me for my one year old Subaru Forester. Their offer is $2,000 higher than my payoff quote from the bank. I haven’t tried shopping around to see how that offer compares to Carmax or a dealership. I still need this vehicle, but it’s crazy nonetheless.
Carvana is offering me $7k over my payoff quote on my 2.5 year old lease.
Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
No better feeling though! Especially when running the numbers post-fix (insert CS joke here) and comparing to shop quotes. I keep spreadsheets for two cars and an older jet ski and I've saved ~$12k this year alone by wrenching solo assuming $100/hr = standard labor rate. I've learned a TON of cross-functional skills, have full control over the parts and repair, and it's just a feel-good way to step away from my desk…
That $12K is tax-free as well. You’d likely have to earn ~$20K to pay $8K in taxes to be left with the same $12K net.
You're absolutely right, I hadn't thought of that. Very interesting (and affirming) way of looking at those savings.
Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre
#247Earlier quoted context omitted.
With current market conditions, why would a retailer have a Black Friday event? Print advertising flyers that say "come look at our empty shelves"?
It's customary to have those events. You'd have to look at the actual discounts they give: if they are small enough, they might just be equivalent to those flyers you mentioned. (Though in a well functioning market, we shouldn't see empty shelves. We should just see higher prices. And if you raise prices enough, you can just drop them a bit for a promotion.)
Also, many times the Black Friday "deals" are special SKUs made specifically for the event. Notoriously, TVs.
Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre
#248All I can offer is an anecdote. I have a 2015 Mazda 3 (top trim level, with 34,000 miles on it.) Purchased 4.5 years ago with 8k on it for just under $20k. Well over a year ago, I started checking KBB.com values to either trade it in or sell it. Back then, trade was close to $12k, and private party was a bit over $13k. I've checked several times since then, and the price has basically grown and grown. As of today, it…
If you really want to see something insane, get a quote on Carvana.
I have a 2018 Mazda3T Sedan with really low miles (thanks COVID) and they're offering me more than the MSRP when I bought it three years ago.
Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre
#249Earlier quoted context omitted.
So basically they are taking their increased compensation not in the form of more money from customers, but by improving their working conditions. It's very interesting, because this situation mirrors what economists predict about minimum wages: Employees take their compensation as a mixed basket of wages and non-monetary perks (like nicer working conditions or opportunities for learning and advancement). Different p…
> So orthodox economics predicts that increases in minimum wage leads, amongst other things, to deteriorating working conditions. I've never heard that take before, but it's a fascinating idea. Unfortunately, I think the problem we've run into in the U.S. is that minimum wage jobs have already hit rock bottom working conditions. Raising the minimum wage is the only thing left to improve conditions for those stuck in…
If you're subscribing to orthodox economics then in that case raising minimum wage would result in job losses.
What I think would actually happen is (perhaps some job losses, but) more jobs being pushed underground and laws skirted.
I'm not against minimum wages or increasing it as such, but if the lowest paid workers are in such dire conditions, the fundamental problem seems to be that they have insufficient bargaining power. A huge issue has to be illegal immigrant population that largely competes for low wage positions -- I've heard it's estimated about 15 million but could be as high as double that. Absolutely staggering numbers in either case and being concentrated in the supply of low skill labor it hits the most disadvantaged Americans including minorities hardest unfortunately. I know it's verboten to speak about now, but even champions of labor and the disadvantaged such as Sanders talked about the problem before Trump sent everyone off the rails (and/or the corporatists completed their capture of the left-wing side of politics).
Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre
#250“The strongest months are always during tax refund season, so late fall usually represents the lull in the market…”
I’m sure this isn’t the full explanation, but the IRS is so messed up this year that this is tax refund season. I didn’t get my refund until a month ago, and my accountant says many others have waited this long.