Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not merely an issue of obtaining materially desirable consumer goods though; lots of folks get car loans because they can't afford to buy a car, even a cheap car, without one. So it's either, don't get a car and give up a lot of opportunities or hope you live in a place with decent public transit (which is not a given in many places in the US)
> lots of folks get car loans because they can't afford to buy a car, even a cheap car, without one. Then they shouldn’t get a new car, full stop. Older used cars can be perfectly serviceable with some research into lemon patterns and a pre-purchase inspection by a trusted mechanic. I have found the vlogger Car Wizard to be particularly accurate in his assessments of which used vehicles are great buys and which ones…
Re: The $25k car is going extinct?
#1001They didn’t say “new car”, just “car”. You can get a loan for a used car as well. In almost all places in the US, a car is a requirement for daily living. You cannot go to work, get food, or do anything else without one. None of this is about “a new shiny” (what an awful phrase by the way), it’s about being able to survive at all.