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US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans

theguardian.com

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Re: US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans

#151

Post by potato3732842 »

hyghjiyhu wrote: post #12
arjvik wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if you don't properly invest in the maintenance of the thing For me, it's not the money that's annoying (though of course I'm not pleased by the bills every once in a while). It's the amount of time it takes to keep a car maintained! Seems like just yesterday I took a whole day remote to sit at the mechanics shop for a tire change, but now I have to do the same for an oil change! For this precise reason I end up do…

I haven't done it myself but isn't a tire change suppose to be pretty easy thing to do, certainly better than sitting the whole day in the shop?

It's a real bitch with spoons.

Tire machines from china are getting better and cheaper all the time, but balancers are still expensive.

Re: US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans

#152

Post by wqaatwt »

mgh95 wrote: post #70
epistasis wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The value of the dollar has already plummeted, 10% or so this year. It's expected that 2026 will have an equal dollar devaluation. This is the best-possible interpretation of the goals of this administration, the so-called Mar-a-Lago Accord that is somehow supposed to help some part of the economy. It's unclear who or how, to me.

> The value of the dollar has already plummeted, 10% or so this year. Compared to what? From Nov 3, 2024: the USD against: GBP (3)% JPY (1.7)% EUR (6.7)% INR 4.6% AUD 1.3% CAD .74% RMB .4% The EUR (if that is what you are going by) is unusually strong, and that's actually starting to cause issues. But the dollar isn't "collapsing".

> The EUR (if that is what you are going by) is unusually strong

By what standards? It’s slightly above the trend (i.e. continuous decline since 2008 with an occasional up and down here and the) but not that substantially

Re: US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans

#153

Post by potato3732842 »

MegaDeKay wrote: post #54
maxerickson wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usually it involves swapping the new tires onto the rims. It's not easy to do.

Plus balancing the new tires on those rims, and next to nobody has the gear to do that.

A $50 static balancer will do good enough for new tires in reasonable sizes.

You wanna take used half worn tires and put it on bent rims and make it come out ok, you need a digital balancer to make that not suck.

Re: US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans

#154

Post by qwerpy »

technion wrote: post #77
conception wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is my favorite thing about getting an EV; effectively zero maintenance except for tires.

I keep seeing this argument but I think about whats broken in my ice over the years: brakes, control arms, struts, suspension springs. You get a pass on gearbox but as a genuine question, do these usual mechanical problems that have nothing to do with the engine jist not happen on EVs?

My Model Y had to have its front control arms replaced after 4 years, it was squeaking really loud when turning. That's the only part that needed to be fixed so far, and at $250 it didn't exactly break the bank. There's the other stuff like wiper replacement and rotating/replacing tires which still have to be done. Much better than the regular $500+ annual maintenance with occasional $1000+ repair that my Honda Civic required. And that was a relatively cheap ICE to maintain.

Re: US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans

#155

Post by jrs235 »

kristianp wrote: post #112
ookblah wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

we learned our lessons from 2008 and 2020. my random thoughts 1) money has nowhere else go for now 2) great wealth transfer = really doesn't matter as long as the super rich can keep inflating their wealth faster than us peons. if you are above that curve just stay ahead of it at all costs. 3) prolonged pain can be extended indefinitely for most people by keeping them perpetual renters / extending loan terms. 4) all…

> if you are above that curve Is it possible to know if you're above 'that' curve? Does above the curve mean your assets are increasing in value faster than inflation?

I think to be above the curve requires being the first to receive the freshly printed money to buy more assets before they inflate further. You need to be first to benefit... So grift off the government contracts that lead/cause more printing.

Re: US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans

#156

Post by chneu »

autoexec wrote: post #127

This goes way beyond the high price of cars or people taking out loans with bad terms. Americans are struggling all over. Rent is skyrocketing. Inflation is applying massive pressure on regular expenses. Household debt is at an all time high. People all over the country are struggling to keep their utilities connected as energy prices soar. Foreclosures are surging. Individual chapter 7 bankruptcy filings are up 15%…

And yet Americans are door dashing more than ever and financing everything imaginable.

Not saying citizens deserve this but we eagerly gobble up every excuse possible and then complain that our lifestyles aren't sustainable.

The typical American lifestyle is based around excess. It's no surprise that a nation who spends 3x more on unnecessary garbage than any other nation is struggling financially as climate change makes that excess more expensive.

We do this to ourselves with our pride/ego fixation and our endless excuses for why someone else should fix things or someone else is responsible for it.

We don't vote. We don't think critically. We don't do the hard work to benefit our society long term. We buy into every possible excuse.

Re: US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans

#157

Post by kulahan »

jeffbee wrote: post #87
kulahan wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does anyone else hate busses, and the only response you ever get after mentioning this is "NUH UH BUSSES CAN BE GREAT"? A bus will pretty much always be inferior to a car. Mathematically impossible to run on time. It never gets you where you want to go, just kinda close usually. If one doesn't show up, there is no real feedback without an extensive background metadata system. Never as clean as your own car (unless yo…

Nobody denies that if we all chip in to build a door-to-door freeway and free parking for you it will be cool for you. The question is whether we have better things to do with our money.

Than spending it upending the entire transportation infrastructure when we have much more pressing problems? Then I agree.

If you think buying a whole bunch of busses is going to solve some major problem... I have a bridge to add to your purchase.

Re: US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans

#158

Post by jltsiren »

mgh95 wrote: post #140
jltsiren wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see any evidence that EUR is particularly strong against USD. Except maybe if you take a very short-term perspective. There is always some volatility in exchange rates, and export businesses that cannot tolerate 10% swings in either direction are not viable in the first place.

> I don't see any evidence that EUR is particularly strong against USD. Except maybe if you take a very short-term perspective. Yes; this is a short term perspective. Europe is functionally an export market and these currency fluctuations hurt badly. For example, Mercedes-Benz had a consolidated profit margin in '22 of around 9%. These swings do either force loss of jobs (bad) or require a devaluation of the currency…

Europe was also an export market in the past. Back in early 2002, 1 EUR was worth less than 0.9 USD. Then it started climbing rapidly and reached a peak of 1.6 USD in mid-2008.

The value of money is inherently unpredictable. The exchange rate between EUR and USD has never been stable longer than about 1.5 years. Something unexpected always happens, and then the rate goes up or down by 10% or even more. You either tolerate that or try protecting yourself with various financial instruments.

Re: US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans

#159

Post by mgh95 »

wqaatwt wrote: post #152
mgh95 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The value of the dollar has already plummeted, 10% or so this year. Compared to what? From Nov 3, 2024: the USD against: GBP (3)% JPY (1.7)% EUR (6.7)% INR 4.6% AUD 1.3% CAD .74% RMB .4% The EUR (if that is what you are going by) is unusually strong, and that's actually starting to cause issues. But the dollar isn't "collapsing".

> The EUR (if that is what you are going by) is unusually strong By what standards? It’s slightly above the trend (i.e. continuous decline since 2008 with an occasional up and down here and the) but not that substantially

It's substantial for the eurozone economy, namely their exporters. The machinery sector in particular is under major pressure as a result of the stronger euro.

Re: US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans

#160

Post by chneu »

kotaKat wrote: post #144
olyjohn wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah the average is high, that means there are cars cheaper than that. People are spending big because they either are doing no researchand getting suckered, or they are buying nicer cars for vanity reasons.

No, the average is high because we've lost a lot of our cheap 'new' cars. 10 years ago you could go onto a lot and buy a brand new Dodge Dart for around $17,000. Today, the cheapest Dodge is a Hornet SUV/CUV for $31,000+; the cheapest Jeep is $27,000. We just don't have new car choices under $20k -- we're all forced into extremely high loans for 'new', or extremely screwed rates for 'used'.

Because people buy them.

Americans are really dumb and do next to no research on most purchases. I know several people who think that's a waste of time. The best that a lot of folks can do is a YouTube video.

Throw money at the problem. Learn nothing. Complain when things go bad.

That's what a ton of Americans do now and it's wild seeing it as often as I do. There was recently that Ars article that looked at a study showing how bad anti-intellectualism in this country has become. Being dumb is now a sort of prideful thing for a lot of Americans.

It's real weird.

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