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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

#181

Post by acdha »

Izikiel43 wrote: post #71
jeffbee wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine having a credit score of 300 and a $542/mo loan payment on a used car. Cursed. Americans need buses more than ever.

I live in a city with lots of buses, they are great. The problem is that they are neuropsychiatric units on wheels, there is always some crazy person being clinically crazy (like talking to imaginary friends), so that makes the whole ride something you don't want to experience often if possible.

We take the bus all of the time here in DC. I’ve literally never once encountered someone like that.

I’ve been panhandled a couple of times (in as many decades) and there’ve been a few people yelling at each other, but they left everyone alone.

On the driving front, though, I’ve had a bunch of people with anger management issues threaten to kill me and the only times in my adult life that I’ve credibly been threatened with a fistfight were by people driving who resented being expected to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. The bus crowd is a lot more chill.

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

#182

Post by jjav »

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 value of the dollar has already plummeted, 10% or so this year.

> Compared to what?

In terms of the DXY "US Dollar Index"

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DX-Y.NYB/

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

#183

Post by supertrope »

potato3732842 wrote: post #111
dijit wrote: post #2

It's an extremely inconvenient situation that Americans find themselves in, a sort of self-perpetuating cycle of car dependency that they reinforce because alternatives require far too much investment to make worthwhile. I'm really glad that I can live in a city without having to own a car if I don't want to. It makes a significant difference to my monthly expenses. And, honestly, it's a lot nicer and feels a lot mor…

Being on the bottom rungs is actually a lot cheaper than "HN style" car ownership. Nobody expects your shitbox to be legal, or have compliant papers all the time. You're blue collar so you know people who wrench and trade favors here and there. Boss expects you to be late a few times a month. There's a "welfare cliff" when you try to get into a "must have reliable transportation" job though

Lower end jobs tend to be unforgiving on not planting your butt in seat at the scheduled time. I find the higher end your job the less BS you are forced to endure. e.g. No drug tests, no doctor's note to justify sick leave. If there's a layoff there's severance. Flex time.

There are some accommodations for poor drivers. Politicians loath to raise fuel tax. This shifts costs of roads from drivers onto general taxpayers. Car insurance limits are the same as in the 1970s. This shifts cost of accidents from poor drivers onto accident victims who are not fully compensated. Emissions testing and safety testing is either not done at all or waived for drivers who claim hardship.

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

#184

Post by acdha »

micromacrofoot wrote: post #43

Also worth noting the average new car is now $50k and the average new car loan is $40k+ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/10/17/50000-new... Starting to find out the risks of a car-centric society in a slow-burn economic crisis.

A lot of that is that Americans are buying trucks, not cars. It’s easy to stay under $30k with a sedan, but a sizable group of people think they need the image of driving a full-sized pickup truck to the office and each 7 year loan on an $80k truck is going to drive the average up, not to mention leaving the buyer more cash-strapped due to the higher operating costs.

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

#185

Post by kulahan »

hamdingers wrote: post #164
kulahan wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

You have severe misanthropy you need to work out in therapy. The possibility of encountering elderly people or children on your commute should not invoke this kind of reaction and it's weird that's the first place your mind went. The answer is no, I do not mind people coming and going on the bus because I am a normal human. Not that your example is realistic anyway, I can't think of a time in the last few years any p…

Gotta love these armchair psychologists who have no clue what they’re talking about. You made a whole psychological profile because I… came up with an example. Physically painful to have to converse in scenarios like this.

The fact that you think “transportation for people who explicitly cannot drive” is not a major draw of public transit, you’re crazy.

But of course, when you start from “I love the bus” and work backwards, I guess you weren’t interested in arguing honestly from the beginning, right?

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

#186

Post by Izikiel43 »

jeffbee wrote: post #90
Izikiel43 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a city with lots of buses, they are great. The problem is that they are neuropsychiatric units on wheels, there is always some crazy person being clinically crazy (like talking to imaginary friends), so that makes the whole ride something you don't want to experience often if possible.

Eh, that discourse is usually being advanced by people who never ride the bus, don't intend to start riding it, and have a personal interest in selling you a car. In real transit preference surveys, and historical outcomes, it is clear that people would ride a bus that goes to their destinations, comes often and reliably, and is reasonably priced, without regard to how many mental cases are aboard. So if a transit ag…

I'm from a 3rd world country who rode the bus everyday to everywhere.

Me and my wife don't feel safe riding the bus in the West Coast of the USA.

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

#187

Post by Izikiel43 »

acdha wrote: post #181
Izikiel43 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a city with lots of buses, they are great. The problem is that they are neuropsychiatric units on wheels, there is always some crazy person being clinically crazy (like talking to imaginary friends), so that makes the whole ride something you don't want to experience often if possible.

We take the bus all of the time here in DC. I’ve literally never once encountered someone like that. I’ve been panhandled a couple of times (in as many decades) and there’ve been a few people yelling at each other, but they left everyone alone. On the driving front, though, I’ve had a bunch of people with anger management issues threaten to kill me and the only times in my adult life that I’ve credibly been threatene…

> We take the bus all of the time here in DC.

Right, now try the same in Seattle and take a bus going to 3rd avenue in Downtown. I've also tried it in SF, it's not nice.

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

#188

Post by raw_anon_1111 »

Esophagus4 wrote: post #174
raw_anon_1111 wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with old junkers is that if you don’t have the money in cash, how do you fix a major car repair? You can get a loan for a new car with money. The car “generates income” because it allows you to get to work and hopefully make more than your car note.

You can also take out a loan from a credit union for the repair bill on your older car. Or even putting it on a credit card is an option. A $3k repair loan is a lot easier to pay off than a $30k new car loan. A lot of the people I know try to justify “new car fever” and will use some version of “I don’t feel safe in it anymore” or “I don’t think I can trust it.”

It’s a lot easier to get a secured loan for a car than an unsecured loan depending on your credit.

I’ve only had new car fever once. When I was 25 and bought my second car - a Mustang in 1999. I drove my Mercury Tracer that my parents bought me in 1991 as a junior in high school.

But that car was wrecked in 2008. I gave my next car - a Honda Civic - to my step son in 2014 and my next car after that - a 2012 Chevy Sonic bought slightly used from CarMax in 2020 when I started working remotely and we went down to one car.

But I would still much rather by a cheap newish car that I don’t have to worry about than a beater that might put me down or more importantly my wife.

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

#189

Post by _heimdall »

supertrope wrote: post #170
_heimdall wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The standard recommendation of taking out sent so you can invest your money and "make it work for you" frustrates me to no end. Yes, on paper I can accrue more wealth if I mortgage my house and invest that same amount elsewhere. No, I would not trade owning a house outright for having a house that will be taken from me if I can no longer pay, strict insurance requirements, and a pile of someone else's debt that I cal…

I don't think gp comment is advocating doing a cash out re-finance, but to exploit leverage when first financing the purchase. I used to be very debt averse. Owing a six figure sum seemed like a huge burden. Now I understand that mortgagees are non-callable. If you put 20% down that removes a lot of risk of being underwater. Fannie Mae is eating inflation risk for you. It's a way of smoothing expenses over multiple l…

Respectfully, you're effectively describing the argument I take issue with.

> Now I understand that mortgagees are non-callable.

How are you defining non-callable? If you stop paying on your mortgage that sent will eventually be called and you will be kicked out.

> If you put 20% down that removes a lot of risk of being underwater

That removes the risk of being underwater for any market correction sub-20%. Real estate prices in any areas have grown more than that ovwr the last few years, the risk of a 20%+ correction is on the table.

> With a 30 year mortgage you can get a smaller payment

And a 40 year loan would be even smaller. Where do we draw the line, and why? 30 year loans weren't always the norm, you don't have to go too far back to find an average mortgage on 10 or 15 year loans.

> When you're older you're earning more, might be an empty nester, and inflation has made each payment easier.

Income doesn't always move up, and inflation only makes payment easier if you (a) secured a fixed rate loan and (b) stay in the same home long term.

> By not rushing to pay off low interest debt you've effectively transferred money from 50 year old you to 30 year old you.

Or if it doesn't work out, 30 year old you has a home at the expense of 35 year old you.

> If you stayed employed

That's a big if, and you not only need to stay employed, you need wages to at least keep up with true inflation. Your 401k won't matter until you are at an age where you can withdraw, or we have another pandemic-style response where we allow people to cash in 401ks without the early withdrawal fees.

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

#190

Post by mgh95 »

jjav wrote: post #182
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 value of the dollar has already plummeted, 10% or so this year. > Compared to what? In terms of the DXY "US Dollar Index" https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DX-Y.NYB/

The dixie is weighted heavily towards the Euro (~58% weight). The euro is enough to move the index independently of other movers.
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