A lot of people have too much car for their needs. Big Child Car Seat is definitely driving some of the growth of vehicles, as is quite reasonably priced gas, but I feel most people could go smaller/used and afford what they actually NEED vs WANT.
Cars are so expensive that buyers need seven-year loans
51–56 of 56 posts
Re: Cars are so expensive that buyers need seven-year loans
#52A lot of people have too much car for their needs. Big Child Car Seat is definitely driving some of the growth of vehicles, as is quite reasonably priced gas, but I feel most people could go smaller/used and afford what they actually NEED vs WANT.
From my friend's search "three child car seats in the back" were rather exhausting experience.
Re: Cars are so expensive that buyers need seven-year loans
#53Cars last longer now, so this may not be as bad as it sounds. The real issue is whether people are ending up underwater on their vehicles - that is, are loan lengths increasing faster than depreciation curves are flattening.
Do they really? I've seen plenty of surveys that say American consumers are _keeping_ their passenger cars for longer and longer periods (12.8 years in 2025 https://www.spglobal.com/automotive-insights/en/blogs/2025/0... ) But is there any study that says the components or designs are needing less repairs or are getting cheaper to maintain over that 12.8 year period as opposed to, say, an econobox sedan from 2005? Is…
I was just speaking off the cuff, mostly based on anecdata and facts like the survey you linked to. I am not sure about the truth, and you make a good point that simple repairs have gotten more expensive.
Re: Cars are so expensive that buyers need seven-year loans
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Cars last longer now Honda from 2005 could last 10 years in Quebec and Honda from 2015 could last 10 years. I don't have huge stats, but it seems that cars are about as reliable today as they were 20 years ago. I didn't notice them to be more reliable.
particularly honda hybrids are simpler and more reliable than ice versions, so probably will last longer.
How is it possible that a hybrid, which contains an ICE, is simpler than just an ICE?
Re: Cars are so expensive that buyers need seven-year loans
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
particularly honda hybrids are simpler and more reliable than ice versions, so probably will last longer.
How is it possible that a hybrid, which contains an ICE, is simpler than just an ICE?
honda hybrids don't have transmission, ICE generates power which feeds electrical motor, which is much simpler and reliable tech, and because battery buffers power, ICE works in much more low stress mode too, it doesn't need to produce power peaks to accelerate.
Re: Cars are so expensive that buyers need seven-year loans
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is it possible that a hybrid, which contains an ICE, is simpler than just an ICE?
honda hybrids don't have transmission, ICE generates power which feeds electrical motor, which is much simpler and reliable tech, and because battery buffers power, ICE works in much more low stress mode too, it doesn't need to produce power peaks to accelerate.
Makes sense to me. I remembered hybrids degrading to a regular transmission when the battery was low. Sounds like if the battery were drained the ICE goes straight into electricity generation?