Americans can't afford their cars any more and Wall Street is worried
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Re: Americans can't afford their cars any more and Wall Street is worried
#2Previously: "US car repossessions surge as more Americans default on auto loans"
3 days ago | 237 comments
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45622157
Re: Americans can't afford their cars any more and Wall Street is worried
#3I’ve seen some crazy stories on YouTube about people trading in cars they’re already underwater on just to finance an even more expensive one. I can’t understand why banks keep lending money for deals like that.
Re: Americans can't afford their cars any more and Wall Street is worried
#4I use the Loud Muffler Index for judging the economy. Traffic gets louder when working people are under financial stress. It's easily measurable.
Re: Americans can't afford their cars any more and Wall Street is worried
#5I’ve seen some crazy stories on YouTube about people trading in cars they’re already underwater on just to finance an even more expensive one. I can’t understand why banks keep lending money for deals like that.
Well hey it’s not like subprime loans ever got us in trouble
Re: Americans can't afford their cars any more and Wall Street is worried
#6I’ve seen some crazy stories on YouTube about people trading in cars they’re already underwater on just to finance an even more expensive one. I can’t understand why banks keep lending money for deals like that.
Nothing new there.
My childhood friend's brother has gone through so many new cars I lost track, and never paid off a single one of those loans. We're talking a pattern that began in the late 90s with this guy.
He now lives out of a truck that's.... wait for it, not paid for!
"There's one born every minute"
Re: Americans can't afford their cars any more and Wall Street is worried
#7I’ve seen some crazy stories on YouTube about people trading in cars they’re already underwater on just to finance an even more expensive one. I can’t understand why banks keep lending money for deals like that.
Because it’s profitable even after losses, from some combination of origination fees and yield.
(at least until the credit cycle turns)
Re: Americans can't afford their cars any more and Wall Street is worried
#8I’ve seen some crazy stories on YouTube about people trading in cars they’re already underwater on just to finance an even more expensive one. I can’t understand why banks keep lending money for deals like that.
It's in the bank's best interest to have constant revenue stream, even if that means destroying lives.
Cars keep their value much better than, say, houses.
Re: Americans can't afford their cars any more and Wall Street is worried
#9I’ve seen some crazy stories on YouTube about people trading in cars they’re already underwater on just to finance an even more expensive one. I can’t understand why banks keep lending money for deals like that.
It's in the bank's best interest to have constant revenue stream, even if that means destroying lives. Cars keep their value much better than, say, houses.
What!? Houses degrade but the land it sits on usually appreciates faster.
Re: Americans can't afford their cars any more and Wall Street is worried
#10I use the Loud Muffler Index for judging the economy. Traffic gets louder when working people are under financial stress. It's easily measurable.
I wonder if there's a way you could directly correlate this to profits. Like if you could buy or short VOO or SPY or VTI based on muffler noise.