Car Discussion Part 2

I don't doubt this at all. I traded in my Explorer about 2 years ago. But I still get letters from services asking if I want to sell it. They have the information on my former vehicle from the public records. So they know how it is equipped and are estimating the mileage. The offers I am getting now are a couple of thousand more than what I got two years ago for that truck. And I thought I got a pretty good deal two years ago when I traded it in.

I'm somewhat shopping for a used vehicle right now. There is hardly any private listings and what is listed, the prices are insane for older high mileage vehicles.

I'll stick with my old cars for now until they are undrivable.

It’s crazy. I’m not walking into the a lions den dealership of a sellers market right now. They got you by the balls. Fuck that.

Just lightened my wallet by ~$2700 putting in a new PCM module (it had failed on I495-luckily I was able to limp home) and a new set of brake rotors on my 2006 Dodge Charger R/T with 150,000 miles on the clock.

There is just no other car I'd rather drive right now.

Yeah I've been looking around for a clean used van, preferably a cargo van or even a bigger suv to haul things that won't fit in my suv but people are asking unreal prices for junk. Unless I luck out and find a decent deal I will continue to bide my time.

I saw my first Ford Bronco Sport in the wild today. It's a sharp looking vehicle. My F150 is 9 years old, but still runs like a champ. I also had to do some unexpected hauling twice this weekend, and would have been fucked without the big bed and payload. I really like the new Ranger and am intrigued by the upcoming Maverick, but todays truck prices, like houses, are so fuxking inflated. Thanks, Uncle Joe!

This makes sense when considering the pandemic and the changes in the work life of many Americans.

I think the pandemic made folks think twice about certain large purchases. Many folks have held on to used cars longer.

If you aren’t commuting to your office each weekday - it will lessen your need for a vehicle - and it should help to keep your used vehicle miles lower.

Sadly, it seems hoarding is becoming more common. It may be a result of the early pandemic shortages of toilet paper and anti bacterial products. The recent pipeline outage showed that folks will hoard gasoline - even though it isn’t a safe practice.

I hope folks become less inclined to hoard things as we begin to emerge from the pandemic.

The car thing is possibly a return to a more reasonable understanding of a vehicle’s worth. Leasing may have driven too many folks to get a new car every few years - and their old cars were still very nice.

Until the supply of microchips needed for new cars is back used car prices are gonna stay crazy. I just helped my son with about $500 repairs on his just to be a bit more preventative and hope he can hold having to buy for a while.

I honestly believe that if your parents or grandparents (in my case) lived through the Dustbowl and Great Depression, you might have noticed they hoarded quite a bit, and their fridge/freezer were always packed.

Then boomers, Gen x, and milennials grew up in an age of plenty and everything on-demand. Suddenly, for a year, you couldn't buy toiletries and cleaning supplies without driving 200 miles and maxing out your credit cards. That has been followed by catastrophic inflation plus job and housing insecurities. The impact on our national culture and generational paradigms is still ongoing.

I wonder if we will even recognize the landscape when thenduat settles.

I agree Gammanu95. It will be interesting to see the long term effects on folks.

I think about folks who lived through the Great Depression as well. I remember older relatives taking sugar packets home from the diner.

That could explain the Seinfeld episode about retirees stealing batteries, too.