84-Month Auto Loans Are Becoming More Common Because People Can't Stop Buying Trucks

[Lazarus]

I havent read all of the replies but heres my take on why we're seeing 84 month terms. The prices of vehicles are going up and people need to be able to afford it. Leasing got people accustom to being able to afford a cheaper monthly note on a more expensive vehicle than if they were to purchase it. However those same people are the ones that go way over miles on their lease and end up buying it at the end. So you got someone that leased the car for 3 years, and now is going to buy it and finance it for 5 years. Now if that same person could have just brought it in the beginning at 84 months and could have had the same payment they would rather do that. I sold cars in the early 2000s and I've seen spiel spewed so many different ways to get people into something they had no business getting themselves into.

Personally I haven't had a car payment in 4 years or so but I'm getting the itch to buy something. For a long time I only brought new cars but buying used is where its at. You wouldnt believe the depreciation on something like a Mercedes, because you think they are good German luxury cars but they are one of the worst. Never buy a new one. Tacomas on the other hand I'd rather buy new, they hold there value crazy and I dont think its worth it to buy used.


On interest rates: They are so low right now its practically free money. Someone mentioned double digit interest rates on mortgages in the past and its true. If you have a steady job and aren't having to alter your lifestyle to afford a car payment I say go ahead. I'm oppose to having a payment but I'm not going to NOT order an appetizer or go on vacation to make it.

 

[spencer60]

Growing up we always had the cheapest cars that would do the job. The only 'luxury' car we ever had was the old Mercedes my Dad rebuilt from a wreck, and even that got traded in on a VW bus when us kids got bigger.

That just doesn't seem to happen anymore. No matter how much car people need they end up going for the top of the line and paying a ridiculous premium for it. Manufacturers respond by loading features onto even the base models, and the whole market just ratchets itself upward.

 

[roscoe1911]

I remember the 60's and 70's when the chevy dealership would have to special order my Daddy's trucks because he would not have ac.

 

[Lazarus]

Growing up we always had the cheapest cars that would do the job. The only 'luxury' car we ever had was the old Mercedes my Dad rebuilt from a wreck, and even that got traded in on a VW bus when us kids got bigger.

That just doesn't seem to happen anymore. No matter how much car people need they end up going for the top of the line and paying a ridiculous premium for it. Manufacturers respond by loading features onto even the base models, and the whole market just ratchets itself upward.

Need is subjective. Nowadays people are spending A LOT more time in their vehicles and so they want creature comforts. Do you need bluetooth or XM or a backup camera or blind spot monitors? No but its nice to have and some of those safe features have saved people a lot of money in accident repairs.

 

[rOmiLaYu]

$1,100 per month for a bike? I'm getting the vapors over here just thinking about that.

I'm right there with you. I can't even get my mind around how that's possible....and on an 84-month note??!! What does that come out to be, like, a $50K bike?

 

[spencer60]

Need is subjective. Nowadays people are spending A LOT more time in their vehicles and so they want creature comforts. Do you need bluetooth or XM or a backup camera or blind spot monitors? No but its nice to have and some of those safe features have saved people a lot of money in accident repairs.

I agree with what you're saying. It's very easy to look at a car you will be spending hours in every day and justify it as a mobile home-away-from-home rather than transportation. Add in some kids to justify all the various safety features cars have now, and you are suddenly in the $60K range or higher for a vehicle.

It's just this race for the top seems to have left the low-end buyer out of options. I wonder if you can even buy a car with manual window cranks or no AC anymore?

 

[GeauxLSU]

It's just this race for the top seems to have left the low-end buyer out of options. I wonder if you can even buy a car with manual window cranks or no AC anymore?

They exist, but not many of them. https://www.cars.com/articles/yes-you-can-still-buy-a-new-car-with-manual-windows-1420682584259/

 

[BangBang]

I wonder if you can even buy a car with manual window cranks or no AC anymore?

Why in God’s name would anybody in Georgia WANT a car without A/C?

 

[GeauxLSU]

Why in God’s name would anybody in Georgia WANT a car without A/C?

A woman in my scripture study group drives a truck WITH A/C, but she refuses to use it, even when driving her grandson in the dead of summer. Says it's a "waste" and it makes children "soft". I wouldn't want to be on her bad side.

 

[BangBang]

A woman in my scripture study group drives a truck WITH A/C, but she refuses to use it, even when driving her grandson in the dead of summer. Says it's a "waste" and it makes children "soft". I wouldn't want to be on her bad side.

That lady is HARD CORE!

I’m an admitted tightwad and the A/C hasn’t worked in my car in YEARS but the older I get, the more I’m considering spending the money to fix it.

Seems like these Georgia summers keep getting hotter and hotter.