New Car Prices: I don't get it?!?

[ca.detailchick]

Yes i'm with you on that, it enhances the image of your business a lot and adds value. I've had potential customers comment on how i should drive a newer vehicle or something with better paint. I've never been one to care about driving the latest and shiniest(in an ego kind of way), but it looks like for the sake of my business i might have to bite the bullet. I really want a brand new Scion XB, i could see it being a great daily driver as well and if i'm able to fit everything i need in my '98 corolla, i'm sure the XB will allow for much better accommodation of my equipment/products.

I recall seeing a thread where you were thinking about an XB , did you ever end up getting one? or did you stick to an SUV/Truck?

I looked at the Scion and brought a tape measure and found my ladders were too long and my vacume cleaner too big and difficult to hoist up into the Scion.

I have a Sienna van that works perfectly for a detailing business with sliding doors on both sides . I took the 3 middle seats out and the rear ones fold into the trunk area.

One thing about the Scion XB I did not like is the way the windows dont give as much visibility as I like But the price was good!

 

[ca.detailchick]

I too have always assumed that the prices are viable because people don't really "own" their vehicles very often these days.

Eh, whatever turns your crank...I also ASSume that people do the math and make rational decisions.



Now there's a sentiment ya don't run across every day, at least not here at Autopia!

My wife feels the same way about her A8. She'd still be happily driving her '94 S4 had it not gotten rear-ended in a huge way.

I'm *almost* at the same point...all the newer/"better" vehicles have "features" that I'd simply *HATE* to have, even if I can disable them (and some stuff just can't be).

Yes this is more for practical reasons then emotions or desires. I only drive about 6 thousand miles a year so this van could last me many many years!

Also I take pristine care of my vehicles and want to reap the benefits!

Even if I could afford a new car every few years I wouldnt want to waste my money that way !

 

[SYMAWD]

You lease. Where I work, 70% of our sales are leases.

 

[Ronkh]

My first car was 1975 Pontiac Grand am (not like the later grand am's, tis was a real car)
Fully loaded
Tax Lic delivered in NYC $5000.00

 

[jfelbab]

I agree with everybody here today if you want a fully loaded 6 cylinder car it will cost close to $40,000 and a suv close to $45,000-$50,000. And these cars are not mid to high end luxury cars these are Chevy and Kia. It appears the average car now a days is out of reach for the average guy or gal without going into to major debt. It looks a certified used car for many is the best way to go. it realy boggles the mind to see some of these prices when fully loaded. I think manufacturers think we all make 6 figures.

You can buy a new (2015) Lexus RX 350, very well equipped (premium package BSM, Nav, etc) for $45-46k. Who would pay that kind of money for a Chevy or Kia?

 

[Nutbread]

I think most people lease. Then they have creative financing to make people buy vehicles thst they cant afford. 70 k for a new pickup? There is still old guys around that bought nice big farms with that much money. And dont even get me started on the quality of these new vehicles. Oops, I put quality and new vehicles in the same sentence. I dont get it either, but then again I don't have to have the latest and greatest like most people do.

I couldn't disagree more about quality. I can remember when it was a major milestone to hit 100,000 miles, now it is nothing. Anyone remember the 70's? Rust, paint and bumpers that faded differently, 200hp Corvettes with 3-speed Hydramatics, freezing your kiester off sitting in a cold car nursing the throttle until it warms up enough to stay running?

IMNSHO cars have never been better or more reliable. I can't remember the last time I prayed that my car would start on a cold morning.ray: And they achieve this level of reliability despite being unimaginably more complex than cars of the past.

 

[Migue]

You can buy a new (2015) Lexus RX 350, very well equipped (premium package BSM, Nav, etc) for $45-46k. Who would pay that kind of money for a Chevy or Kia?

I see it the same way, seeing a Kia or Huyndai go over $30k is ridiculous to me as well as some Ford and Chevy vehicles. IMO anything passes the $30k mark, i might as well go with an MB or Lexus if i'm going to pay that much. I blame it on all these bells and whistles that get added to mark the prices up while they're still selling you a turd. I don't want a vehicle with tons of crap that is designed to fail sooner than later on purpose. It's like these refrigerators nowadays with touchscreens that allow you to check your social media websites.....really??? It won't be long before cars come equipped standard with a selfie stick popping out of the center console or some crap like that.

 

[House of Wax]

I couldn't disagree more about quality. I can remember when it was a major milestone to hit 100,000 miles, now it is nothing. Anyone remember the 70's? Rust, paint and bumpers that faded differently, 200hp Corvettes with 3-speed Hydramatics, freezing your kiester off sitting in a cold car nursing the throttle until it warms up enough to stay running?

IMNSHO cars have never been better or more reliable. I can't remember the last time I prayed that my car would start on a cold morning.ray: And they achieve this level of reliability despite being unimaginably more complex than cars of the past.

Completely agree with this. I think the difference is (which alters people's perception) there are more gizmos on vehicles which increases the chance for something to go wrong and everything on cars is more difficult to work on than they used to be. Also with the Internet and the media you're more exposed to issues with vehicles.

 

[Migue]

It'd be awesome if every new vehicle came with a simple version without the gizmos and unnecessary junk that causes more problems, and then add all those things as an option to those willing to pay for it. It's like little by little we're being left with no option but to get all these things we don't want in new vehicles that we know will cause us more headaches down the road.....sad.

They could call it "The Standard Vehicle Package" (without gizmos) , and "The YOLO Package"(with all gizmos)

 

[House of Wax]

I hear ya. When my wife and I were recently looking at Expeditions, we went to ford's site to "build" one just out of curiosity. It was beyond irritating to get a few options we wanted you could only get them with equipment packages full of stuff we didn't need that drove the price of the vehicle up thousands of dollars.

 

[yg1829]

Hey guys and gals. Sorry this is my first post. I haven't done an introduction post but I had to chime in. This is a great thread.

Vehicles do cost way to much. It's truly ludicrous. At the moment I lease. I have a 2014 gmc sierra. I'm actually pretty excited about the lease for a bunch of reasons. I don't look at it like I'm accepting a car payment for the rest of my life. I could easily go buy a cheaper used vehicle and pay it off in a couple years.

I only had a late model Tahoe for trade and they gave me 1500 for it. Could I have got more selling it...sure but the difference wasn't worth the hassle. I was looking at buying an 09 with 40,000 miles on it. I would have had to take payments out to 5 years to be able to afford it. Luckily a family friend is the salesman I deal with. Great guy. He said I could lease a brand new truck for an extra $30 a month. Sounds like a no brainer for me. They even pay for all the maintenance for two of the three years. I live in upstate new York so rust is a huge problem. By the time I payed off the 09 there wouldn't be much left of it and that's very discouraging. It's the main reason I don't want to buy a brand new truck. I've seen year old vehicles here with the wheel wells bubbling and rust poking out. How can I justify a huge payment with not much to show for after I own it.

Now in three years I can give it back and have something new to play with. I feel like newer vehicles are obviously much safer and that makes me feel better when the family is in the truck.

Later in life...who know maybe I'll buy a beater DD. And then actually buy a new summer vehicle that I own.

Everybody has different reasons to lease or buy but the bottom line is they are all too expensive. Just wanted to share my story. Thanks for reading.



Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Ronkh]

How Old People Became the Future of the U.S. Auto Industry

 

[Oldfordisbetter]

I couldn't disagree more about quality. I can remember when it was a major milestone to hit 100,000 miles, now it is nothing. Anyone remember the 70's? Rust, paint and bumpers that faded differently, 200hp Corvettes with 3-speed Hydramatics, freezing your kiester off sitting in a cold car nursing the throttle until it warms up enough to stay running?

IMNSHO cars have never been better or more reliable. I can't remember the last time I prayed that my car would start on a cold morning.ray: And they achieve this level of reliability despite being unimaginably more complex than cars of the past.

Totally get what your saying. Its just that at least you could work on the older models. These new ones? You dont stand a chance. have to take it to the dealerships. Where they overcharge you even when they dont know what they are doing. Its driving all the small guys out of business. And as far as safety, sure the new ones are safer, but they better be when they have 10 airbags. Oh and dont forget when these these 10 speed transmissions start to go out. Can't imagine those are gona be a cheap fix. So back to your point, yes new cars are better than ever as far as reliability. But I firmly believe they are becoming more disposable now than ever before.

 

[Nutbread]

Totally get what your saying. Its just that at least you could work on the older models. These new ones? You dont stand a chance. have to take it to the dealerships. Where they overcharge you even when they dont know what they are doing. Its driving all the small guys out of business. And as far as safety, sure the new ones are safer, but they better be when they have 10 airbags. Oh and dont forget when these these 10 speed transmissions start to go out. Can't imagine those are gona be a cheap fix. So back to your point, yes new cars are better than ever as far as reliability. But I firmly believe they are becoming more disposable now than ever before.

Speaking of disposability. I can see the day when cars become so complex, and emissions and fuel economy requirements get so stiff that the engines are effectively sealed. You buy (or more probably lease) the car, and if something goes wrong you turn it in and get a new one with the cost prorated by how much use you got out of the car. Kind of like the prorated warranty on tires and batteries. I'm probably nuts but....

 

[Lonnie]

Should the US government (we, the American people) bailed out the American car industry?? This is a good lesson in economics about business with government support. What would have happened had the car industries been allowed to go bankrupt? Would a foreign company bought them out?
It's not that the car industry is out of touch with American buyer; they are out of touch with the American worker, both within their plants and the customers they expect to buy these new vehicles. $75,000 for an new Z-28 Camaro? REALLY? I could afford one in the late 70's when they were $9,500; but not now when I do not make much more than I did 30 years ago. I think that's true for ALOT of working Americans who are still struggling since the Great Recession "recovery" has taken place. Many are working 2 jobs because of cut-back hours from companies to avoid the Affordable Health Care requirements or avoid paying benefits altogether.
You are also seeing the effects of "the government debt" and its unintended result of inflation. Don't tell me that cost-of-living expenses haven't started to out-pace small-growth (or zero-growth) wages. Despite much lower energy cost due to a foreign supply realization that America really could achieve less-dependence on foreign oil, it has not translated to the rest of the economy. Those in the related energy fields know all too well how it is starting to affect their financial situations. It is a great time for the consumer who uses (and pays for) that energy, but as stated previously, someone suffers the consequences of lower prices. It's pretty elementary economics.

So where does that leave those of us who detail for a living or even as a hobby or side-job?? Are you seeing more customers come in with older vehicles OR are car owners doing just enough to get by and avoiding the cost of good detail as being too expensive and unnecessary (at least in their opinion)? Or are car owners realizing that maybe they can make their older (and sometimes much older) car last a few years longer and make it look decent with a good detail?? How many new cars have you detailed in the last year, whether for profit or just for fun? You know the answer to that question better than I do.

 

[Nutbread]

Should the US government (we, the American people) bailed out the American car industry?? This is a good lesson in economics about business with government support. What would have happened had the car industries been allowed to go bankrupt? Would a foreign company bought them out?
It's not that the car industry is out of touch with American buyer; they are out of touch with the American worker, both within their plants and the customers they expect to buy these new vehicles. $75,000 for an new Z-28 Camaro? REALLY? I could afford one in the late 70's when they were $9,500; but not now when I do not make much more than I did 30 years ago. I think that's true for ALOT of working Americans who are still struggling since the Great Recession "recovery" has taken place. Many are working 2 jobs because of cut-back hours from companies to avoid the Affordable Health Care requirements or avoid paying benefits altogether.
You are also seeing the effects of "the government debt" and its unintended result of inflation. Don't tell me that cost-of-living expenses haven't started to out-pace small-growth (or zero-growth) wages. Despite much lower energy cost due to a foreign supply realization that America really could achieve less-dependence on foreign oil, it has not translated to the rest of the economy. Those in the related energy fields know all too well how it is starting to affect their financial situations. It is a great time for the consumer who uses (and pays for) that energy, but as stated previously, someone suffers the consequences of lower prices. It's pretty elementary economics.

So where does that leave those of us who detail for a living or even as a hobby or side-job?? Are you seeing more customers come in with older vehicles OR are car owners doing just enough to get by and avoiding the cost of good detail as being too expensive and unnecessary (at least in their opinion)? Or are car owners realizing that maybe they can make their older (and sometimes much older) car last a few years longer and make it look decent with a good detail?? How many new cars have you detailed in the last year, whether for profit or just for fun? You know the answer to that question better than I do.

The trouble is we bailed them out and they still went bankrupt. And Chrysler wound up in the hands of a foreign company again. I do believe there has to be a darn good reason before taxpayer's money is given to a private company, and that includes financial institutions.

 

[Oldfordisbetter]

The trouble is we bailed them out and they still went bankrupt. And Chrysler wound up in the hands of a foreign company again. I do believe there has to be a darn good reason before taxpayer's money is given to a private company, and that includes financial institutions.

If government would keep their fingers and our money out of stuff, it would all work out.

 

[4u2nvinmtl]

When I walked into the dealers looking for an SRT they all were talking 40-50K for used ones... I told them I had 30k cash (Canadian, worth less than USD) and a few hours later I was in a 09 Jeep SRT8 with 50,000KM (35,000 miles), that was over 3 years ago...

Note: The dealers wouldn't go lower than 35k if I didn't take the extended warranty so they got me on the extended warranty for $7k ($37k total before tax) but consumer protection got the extended warranty money back with interest ($7.8k) for me, because the dealer kept messing up on repairs and outright lied about the warranty.

Now I maintain it myself and I couldn't be happier!

 

[RaysWay]

What ever happened to those Nissan/Datsun concept cars? I remember they were receiving a lot of positive feedback since they were supposed to be priced low for a brand new car. If I remember correctly it was about ~$10,000 brand new?

 

[Migue]

wow, those look really nice IMO, i can see a retro look to them. I'd pay double that for one of these.