Nerevar, what do you need a car for? You have all the siltstriders in the world at your disposal. Here, take the keys to Juan Angelito. He’s my favorite.
bro, capitalism is going to cram you into a pod no matter what we do with urban planning, because rich people control more and more of all the wealth and thus land. if anything breaking car dependence would make pods less likely because you could build real apartments in more places
I know Jersey City has made a big push to bikify the city, and limited parking in new high-density development, with the idea being if you build it, they will come. It’s part of an overall plan that they date out to 2060. Shit takes time. Doesn’t mean you don’t try though, that’s for sure. I’m hopeful.
I’d argue that Amsterdam isn’t a great example, as the infrastructure of that city was largely built before the advent of automobiles, then converted to support a more Americanized design that was vehicle-centric, before finally realizing, “Hey, we’re Dutch, not American, we need more space for our bicycles!”
If we’re discussing American infrastructure designed in the 20th century, it seems to be pretty difficult to convert because the physical structures of both the transportation infrastructure and the destinations people want to visit are not built densely enough to make going without a car a top tier option for most people.
I mean this broadly, not to say that there aren’t opportunities to start moving this in the other direction, but emphasizing that changing the focus to downplay the importance of vehicles will be neither quick, cheap, or easy.
I mean… I figure nearly half of us cities were designed before 1900, to some extent anyhow.
Like st Louis was incorporated in 1822. Plenty of cities were clearly designed before the automobile and then gave up the plot for Robert Moses bullshit.
city cores and select transit corridors are going to be where the nice stuff's built, but there are going to be pockets of car hell for decades. these places will probably start losing value and the farthest out ones will start disappearing to abandonment
Ugh yeah I’m waiting on the Tesla M2… The problem with car companies is they keep on adding more crap that 80% of people don’t need, that adds more points of failure while increasing pricing
Maybe Americans should move the subsidies they give car owners, car companies, oil companies, etc. to public transport? Well, Europe should do that too, but if Europe can’t there’s no hope for America.
Yeah, having a here in the Inland Empire in California is one thing since we’re pretty spread out even if you increased density and public transit. But the major cities at minimum cars should be a luxury or something that sits in the garage half the time, and if its doing that it should also be quite small like those early 90s polish cars.
Same boat. Insurance costs have been going up for the last few years. I tried to talk to them about it… they said ‘well everyone else is getting in accidents, you don’t even know!!! It’s crazy out there’. Same vehicle. My only ‘options’ were to let them install a bunch of tracking devices and software (fuck that) or reduce my coverage considerably.
Gosh I love the for profit insurance I’m forced to have that gets to dictate everything.
Out of curiosity I went looking to see what the 2023 price is for my car and I’m really scared of how I’d afford a new one. After having two used cars turn into death traps I’m not interested in used cars. Even used cars are expensive now too.
This is why I really hope we prioritize public transit as much as possible. Cars are insanely expensive, and if we spent a fraction of that money on public transit it could be awesome. I don’t want people like you to end up in a situation where your car breaks down and you can’t get around and can’t afford to fix it / get a new one. That’s really scary :(. Having good public transit infrastructure is an important social safety net.
Yeah a lot of people love their car or truck more than anything else in life. Which is crazy when you think there’s such a high risk of it being totaled at a moments notice with normal usage.
It was bad enough before supply chain issues, but now the car companies and dealerships are so used to ridiculous margins and they want to keep it this way as long as possible. Something’s got to give eventually, but if I’ve learned anything since the great recession of 2008, it’s that things can stay terrible for a very, very, very long time.
the rise of ebikes is the likely solution. young people especially are going to go without cars for longer and use an ebike or escooter. expect to see more on the roads, and more of them getting ran over by lifted trucks. this will likely lead to more protected bike lanes going in since getting rid of the micromobility is impossible and they have to go somewhere and the people who use them won't be able to afford a car
Sales guy at my job made a sale that is by far the biggest in the corporation history. Bought a Tesla right after the ink was dried. Took me out to lunch at a fancy place and confessed that the sale was only possible because I was there and had worked on that type of process before. Alright I am fine with the situation but maybe don’t park it right next to my 15 year old civic.
I have driven luxury cars before, never owned one. And I get it. They are not painful to drive. More comfortable in every aspect of the experience. Now you have to decide if that is worth it or not for you and for me personally it isn’t.
At today’s car prices, it’s actually cheaper for some people to use a rideshare every day. Especially when you factor in the cost of gas, maintenance, insurance,and parking. My friend drove for Uber and had a regular daily commuter, a nurse who worked in Houston’s medical center where parking is around $30/day. We have no good mass transit options so Uber was the best choice.
Sadly it’s dependent on the area, my current area rideshare situation is so bad that it can take you almost an hour to get a driver who won’t cancel your trip because they deem that your trip is not profitable enough. The system’s fucked so you’re pushed to get a car so you can have mobility. This is doubly so when you’ve started having children.
It can depend. I bought new in 2017, but it was for a 2017 chevy volt. It was discounted plus had a $7500 tax credit (which I wouldn’t get if I bought used). Final price after absolutely everything was about $20k, though the money I saved on gas helps bring that down. Still driving it to this day and loving it the whole time.
People who buy new are wild to me. I can afford a new car, or I could just buy a car that’s only a few years old with low mileage and save a ton of money. Seems like a no brainer to me.
the originals had terrible range right out the gate and have only gotten worse. practical electric cars aren't common on the used market since most of them are still with their first owners
I own a car older than that. What I don’t want is to buy an EV and when it needs repair I have to find the one shop in my state that knows what to do. I keep hearing horror stories of having to go back to the dealer.
The problem will be solved with time but right now I would be hesitant if I was looking at replacing my car.
They generally need the same maintenance as any other car, struts, suspension, wheels, and miscellaneous parts that break. They’re not magical, they just use a different fuel.
Ok good to know, and the battery replacement stuff is all settled as well? I am planning my next car to be a used EV I just don’t want to have problems.
Battery replacements are generally about as frequent as getting a new transmission or engine. They’re rare, expensive, but if you want to pick something up on the used or remanufactured market it’s much cheaper. Supposedly the average battery will outlast the life of the car. My EV is only a year old, so I’ll have to get back to you on that, but the number I’ve heard is 10% degradation in 10 years.
Depends on when. There have been many times in the past 20 years that “low mileage” cars are only a couple thousand less than new, and some rare cases during the pandemic where used was more than new, cause new didn’t exist.
Even now depending on where you live, you have to get a fairly used car to get a significant discount.
I have no idea why the Dacia Sandero is not brought to the US. $15,000 for a new car. They would be competing with the mirage and Rio all of which cost much more and are lower quality.
Experts say you should not spend more then 30% of your income on housing (shelter, heat, water, sewer and electricity). If you need a car (live outside a city, have bad city planing, etc.) then this is one more pressure on people.
The current “normal” world exists now only for people making a lot more then the average.
Thing is, if you need a car you cant afford to not have one. My options are buy a used car or a new car. Used cars are difficult to gauge reliability. And anything less than 5 years old is only ~5k under the price of a new car.
Mf subaru people had the gall to show me 2018 forester with 20k miles on it and be like “$29,000”. For reference, a new, 2023 forester with no miles costs $31,000. Insane.
Your choices are currently: buy a reliable used car for the MSRP of a new car and less warranty, buy a very old, unreliable used car for 2x-6x what it was worth 3 years ago, or buy a new car at or above MSRP.
Ok, so there is no public transit here and even though I walk and use my peddle powered bike for in town whenever I can, I would not be able to make a living without a car like thing. No one with half a working brain is thinking that their daily driver is an investment. Hell a lot of people (me in the past) spend more working time in that car then not. A car like device is not a optional luxury for most people in North America. This is sadly the world we live in outside of major (and even not all major) cities.
And nether of those things are needed for a car to be unaffordable. It is like you don’t know what a car costs that works. used prices for absolute garbage is high due to the fact most of the market can not even think of buying new cars. Less new cars means less used cars later.
This is bad financial advice I hear all the time. People don’t buy cars as an investment, they buy them as a consumable item or a form of entertainment.
Nobody says you shouldn’t go to the movies because it doesn’t generate a return.
It’s not really bad financial advice, and people will absolutely tell you to skip some of the frivolity in the idea of generating a return. I don’t think most people think of a car as an investment, but I do think that it’s entirely common to spend way, way too much on a car for basic transportation. Giant trucks and SUVs that start at 40k are like the most popular cars in America. Most people probably really do need to be told that they’re over-spending on cars. Like, the last time we bought a car, I had to talk my wife out of a monster SUV because she was like “well what if our kids want to take friends [on the two trips we take a year]?” Like, the other 50 weeks of the year, she’s solo commuting 10 miles… I’m not making fun of her, this is sort of the default mentality in this country. In the end we settled on a smaller crossover for half the price ( < $20k) and the agreement if we wanted we’ll use the money we save to rent an escalade or whatever if we want to take a big trip.
I have seen entire families with kids going to school on a moped. Mom dad and three little ones. You don’t have to take it to that extreme but you are right. For all but the biggest families a regular sits 5 car is enough.
I think you’re missing the point. Purchasing a utility item for its utility is fine, just don’t splurge on a car when that money is far better put into housing, healthier foods, education, etc.
Good. Now tell everyone who owns a house that. Do you have a house that you live in? Congrats! You own an asset. One day you might get very lucky and get slightly more than what you paid for it, after inflation, but don’t count on it.
The movies don’t cost as much as a car (hopefully). If you want to save money stop dropping it on useless things. You may need to cut back and actually budget. I’m still surprised at the number of people who don’t even track there spending
I also don’t understand the whole “it depreciates in value” angle. Yes, everything I buy new depreciates in value once it is no longer new. I’m not buying a car to immediately sell it. So who cares?
Are there people out there flipping cars like they do with houses? Maybe tell those people.
I bought my car new and people told me the same thing. I’m still driving it 13yrs later and have had no major maintenance issues; only regular maintenance like oil, tire rotation, lube etc. The most expensive thing I’ve put into it are new tires.
I’ll buy my next car new again and do the same thing.
Are there people out there flipping cars like they do with houses? Maybe tell those people.
I've read if people buying new Teslas (with some kind of credit for buying an EV), driving it for a year or so, selling it for more than they paid and then repeating the process. Not sure if this is a viable strategy anymore (don't know if Tesla has that much demand anymore).
“Are there people flipping cars like they do with houses?”
Yes. Dealerships. Used car lots. People who offer you $3,000 on trade in and turn around to sell the vehicle for $9-11,000 after a detail and oil change.
People should never trade in or sell their car to a lot/dealer, because they are almost always settling for about a quarter of its value. But the convenience of not having to find a buyer is awfully tempting.
I don’t disagree with anything you’re saying, but I’m talking about new cars. Outside of profiting off of EV rebates as someone else mentioned, I don’t know of anyone buying new cars to flip. Which is why talking to people about immediate depreciation seems silly to me.
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