Seven year auto loans

[Music Lover]

It might happen in less than 10 years. The cost of electric cars is coming way down. It will be simple economics and the oil companies won't be able to stop the switchover.

Pretty soon the choice will be to get a gas powered car for $30,000 with a 3 year warranty or get an electric car for $25,000 with a million mile warranty. Better acceleration than a gas powered car. Plug it in at home in your garage. Never go to the gas station. No maintenance except tire rotation and wiper blades. Tap your phone at the shopping mall and "summon" your driverless electric car to come and get you if it's raining.

And yes, I am aware of the limitations and shortcomings of electric vehicles, but the changeover will come quickly.

I'm not as optimistic as you. Unless there is a breakthrough in technology increases will continue to be gradual.

There is a lot more than tires and wipers to worry about on electric cars.

And, no one will ever offer a 1 million mile warranty on a car.

 

[Elizrogers]

I like new technology as long as it is making something better, not just different. So, many of the new gadgets in cars are really entertainment, not making for easier or safer driving. I rented a car last year on vacation. I have always been considered an intelligent person and good the technology, since I worked in IT mist of my life. But I got in the car, put the key in and pushed every button, every way, trying to get it to start. I finally swallowed my pride and went back into ask how to start it. Apparently, there was a certain rhythm on key, button, brake, hold your mouth just right that had to be done in the right order. I hadn't seen one of these new cars since I drive 2002 Highlander and you can start it by simply insert and turn key. Not only that, that the TV screen that sits where the speedometer used to constantly distracted me with stupid messages. It would flash a sign when you were 100 ft from a signal, then at 50 ft. Like you can't see a bright red or green light right in front of you. Then it would tell you there was a pedestrian 50 ft ahead, but they were on the curb waiting for a bus, so I can see that. I have to wear reading glasses to read anything, but I cannot see with them if I'm driving, only for reading. So, I'd have take my eyes off the road, put on glasses, read the unnecessary message, take them off and look at the road again, if I was going to try to read them. There were a dozen other messages it popped up too, but I eventually learned to just ignore them. Who the heck thinks up these new distractions and why? What they need us something that tells you to "watch the road", not that distracts you from it.

 

[athena53]

I rented a car last year on vacation. I have always been considered an intelligent person and good the technology, since I worked in IT most of my life. But I got in the car, put the key in and pushed every button, every way, trying to get it to start. I finally swallowed my pride and went back into ask how to start it. Apparently, there was a certain rhythm on key, button, brake, hold your mouth just right that had to be done in the right order. <snip>There were a dozen other messages it popped up too, but I eventually learned to just ignore them.

Wow. That's my nightmare. I think I'm going to keep my 2012 until it dies.

 

[braumeister]

But I got in the car, put the key in and pushed every button, every way, trying to get it to start. I finally swallowed my pride and went back into ask how to start it. Apparently, there was a certain rhythm on key, button, brake, hold your mouth just right that had to be done in the right order.

I had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago with a rental car. There was nobody around I could ask and I spent at least ten minutes trying to figure out how to open the trunk.
There was no control inside the car, and no control on the trunk, so I was mystified. Finally got it by accident -- the trick was to simply push on the brand logo with the key fob in my pocket.

 

[Jerry1]

It would be great to have self driving cars, or whatever the future holds, but in the meantime, I wish they could figure out how to make all the bells and whistles actually work. I’ve had all kinds of gremlins in my new truck. Mostly, ApplePlay only works when it wants to, which sucks because I’ve grown used to relying on it for navigation. I’ve also been in my truck and the sound won’t work. I’ve had it stuck at a certain volume and I’ve had it completely silent. Of course, when I turn off the truck and wait a couple minutes, the system “reboots” and everything works again. Very frustrating. Hope they work on that and I’ll do my own driving for awhile.

 

[athena53]

I had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago with a rental car. There was nobody around I could ask and I spent at least ten minutes trying to figure out how to open the trunk.

When I encountered the issue with the odd icon on my dash, I told an employee when I returned the car that I had needed to refer to the manual and it was missing. His response: "Well, we don't put the manual in the car because people steal it". Like, they couldn't take 5 minutes to check after a car is returned and slap a charge for replacement on the renter's cc if it's missing? They could prevent thefts by putting a conspicuous label on the manual cover stating that it was the property of the rental car company and your account will be charged $X if it's not left in the car.

As cars get more and more complicated (and more heterogeneous), it's dangerous to rent them out without a manual.

 

[LRDave]

We have a 2009 Honda CRV with 186K miles - still runs like a champ. It doesn't have any sort of back up camera. After driving many rentals cars in the past few years and being in friends/relatives cars with back up cameras, it makes me nervous and makes my neck hurt backing up in our CRV. This one example of why I think as we get older, we will want recent safety features.

Our plan is to keep the CRV as the "dog transport" and perhaps lease (based on some ideas in this thread) our "touring/traveling" car, since we can very precisely control the mileage.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

When I encountered the issue with the odd icon on my dash, I told an employee when I returned the car that I had needed to refer to the manual and it was missing. His response: "Well, we don't put the manual in the car because people steal it". Like, they couldn't take 5 minutes to check after a car is returned and slap a charge for replacement on the renter's cc if it's missing? They could prevent thefts by putting a conspicuous label on the manual cover stating that it was the property of the rental car company and your account will be charged $X if it's not left in the car.

As cars get more and more complicated (and more heterogeneous), it's dangerous to rent them out without a manual.

When we got our 2017 Outback, I downloaded the manuals (yes, plural; I just checked and there are six files in that subfolder) to my Dropbox, and I set my phone to keep copies of that folder even offline. I've referred to that PDF probably more than a dozen times in the last couple of years, and I'm not even counting multiple "opens" for one issue. While it seems a bit extreme, after reading this thread I think I'll be doing that if I ever need to rent a car!

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

How does a person 'plug it in at home' when home is an apartment and chargers are not easily available?

I'm not against EV's. I hope Tesla becomes very profitable. Perhaps my new RAV4 will be the last oil powered vehicle I buy. But, a common mistake of people who predict the future is to assume that everybody shares the same common living experience.

This company has two charging spots in my office building. I'd be curious what the fees are for installing and using their charging stations, does anyone use a solution like this?

Anyway, as EVs become more common, so will solutions like this.

 

[scrabbler1]

I like new technology as long as it is making something better, not just different. So, many of the new gadgets in cars are really entertainment, not making for easier or safer driving. I rented a car last year on vacation. I have always been considered an intelligent person and good the technology, since I worked in IT mist of my life. But I got in the car, put the key in and pushed every button, every way, trying to get it to start. I finally swallowed my pride and went back into ask how to start it. Apparently, there was a certain rhythm on key, button, brake, hold your mouth just right that had to be done in the right order. I hadn't seen one of these new cars since I drive 2002 Highlander and you can start it by simply insert and turn key. Not only that, that the TV screen that sits where the speedometer used to constantly distracted me with stupid messages. It would flash a sign when you were 100 ft from a signal, then at 50 ft. Like you can't see a bright red or green light right in front of you. Then it would tell you there was a pedestrian 50 ft ahead, but they were on the curb waiting for a bus, so I can see that. I have to wear reading glasses to read anything, but I cannot see with them if I'm driving, only for reading. So, I'd have take my eyes off the road, put on glasses, read the unnecessary message, take them off and look at the road again, if I was going to try to read them. There were a dozen other messages it popped up too, but I eventually learned to just ignore them. Who the heck thinks up these new distractions and why? What they need us something that tells you to "watch the road", not that distracts you from it.

My cousin once had something like this happen when he rented an SUV in Florida many years ago. He could not find the button to roll down the window, something he had to do when he came to the airport to pick me up. He had to open the door and step out of the car to get the parking stub. When we got to the car, he told me what happened and we both went hunting around for the window buttons. They weren't on the door, where you would expect to find them. Instead, they were low on the side of the center console between the seats, not visible from either front seat because the console's lid was much wider than the console itself. One of us finally reached down and felt them and were able to roll down our windows so he wouldn't have to get out of the car (again) to pay the parking fee.

 

[Andre1969]

When we got to the car, he told me what happened and we both went hunting around for the window buttons. They weren't on the door, where you would expect to find them. Instead, they were low on the side of the center console between the seats, not visible from either front seat because the console's lid was much wider than the console itself.

That was a cost cutting move that some auto makers started doing years ago. Instead of having the master switch on the driver's door, and another switch on the passenger, just make one set centrally located. Hiding them that way in the console was a dirty trick, though. I had an '88 LeBaron turbo coupe that had the window switches on the center console. However, they were at least readily visible.

I think one of the worst cost-cutting moves I've seen was a PT Cruiser convertible one of my co-workers had as a rental years ago. It had four roll-down windows. However, there was just one master switch, for all four windows, on the center console, and that was it. Not a big deal, as it was convenient for the front seat passenger. But, there were no switches, at all, for the rear windows! Now, a back seat passenger could, theoretically, just reach forward between the seats to get to their window switch, but that seems a bit much.

I guess the console-mounted master switch never really caught on, though. I had a 2000 Intrepid, and currently a 2003 Regal, both with consoles, but they have the master switch on the driver's door, and all the other doors get their own switch. I wonder if the console switch is very common these days? My guess is maybe on smaller, sportier cars?

 

[braumeister]

As cars get more and more complicated (and more heterogeneous), it's dangerous to rent them out without a manual.

That's true, of course.
But my car's main manual is 674 pages, the "supplemental" manual is 178 pages, and the manual for the nav system is another 40. So pretty unwieldy for many cars.

Probably a better solution would be to give you a QR code printed on the rental receipt that would let you scan it and download a manual onto your phone.

An even better solution is what my car has -- a complete searchable manual loaded to the car's infotainment system that I can access with two taps on the screen.

 

[Elizrogers]

That reminds me if another function I didn't understand while renting a Rogue in Florida. I was picking up my cousin at the airport and got lost, so was having to come around the back of the airport to the terminal, thus I was late. She called me and I needed to answer and tell her I was there, just wait. I was at a red light and dropped my phone down between the seat and the door, so needed to open the door slightly to get my hand down there and grab it. But the door, which automatically locked when the engine turned on, would not unlock with the engine running. So, with cars behind me and the light about to change to green, I had to shift into Park, turn the engine off, take the key out, open the door, grab the phone, close the door, put key back in, start the car, and shift back into drive. You can imagine the anger that caused to cars behind me who did not make it through the light. Now, I can understand maybe not allowing a door to open while the car is moving, but not while the brake is on and you are stopped. What if you are just picking up or letting someone out? But someone thinks you should park and remove the key before a door can open. It also happened when I pulled up to the hotel, put it in park and just wanted to run in and drop off a key, leaving the car running for a/c for my passengers. Had to turn it off and take key. Totally inconvenient and unnecessary.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We had to drive my friend’s car when she had a seizure away from home. I chose to drive ours and my husband said he had a hard time figuring out how to get the A/C on and it was super hot.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

And here I am with a motorcycle that doesn't even have a fuel gauge, let alone any convenient electronic amenities.

 

[Gumby]

An even better solution is what my car has -- a complete searchable manual loaded to the car's infotainment system that I can access with two taps on the screen.

IMHO, the best solution is to sell cars, simple cars, that get me from point A to point B, not a rolling computer/entertainment system that requires navigating 15 computer screens, each with several drop down menus and sub-menus.

Interesting fact: In 2017, the USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) ran into a Liberian tanker in the Strait of Malacca, resulting in the deaths of 10 sailors. A principal contributing factor was that no one on the bridge could figure out the computer that controlled the separation of the steering function (rudder) from the throttle function (engines), and they accordingly screwed up the transfer of throttle control from the helm to the lee-helm station. So the ship was unable to maintain its heading and crossed into the path of the tanker. When I was in the Navy, that transfer would have been made via a simple, two-position, manually operated switch.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

I'm not as optimistic as you. Unless there is a breakthrough in technology increases will continue to be gradual.

There is a lot more than tires and wipers to worry about on electric cars.

And, no one will ever offer a 1 million mile warranty on a car.

The air cabin filter has to be changed every 2 years. So tires, wipers and air filters. It's really nice not to have to repair all those engine parts that break down with an ICE car.

Model 3 batteries are expected to last 300,000 to 500,000 miles. Replacements run around 5-7K. That's in todays prices. And car and driver wrote an article on Tesla developing a 1,000,000 mile battery. No discussion on the warranty.

Another poster mentioned the weight of his truck. My Model X weighs 5300lbs.

For those of you that like ICE cars or are unwilling to adapt, continue driving what you want to drive. California is up to 5.6% of new car purchases being EV. A state with 38 million people. I remember when online retail sales crossed the 1% threshold. Now years later the list of retail stores closing is long and mall traffic is nothing what it used to be.

 

[brewer12345]

The air cabin filter has to be changed every 2 years. So tires, wipers and air filters. It's really nice not to have to repair all those engine parts that break down with an ICE car.

Model 3 batteries are expected to last 300,000 to 500,000 miles. Replacements run around 5-7K. That's in todays prices. And car and driver wrote an article on Tesla developing a 1,000,000 mile battery. No discussion on the warranty.

Another poster mentioned the weight of his truck. My Model X weighs 5300lbs.

For those of you that like ICE cars or are unwilling to adapt, continue driving what you want to drive. California is up to 5.6% of new car purchases being EV. A state with 38 million people. I remember when online retail sales crossed the 1% threshold. Now years later the list of retail stores closing is long and mall traffic is nothing what it used to be.

Then you will just have to deal with the smug.

https://youtu.be/mxuwXczWQC0

 

[Mdlerth]

I take thee, Tesla, as my beloved car, till death do us part

...car and driver wrote an article on Tesla developing a 1,000,000 mile battery. No discussion on the warranty.

For a typical car driven about 15,000 miles per year, the battery will last for 67 years. A seven year loan is only a blink by comparison!

 

[aja8888]

I like new technology as long as it is making something better, not just different. So, many of the new gadgets in cars are really entertainment, not making for easier or safer driving. I rented a car last year on vacation. I have always been considered an intelligent person and good the technology, since I worked in IT mist of my life. But I got in the car, put the key in and pushed every button, every way, trying to get it to start. I finally swallowed my pride and went back into ask how to start it. Apparently, there was a certain rhythm on key, button, brake, hold your mouth just right that had to be done in the right order. I hadn't seen one of these new cars since I drive 2002 Highlander and you can start it by simply insert and turn key. Not only that, that the TV screen that sits where the speedometer used to constantly distracted me with stupid messages. It would flash a sign when you were 100 ft from a signal, then at 50 ft. Like you can't see a bright red or green light right in front of you. Then it would tell you there was a pedestrian 50 ft ahead, but they were on the curb waiting for a bus, so I can see that. I have to wear reading glasses to read anything, but I cannot see with them if I'm driving, only for reading. So, I'd have take my eyes off the road, put on glasses, read the unnecessary message, take them off and look at the road again, if I was going to try to read them. There were a dozen other messages it popped up too, but I eventually learned to just ignore them. Who the heck thinks up these new distractions and why? What they need us something that tells you to "watch the road", not that distracts you from it.

A few weeks ago, I ended up with a really loaded 2019 Infiniti XG30 as a rental car for my annual trip from Texas to Connecticut (unanticipated rental upgrade). By the time I made it to I-44 in Missouri, about 500 miles, I had figured out how to disable all but one of the annoying screen messages from the convenience (aka, safety) features. We got that last one to quit flashing at us later in the week.

The balance of the use of the seemingly nice car for the trip was pleasurable.

 

[jazz4cash]

Interest rates are out of whack wrt risk. It doesn’t make sense that I can get a 7 yr loan for >100% of purchase price on a depreciating asset for nearly the same rate as a mortgage secured by real property. A six year car loan rate is LESS than the mortgage. That makes the 7yr loan a reasonable option. attractive. It’s more like a lease to me. The key is if it is used to buy more car than you can really afford or employment/income is not stable. E.G. it can be an enabler if you already have financial issues.

 

[bolt]

Interest rates are out of whack wrt risk. It doesn’t make sense that I can get a 7 yr loan for >100% of purchase price on a depreciating asset for nearly the same rate as a mortgage secured by real property. A six year car loan rate is LESS than the mortgage. That makes the 7yr loan a reasonable option. attractive. It’s more like a lease to me. The key is if it is used to buy more car than you can really afford or employment/income is not stable. E.G. it can be an enabler if you already have financial issues.

Todays economy is based on debt. Debt runs the current worlds economy based on the domestic and international USA dollar's current value.
Not being snarky but modern money mechanics is a good book.

Do you really believe 0% interest auto loans are no cost loans?
First, what else could those funds generate(opportunity cost)other than a depreciating asset requiring costly mainitence?

A bank will create money/value for itself anytime opportunity presents itself.
Many succumb to misleading marketing imho.
Best wishes.....

 

[bolt]

IMHO, the best solution is to sell cars, simple cars, that get me from point A to point B, not a rolling computer/entertainment system that requires navigating 15 computer screens, each with several drop down menus and sub-menus.

Interesting fact: In 2017, the USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) ran into a Liberian tanker in the Strait of Malacca, resulting in the deaths of 10 sailors. A principal contributing factor was that no one on the bridge could figure out the computer that controlled the separation of the steering function (rudder) from the throttle function (engines), and they accordingly screwed up the transfer of throttle control from the helm to the lee-helm station. So the ship was unable to maintain its heading and crossed into the path of the tanker. When I was in the Navy, that transfer would have been made via a simple, two-position, manually operated switch.

Again, I'm in agreement.

But BestBigBusinesses(BBB) that be,.. now sell hand held computer devices called "phones"!

0r is that (BBB) BetterBusinessBeareau?

Best wishes...

 

[jazz4cash]

Todays economy is based on debt. Debt runs the current worlds economy based on the domestic and international USA dollar's current value.

Not being snarky but modern money mechanics is a good book.



Do you really believe 0% interest auto loans are no cost loans?

First, what else could those funds generate(opportunity cost)other than a depreciating asset requiring costly mainitence?



A bank will create money/value for itself anytime opportunity presents itself.

Many succumb to misleading marketing imho.

Best wishes.....

I have no idea why you posted this in reply to my comment. It doesn’t rebut my contention that risk is mis-priced these days. I agree today’s economy is based on debt but I’ve never seen a bank offer a 0 % auto loan. That would be something !

 

[Gumby]

I have seen 0% auto loans from the captive finance subsidiaries of auto manufacturers, but that is a cross subsidy to spur sales. I don't think I've ever seen a normal bank offer a 0% auto loan either, but then I am not the most up to date on these things.