But as things stand, cars are still really expensive for many Americans. Just 10 percent of new car listings are currently priced below $30,000, according to CoPilot. Things are not much better in the used car market, where only 28 percent of listings are currently priced below $20,000.

According to an October report by Market Watch, Americans needed an annual income of at least $100,000 to afford a car, at least if they're following standard budgeting advice, which says you shouldn't spend more than 10 percent of your monthly income on car-related expenses.

That means that more than 60 percent of American households currently cannot afford to buy a new car, based on Census data. For individuals, the numbers are even worse, with 82 percent of people below the $100,000 line.

$100k to afford a car! Wtf.

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[–] Greenleaf@hexbear.net 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

It used to be the case you could get a new car and take out a loan with the car company for 0-1%, or buy a used car and get a loan with the bank for 5-6%. I don’t think the car companies are offering those deals now but when they did, for the same monthly payment you could get like a $20k new car or a $13k used car. Given the risk of inheriting someone else’s mechanical problems + you don’t know how well they took care of it, in that specific case new could be the better use of money in the long run.

I’ve helped a couple friends buy a car. I usually say either go with the very low end of new cars, or buy some 15 year old Honda or Toyota that will run reliably for a while longer for like $5k