I bet we will see another increase mid year.

 

nice to see some numbers to back up my feelings, cars are getting too expensive.

 

I know many people that just make horrible financial decisions in general and that goes with vehicles as well. Case in point, a guy I used to work with. He and his wife bought a Chevy Trailblazer right after they got married because she really wanted one. The suburban they were trading in they were upside down on, so they rolled $6k of negative equity into the new loan. Well, after a year or so, she decided she wants a new Trailblazer that had more features. So they rolled like their current $10k of negative equity over into the new one. The payment was like $750/mo on it.

Then you guessed it, a couple years later she wanted a Camaro. Well, he was driving a Hyundai Elantra at the time that he had gotten a couple years old and was paying $400/mo for. He decided since he was finally paying off one of his credit cards that was $300/mo he had been paying, he could just use that and his car to get it for her. He traded the Elantra in on a Camaro for her that was a year old and was paying $800/mo. So they had a couple year old Trailblazer that cost ~$45k new and a used Camaro that was probably $35k and they were paying $1550/mo for the two. It blew me away the decisions they made with money.

I assume there are many more people like that than I want to believe. As long as there are enough people like that, they will pay more because they want newer/better whenever possible, regardless of if it is a good decision or not. Both my former coworker and his wife had 5-6 credit cards with balances and neither had very good credit scores. It still makes my skin crawl to think about how they dealt with finance. Not that I am perfect or going to tell someone else how to spend their money, but there is a reason I have never paid interest on a credit card and won't unless something catastrophic happens.

 

The credit card companies call peeps that don’t pay interest “dead beats”. At least there are two of us, maybe more.LOL

 

I haven't paid a cent in credit card interest in a quarter of a century and I use my credit card for nearly everything (I pay cash for my haircuts and write a check for my property taxes each year to avoid a "convenience fee" for using a credit card"). I use only credit cards that offer cash back of 2% on all purchases.

Many years ago, I used to live paycheck-to-paycheck and have to decide which credit card I'd make the minimum payment on each month. I bought new vehicles at the same frequency I do now, but back then I used to roll the negative equity into the next one. All that eventually caught up with me and put me in a miserable place. I learned from that experience and vowed never to repeat it.

I made poor choices and hit rock bottom, but I dug myself out - all by myself. I don't have and will never have anywhere near the wealth of many of my friends, but I'm comfortable and satisfied with what I've accomplished.

 

Well, I will give them that at least, they at least made their payments every month, but I don't even want to think about how much they were paying in interest across credit cards and car loans, let alone their mortgage.

 

A 25 year “dead beat”……..👍👍. Number three.

 

Four. Have used credit cards for 31 years and have never carried a balance or had to pay interest. I use my one card now for almost everything, mostly for the tracking and protection benefits.

 

I should have mentioned this coworker was mid 40's, it was his and his wife's second marriage and they each had kids. They seemed to be unable to tell themselves no.

And Roger, I am the same way with property taxes and the water bill, checks because they charge a fee to use credit card. Pretty much everything else goes on the Costco Visa for the cashback, paid off every month.

 

The Ford Maverick will bring these average prices back down! Right!! Right??!?? Right??????

 

Yes! And the satisfaction level though .

 

I've always paid my credit cards in full until I made a mistake last fall and underpaid. Boy was that rude awakening as to how the credit card interest charge works. How folks think using a credit card as credit for a purchase that will not be paid back within the billing cycle is a shame. For the bills that I can't link to a credit card without a paying a fee I write the check pop the dog into the car and off to the post office we go. The fact that a McDonalds is next to the Post Office helps this process. This was the same case when I lived in Long Island. Is McDonalds up to something?

 

Some folks, that pay credit card interest, don’t comprehend that they are still paying today for that taco they bought 5 years ago.🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

 

I'll proudly be the 6th "dead beat". Haven't carried a balance in over 25 years. I learned the hard way many years ago that all those credit card offers came at a price.

I've been a cash purchaser since. I either pay cash or have the cash in hand BEFORE I buy anything with a credit card.
(I do use it regularly for internet purchases but no longer worry about a balance or interest rates.)

 

Cash rewards from the cards basically cancel out auto insurance on 3-4 nice vehicles and homeowners insurance every year. They literally pay you to use them if you don't carry a balance.

 

In states like Kentucky where we pay an ad valorem tax based on market value of the vehicle people are going to be pretty shocked this year when their annual renewal goes up 40% because their book value has gone up that much.

 

Make me #7 dead beat. I have had no debt at all in well over 25 years. Not even a car payment. I pay cash for everything and pay my credit card off monthly. I bought my latest house and financed $90,000.00 then made the first payment and took a look at the interest I paid and wrote a check and paid it off. I still pay all the interest directly into my savings account.
My father told me when I was young that you will always have a car payment and a house payment. He was wrong.

 

It's now over $47,000 including luxury models and still over $43,000 when you exclude luxury models.

To put this into perspective, the average transaction price for a new vehicle two years ago was about $37,000.

A 27% increase is...crazy.

 

Truly nuts!

I got super lucky on the timing for buying my 2019 RTL - Q4 2019, when there was promotional cash available and they were clearing them out - so probably not a fair comparison, but the current RTL stickers for a full 10k more than I paid. I know it's been improved, and I'd feel better about the 9-speed transmission, but 32% more actual cost in 25 months.

 

In 2010 when I bought my G1, the RMHI (real median household income) was about $58K, in 2019 it was almost $69K. The CPI is not that different either. $100 back in 2010 is just under $85 of buying power now. I am not, in any means, a financial expert, but I understand why the price has to go up and keep climbing, in a reasonable fashion. There are always going to folks who turn around from bad financial behaviors and adopt good ones, while some do the opposite or stay on their course. Financial planning, and those who crack their brain on how the world needs to spin (around money) are something beyond my level of understanding.

This is a nice article from over half a year (History of the Cost of Living) but it puts a lot into perspective.

 

Pork bellies are up, too. I wonder if the price of bacon cheeseburgers will jump?

https://jalopnik.com/highest-inflation-since-1982-hitting-used-car-prices-g-1848347117

 

Bought my rtl-e at the end of this past February.A large dealership,the place was packed!All the offices were full,had to do business at a table out in the"bull pen".I remarked to the salesman that it must be because of the sale and 0% interest.He said they had sold almost 300 vehicles that month and hardly anyone cared about that.They didn't even care about the trade in offer.It was all about the monthly payment.

 

Wow. I hate it when the first question I'm asked is what kind of monthly pmt am I looking for. When I go to buy a car, I already have my money ready and all I want to know is the OTD price. Don't start with that monthly pmt crap with me. And it never fails that I already know more about the vehicle in question than the salesperson.

Apparently not everyone goes in prepared. I don't mind the negotiation process. It's a game. But my wife hates in and just goes and hides somewhere when that process begins. I don't understand the mentality of those who don't negotiate.

 

I am still amazed at the prices friends and coworkers pay for new trucks. 40 thousand is low end . Most are 50- 80 grand. And most are commuter vehicles. And they are giant !!

 

I paid $46.5K for a minivan (Odyssey) three years ago. Going rate was around $49K~$50K OTD. If there is a demand, there is the price.

At work, we have been hunting for a Rav4 LE Hybrid for about 14 months. This is to be part of our parking enforcement fleet and the cheapest we have found so far, is $5K over MSRP. Kinda stupid to display the MSRP and tack on $5K. I remember when the USDM CTR came out, that thing was $30K over itemized as market adjustment. WTH does that even mean. People going nuts and buying a Civic (dumbing it down here for argument sake) for $60K. Heck, my used G1, in private party sale, can be had for a cool $10K+ and I am rolling with 250K+ miles. I say it is insanity all the way around.

 

Sometime around early September 2021 Ford released the Job 1 Dealer Order Guide for 2022 MY F150's except the Lightning (some option-package adjustments and minor tweaks compared to the 2021 MY).

On 10/14/2021 Ford opened the retail order bank for 2022 MY F150's (all ICE/hybrid models other than the all-electric Lightning) with base prices increased something on the order of ~3~8% compared to ending 2021 MY (the increased varied by trim level, more for higher trims).

On 12/23/2021 Ford announced (to dealers) an $880 MSRP increase for all 2022 F150 trims except the XL which got a $350 MSRP bump, effective for orders confirmed after 12/26/2021 (again, setting the Lightning aside, it's on a totally different ordering scheme).

I placed an order for a 2022 F150 Lariat on 12/22/2021 (lucky coincidence); that order was confirmed by Ford Corporate on the same day. On 1/6/2022 Ford Corporate sent me an email with my VIN and build scheduled for the week of 2/28/2022. I fully expect that build-date to be delayed, perhaps multiple times, but at least I'm in the queue. The dealer is price protected by Ford Corporate and my purchase price is guaranteed by the dealer (9.3% below the MSRP in effect when I ordered).

Yes, vehicles are getting more expensive, but there are, relatively speaking, some good deals out there to be had, not all dealers are sticking with MSRP as suggested by the OP article. I placed my 2022 F150 order with Granger Ford (Granger, IA) which offers 3% below invoice, $180 doc fee, no other dealer add-ons period.

Interesting that non-Lightning 2022 MY F150 ICE/hybrid info is still not available on the Ford retail website as of the time of this post.

PS - add me to the list of Credit Card 'deadbeats' (always pay-in-full on due date, never pay interest or penalty), for over 30 years. I put everything I can on a credit card, always for cash kickback redeemed promptly each month, have never used a debit card or ATM.

 

On the topic of inflating expenses, I'll contribute the subject of utilities. Where I live, electricity and gas keep going up, water is reasonable, but the waste fee is rising exponentially (about ten times the monthly amount of water). Add property tax increases, and the cost of just having a roof over your head is multiple thousands of dollars per year.

 

I've never paid a CC late fee but I was recently changed one when I changed my method of autopay and it didn't go through. I called customer service and straightened out autopay and got the late fee waived. Even though it was my error, customer service took care of me.

Here in the state of WA, I have the option of paying DMV and other state fees either by CC with a service charge or direct payment from my bank with no service charge. I've done both but will continue with the direct payment from my bank.

 

................ changed my method of autopsy and it didn't go through....................

You rarely have typos, when you do, its phenomenal. 😂

 

i was watching a video that said Ford has patented a new tailgate that opens sideways like the Ridgeline. The center 1/2 of the tailgate opens outward, with the outermost 1/4’s being fixed. The entire tailgate folds down as normal.

 

Source

 

Interesting…..doesn’t seem as practical as the full open Rigi tailgate.🤷‍♂️

 

I can't see it being as strong as the Ridgeline's gate.

Also not as convenient for reaching heavy items, like pavers or bags of quikrete.

I don't know why they don't go with a full gate like the Ridgeline has.... heck, Ford had them on their Country Squire wagons back in the 60s.