Housing market

The wife and I both had 6-years loans on our cars that we got in '15 and '16. Paid them off in less than 4. But even if we didn't, the interest rate was so low the overall total still wasn't bad. And both are still going strong!
Yeah, I could see the long-term loans if you plan on keeping the vehicle long-term. Spreads out the cost.
 
It just doesn't make financial sense to dump a lot of money into vehicles unless you have a lot of throwaway money.
This is where the math nerd in me far outpaces the emotional part of me.

My mind doesn't say "Can I afford a $700/month payment?"
Instead it says "Do I want to turn $50,000 into $20,000 over the next 5 years?"
 
If it's 0% I guess there isn't anything necessarily wrong with it. I also hang on to my cars, but I just save up and buy them outright. Although cars are more reliable these days, there's a greater chance of something big happening in 7 years that could really put someone behind financially if needing to stretch out an auto loan for 7 years is their only way to purchase a car.

My current Explorer came with a warranty from the dealership that covers everything except routine maintenance stuff (oil changes, brake pads, etc.). New engine I mentioned earlier cost me just $75. When it's time for struts and wheel bearings (because a gravel road kills those things) it will cost me $75 because of the warranty. Pretty sweet deal.
 
Struggling with the vehicle decision right now myself. We have a 2015 Suburban I bought used in 2016 with 48k miles on it. Now it has ~130k miles on it and it’s starting to show its age. Lots of sensors and lights randomly going off and the engine makes odd chugs/shifts that make me more concerned each time they happen. Thinking of upgrading to a ‘22 or ‘23 model but I absolutely hate the idea of having a car payment. My only thought on buying new is that it’ll come with the 3 year warranty and it’ll be a vehicle that I know the maintenance history of. Plus if I trade now I can still get a decent trade in value for my current vehicle. Man I really hate dealing with vehicles!
 
My current Explorer came with a warranty from the dealership that covers everything except routine maintenance stuff (oil changes, brake pads, etc.). New engine I mentioned earlier cost me just $75. When it's time for struts and wheel bearings (because a gravel road kills those things) it will cost me $75 because of the warranty. Pretty sweet deal.

I need to get better at vehicle buying lingo for the next time it comes around because any 'warranty' I had didn't cover ****. I think 'Bumper to bumper' really meant 'this bumper or that bumper...and that's it'.
 
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People not putting $3500 a year into a 529 and $6500 a year into a Roth.

I have a good life but I want my retirement life to be better.

I feel like the Wagoneers are for realtors and old people that get moon divvys every quarter. The exteriors are lazy and look dumb imo. Interiors are plush though.
 
I need to get better at vehicle buying lingo for the next time it comes around because any 'warranty' I had didn't cover ****. I think 'Bumper to bumper' really meant 'this bumper or that bumper...and that's it'.
I'm with you. Got hosed when I bought my first car 15ish year ago into signing up for a warranty that added something like $3,000 to the final sale cost. Drove the car for 3 months with no issues until suddenly I noticed paint deterioration on a fairly large section of the car. Took it in and they deemed that it was probably a shoddy paint repair job by the previous owner. But not covered by the warranty. So I got to drive a new to me, 3 month old car with $350 monthly payments that looked like ass for another 4 years until I had it payed off finally. Needless to say on my next car that I am still driving, I did not let the salesman sucker me into any kind of warranty that didn't come free. And fortunately have had no issues and been driving it for over 7 years (2015 model). They really try to scare you with the electrical failure crap on these newer cars. I have never heard any stories first hand of that kind of stuff failing.
 
I feel like the Wagoneers are for realtors and old people that get moon divvys every quarter. The exteriors are lazy and look dumb imo. Interiors are plush though.
I get it if you've got a slug of kids I guess. I'd probably roll with a Tahoe or Suburban though.
 
I get it if you've got a slug of kids I guess. I'd probably roll with a Tahoe or Suburban though.

They just lack that stocky toughness on the exterior. Like someone pulled up an image of a newish model dodge Durango and just enlarged it by 50% and slapped a little keep grill on it.
 
There are A LOT of wealthy people and it doesn't take many to make it look like everyone is wealthy. According to latest American Community Survey, there are 74,000 households in Iowa making over $200,000/year. Assuming over half live in the metro area, that's a lot of households.

And then add in all the farmers and contractors who can expense leases (better tax treatment than to buy a car), you get the massive amount of expensive vehicles.

FTR we have 3 cars: bought two with cash (hooray CF!) $24,000 and $31,000 (insurance settlement helped) and the third one has a 60 month loan at $320/month with a $10k remaining balance.
 
Struggling with the vehicle decision right now myself. We have a 2015 Suburban I bought used in 2016 with 48k miles on it. Now it has ~130k miles on it and it’s starting to show its age. Lots of sensors and lights randomly going off and the engine makes odd chugs/shifts that make me more concerned each time they happen. Thinking of upgrading to a ‘22 or ‘23 model but I absolutely hate the idea of having a car payment. My only thought on buying new is that it’ll come with the 3 year warranty and it’ll be a vehicle that I know the maintenance history of. Plus if I trade now I can still get a decent trade in value for my current vehicle. Man I really hate dealing with vehicles!

I got my wife used and she's also starting to show her age. I'd trade in for a newer model but I also don't want to lose half my money by doing so.
 
I need to get better at vehicle buying lingo for the next time it comes around because any 'warranty' I had didn't cover ****. I think 'Bumper to bumper' really meant 'this bumper or that bumper...and that's it'.

I was skeptical at first but I had the salesman specifically show me everything it covered and where is stated "as long as the original buyer owns the vehicle".
 
I got my wife used and she's also starting to show her age. I'd trade in for a newer model but I also don't want to lose half my money by doing so.
This made me smile. "I got my wife used and she's also starting to show her age."
 
WHen the repairs start occuring and you get stuck a time or two it's a pain but then I look at what even the used ones cost and ... :explode:
 
So....the housing market.

Fannie and Freddie Serious Delinquencies Declined in June​

Single-family serious delinquencies continued to decline in June, however, multi-family serious delinquencies are now increasing.

Freddie Mac reported that the Single-Family serious delinquency rate in June was 0.56%, down from 0.58% May. Freddie's rate is down year-over-year from 0.76% in May 2022. This is now below the pre-pandemic lows of 0.60%. Freddie's serious delinquency rate peaked in February 2010 at 4.20% following the housing bubble and peaked at 3.17% in August 2020 during the pandemic.

Fannie Mae reported that the Single-Family Serious Delinquency decreased to 0.55% in June from 0.56% in May. The serious delinquency rate is down from 0.81% in June 2022. This is also below the pre-pandemic lows of 0.65%. The Fannie Mae serious delinquency rate peaked in February 2010 at 5.59% following the housing bubble and peaked at 3.32% in August 2020 during the pandemic.
 
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******* expensive … glad I bought 12 years ago.

We bought a house we could afford and went interest rates shot up I wish we bought a more expensive house originally.

Sure, our value went up 20%, but every house that's more expensive than ours also went up 20%, which is even more out of reach now.
 
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