Quote:
Originally Posted by JSH
Have you owned a late-model VW? They aren't known for reliability and they have expensive maintenance.
|
Ya, after looking at Consumer Reports, they basically said the same.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JSH
I won't complain about you deciding to only look at manuals - I'll just point out that it goes against your stated goal of trying to reduce the cost to own a vehicle. That VW Jetta is the most fuel efficient manual sold in the USA and only manages 34 mpg EPA combined.
Edmund's TCO for a Corolla Hybrid 2WD is $30,936 ($6,737 for fuel) Is driving a manual VW worth paying $1,000 extra a year?
Camry Hybrid - $34,864 ($6,467 for Fuel)
CR-V Hybrid 2WD - $34,745 (8,421 for Fuel)
|
I think my prices are higher, perhaps because of my ZIP code and how Edmunds calculates it. The 2023 Corolla Hybrid LE comes out to $34,707 when I do it. So yes, still cheaper than all the cars on the list, but more like $278 more per year or $23 more per month to drive the stick shift VW than the Corolla Hybrid.
Back a few posts:
Quote:
Originally Posted by JSH
Which shows how much of a value cars are today. Automakers have successfully held prices below the rate of inflation for decades while making them exponentially better.
A 1984 Honda Accord LX sedan had an 86 hp 1.8L 4 cylinder mated to a 4 speed auto. It averaged only 24 mpg. All this for $9,941 ($29,046 in 2023 dollars)
A 2024 Honda Civic LX has a 158 hp 2.0L 4 cylinder with a CVT. It is 17% larger than that 84 Accord. It averages 33 mpg and has all sorts of technology and safety features not even imagined on something like a 1984 Mercedes S-Class. All for the low price of $23,950.
|
I was thinking about this. But while true, I don't think it addresses the sort of elephant in the room. That the entrance level vehicle is dissapearing, at least if you go by car price.
- Vehicle, year, price then, price 2023 adjusted for inflation
- VW Beetle 1964 $1,600 $15,848
- Honda Civic 1973 $2,200 $15,214
- Hyundai Pony 1984 $5,795 $17,126
- Yugo GV 1987 $3,995 $10,798
- Hyundai Excel 1989: $5,499 $13,617
Ok, so at least the Yugo probably doesn't deserve to be a on a I-want-a-car-like-this list. That may be the same for a few others on this list. When I was a kid, my mom had a brand new Hyundai in the 1980's that she loved, so if I go by her word those were good cars although cheap in price.
Anywho, back to the point: after 2024 there will be no more cars in the USA under $20,000. Nissan Versa, Mitsubishi Mirage and Kia Rio will all be cars of the past. So yes, there were cars that with inflation cost less than $20,000 many decades ago, yet now there soon will be none.
Of course, as we've kind of already pointed out, if we go by total cost of ownership then even a manual Nissan Versa still costs more (according to Edmunds at least) than a Toyota Corolla Hybrid, even though the Corolla starts out at over $24,000 and the Nissan Versa at over $17,000 (base models plus destination charges).
This makes me think, what was the total cost of ownership of cars of yesteryear, like the ones on the list on this post? How did fuel prices affect the costs of these vehicles? They were less reliable and needed more maintenance, so how did that affect the overall cost? They also didn't usually last as long, so again adding to total cost of ownership. (Although it seems to me that some 1980's and 1990's cars were a bit overbuilt and tend to last longer than the 2000's and beyond, but that could just be my nearsighted observations). And what was the used car prices like back then? Did people own a car for 5 years and sell it for around half or was it pretty much worthless by that point? And how did that help or hinder used car buyers?
On the other hand the cost to repair vehicles seems to have gone up. So while cars need less maintenance in general, when you do need a repair it just feels like it costs more than it used too. Of course this is also based on personal observations.
Another question I have in my head is if we are comparing older car prices using inflation based off prices of goods or off of wages? And if we go by wages, are we going by average wages or by median wages? It just appears (again going by my intuition, opinion and limted observations) it just appears that there was a time in the USA that an individual could single handedly provide for a family of some 4 or 5 or more members including a house and at least one car, where as now you need two income workers and you still don't have enough for a house or even a new car. (Unless you move to Michigan of course where at least you'd be able to afford a new house and perhaps some day a new car.)