Quote:
Originally Posted by JSH
I think the most important thing is said was earlier in the video. In the USA subcompact cars are seen as the car you buy out of necessity not desire. Many if not most car buyers would rather spend their dollar to buy a larger and fancier used car instead of a new subcompact. Manufacturers and dealers would also rather sell a customer a CPO used car than a new subcompact so the subcompacts have ceased to exist.
As to the lack of subcompact cars driving up the cost of used cars not so much. Of course the more a new car cost the more a used car will cost but the recent skyrocketing cost of used cars was due to new car supply disruptions in 2020 2022. The number of vehicles being leased also cratered which has limited the normal steady pipeline of used cars coming into the market.
That said wholesale prices for used cars are plummeting. They are down 50% from their peak in January 2022.
That drop in wholesale value also means that many people that took out new car sized loans for 3 year old cars are now WAY upside down on loan value vs vehicle value. It will be interesting to see if the number of upside down loans leads to reduced used car inventory and drives wholesale values back up.
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I guess I might be one of the few who doesn't agree with the current trend. I have fond memories of my econo cars, which were much, much cheaper used than my used Avalon.
So far, I don't see the longevity or maintenance as being any different, except CV axles and door handles on the 1985 Golf. The 1993 Mazda 323 felt pretty much rock solid. I had to change things like the shocks and bushings and such in those cars, and now also in the Avalon, and I had those other cars for longer and more miles than the Avalon.
Fuel mileage hasn't really increased as I'm only getting 35mpg average in the Avalon. It's a bigger car, but for some reason it just doesn't feel that much bigger to me. I pop into my Mom's Sonic and don't feel like I'm at all cramped.
The main thing that I dislike about the Avalon is that it's a pathetically boring car to drive. Well, that and it cost me several times what my other cars cost me, even adjusting for inflation. I guess I could have gotten a Camry Hybrid or something similar. But I guess I just don't see any cars that stand out to me, and for some reason feel strangely attracted to the Nissan Versa.
Maybe it's just the nostalgia of having a small stick shift car again, but if my Avalon were to disappear tomorrow, I'd be hard pressed not to go pick up a Certified Used manual Nissan Versa for some $10,000 with some 25k miles still left on the Manufacture Certified Used car warranty (one that I've been eyeballing in Arizona). If not that car, then what car? I guess whatever makes financial and practical sense, whether or not I like the car. But in the mean time I'm just going to try to get as many miles out of the Avalon as possible. I'm at 150k (doing 20k per year) and need to replace the shocks and should probably replace the hybrid cooling air filters and clean out the EGR cooler this summer at some point.
But when it comes time to buy a car we'll see what happens then. I still think that if people with $20,000 budget for a car can only buy used that it might increase used car prices and keep them there, at least to a degree. I know one thing for sure, that I'd rather spend as little on my next car as possible. They're a waste of money, not a lot of difference between a $150 car and a $150,000 car in terms of practicallity. If my next car has to be some stupid hybrid crossover, then so be it.