we have a paid off 2019 jetta that we refused to sell when we moved abroad because cars are so stupid expensive now. my FIL has it and uses it occasionally. he said to us the other day “do you want me to sell it? i can get $7k for it” and my eyes almost shot out of my head. $7k is what a used car cost when i was in high school. boomer mind has not adjusted for inflation.
BREAKING: America’s $1.7 trillion auto loan market is headed for a crash, per Reuters.
Auto loans are now one of the biggest sources of household debt, bigger than credit cards.
And the strain is showing: 1 in 5 Americans is behind on at least one loan, the highest since 2010, and the average car on the road is now nearly 13 years old, a record.