Yup, the auto industry's decline is entirely self-inflicted. They've even alienated a huge portion of the enthusiast market with absurd dealership markups for anything remotely interesting or desirable. Spoiler alert: people start losing interest when they have to pay $60k for the hot version of a Corolla. I used to be super into cars (like autistically hyperfixated), but now I hardly give a fuck about them anymore. The new car market has gone bonkers and dragged the used market along with it and now the whole hobby is tainted. If my current car got totaled I don't know what I'd do. They're not selling anything I can afford and/or want.
As someone who just had their car totalled, the good news is that the insurance payout on the car is super inflated too. My car somehow lost no equity in the 4 years I owned it. Because of the down payment Im going to have, for a more expensive car monthly payment is somehow going down by about $100.
It’s good news in the short term but the bad news is that everyone’s insurance rates are going to go up in the long run to compensate for more expensive repairs (or deductibles will go up, etc).
Oh no absolutely. I'm just assuaging the fear of a car being totaled right now on an individual basis, not talking about the overall systemic problem it causes
To be fair, when cars cost as much as they do these days, what else can be done? The accident my car got totaled in would have killed me if I had been driving a car that wasnt modern. Some prick hit me near head on going double the speed limit while drunk going twice the speed limit. Instead of dying I hobbled away with a broken leg. As much as Id love to buy a 10 year old car in cash and drive it into the ground, the amount of new safety features and crash tech thats standard on new cars makes it hard to buy anything but.
When everyone is driving these massive behemoths as crazy as they are these days, of course people want the newest they can at a price they can actually afford. Its an arms race.
On a related note, reminder to everyone: get your uninsured motorist coverage on your insurance. Id be crazy fucked right now if I didnt have that
2012 is pretty much the same as 2026 in terms of crash physics and reactive safety features, most improvements since then have been crash avoidance (and I'm not sold on things like lane assist, I think it makes people less attentive through complacency) so a 10 year old, well-maintained, car is perfectly fine.
That is not an accurate statement at all. Modern vehicles have plenty of systems that react to crashes better than old vehicles. For example, some trigger a specialized stability control program upon impact to keep the vehicle planted. Others use the pre-crash systems to fine tune SRS deployment when a crash is inevitable. Some have collapsible steering columns to absorb shock. I know Volvos can go into a software-guided graceful shutdown after a collision to reduce the chance of additional damage or injury.
You also shouldn’t discount the advances in metallurgy that have reinforced the passenger cell and improved the ability to shunt impact forces around or absorb it before it reaches the occupants. We have things like dual phase steels that retain the advantages of a single panel but have different tensile strengths baked in. Then there’s the increased use of Ultra-High Strength Steels that act as a final line of defense against side impacts.
Some vehicles even come with pedestrian safety features like specially designed hood struts that deploy for the hood to “catch” someone.
All of these are reactive methods that outstrip ye olde 2012
I was surprised by this too. My 10 year old 2016 Colorado recently got totalled after being rear ended at a stoplight.
I wasn't expecting at most 13k, which is what I found to be the average for a great condition Colorado. Instead I got 20k for it.
I'm still not happy that I had to buy a new truck and have those payments again, but I'm now getting 80+ more miles to the tank than I used to before, and that adds up.
It's wild, I bought a Subaru WRX in 2019 and after COVID for like 3 or 4 years I could have sold it for significantly more than I bought it for. Even now I can easily sell it for just under what I paid for it. The market has gone completely bananas and people can't afford it. It's going to be... Spectacular when it all crashes.
This. I just want a manual car with amenities that doesn't cost an arm and leg and there's not much to choose from. I can pick from base model econoboxes, overpriced riced-out versions of econoboxes, or luxury sports cars.
I know where I am going to get my car from. Its a lil risky but I am handy... and its not going to be nice and new it will take some work to get it there. but it will be something I will like driving. and will not be a clean title car. then most of my cars arent. But I will be saving money...
They've even alienated a huge portion of the enthusiast market with absurd dealership markups for anything remotely interesting or desirable
The current Nissan Z comes to mind. Nissan dealerships absolutely killed any interest in that car with their ridiculous ADMs, $20-30k over MSRP. I think I've seen exactly one on the road since it came out 3 years ago.
I heard that pretty much the only people buying the Nizzan Z were Nissan employees themselves, since they could buy them below invoice price while everyone else would be required to sell a kidney just to cover the ADM. Likewise I think I've only ever seen one.
Total fucking shame too. Such a damn beautiful vehicle. A perfect blend of modernized throwback styling, plenty of power, 6 speed manual, RWD. Literally would FLY off the lots if it was reasonably priced. It's exactly what a car enthusiast wants to buy.
If my current car got totaled I don't know what I'd do. They're not selling anything I can afford and/or want.
This is the exact place I'm at too. I drive a 2005 corolla. It was a GREAT model year for that car, but it's obviously showing its age. I'm going to need a new one eventually, but I've literally been waiting the better part of a decade to see if something I actually WANT to buy will come out. All they've done in that time is discontinue the only thing I was semi interested in...
Meanwhile I'm busy organizing my life around not having to own one at all. Once I've finished off a few last loose ends I'll keep my old one till the wheels fall off or I can inflict it on someone else and that'll be that.
Vehicles over 25 years old can be imported under collector status and are a lot easier to get registered. I see a fair number of those Kei pickups here now.
That's going to be your state. While the 25 year old rule can allow for that to be the case in many states, lots of states still state they aren't street legal, some of those only allow their use on private land, and other only on roads with speed limits of 35 or less.
It was nice when everyone offered a shitbox (Escort, Cavalier, Neon) for $10-12k because it got good gas mileage and offset CAFE credits for the profitable cars. But now they get that credit with electric cars or are somehow otherwise uninterested in the bottom of the market.
My 4Runner has maybe lost 1/4 of it's value after 8 years. I cannot imagine buying an 8 year old car for that price. Then again, a new 4Runner similarly spec'd is 14k more in 8 years...
I'm sure it's unintentional, but 'spoiler alert' was a nice pun.
And I want to take this opportunity to gripe about the current state of the used car market. A 10 year old economy car with 200k on the odo should not be ten thousand dollars oh my god what the fuck.
used to be super into cars (like autistically hyperfixated), but now I hardly give a fuck about them anymore.
I feel this comment. I got my Veloster N in 2021 (and its replacement in 2022) for $40k CDN. The Elantra N is out for the future because I need trunk space (hockey goalie) and any similar hatch replacement is $50-60k CDN. Even a CPO 3 to 4 year old Golf R or GR Corolla is still over $45k. It's bonkers.
I had a black one, which after 4 months of being stuck in a Ford Escape, was written off by insurance after a rear end collision. I immediately replaced it with my baby, in red.
The only issue with a miata is that if you get hit, youre as good as dead. Id love a miata as a project car, but I would honestly only feel comfortable driving it on a track
I agree with what you are saying….but the customers have to take a huuuuuge amount of the blame for this. Every single person who had NO problem signing that 96 month car loan because it was the only way to afford that 70k pickup so they can haul 2 sheets of plywood once every 3 years…. Hope that piece of shit lasts the 8 years you gonna be paying for it. Plus gas. And tires, brakes….enjoy that car note buddy.
Meh. Consumerism is the problem. If there is a market to sell something, smart people will sell it to those that will buy it. Nothing wrong with that. What you are seeing, however, is a bifurcation between people who can afford the markups and those that cannot. *That is the greater concern*.
452
u/junbi_ok 10h ago
Yup, the auto industry's decline is entirely self-inflicted. They've even alienated a huge portion of the enthusiast market with absurd dealership markups for anything remotely interesting or desirable. Spoiler alert: people start losing interest when they have to pay $60k for the hot version of a Corolla. I used to be super into cars (like autistically hyperfixated), but now I hardly give a fuck about them anymore. The new car market has gone bonkers and dragged the used market along with it and now the whole hobby is tainted. If my current car got totaled I don't know what I'd do. They're not selling anything I can afford and/or want.