“I would like to see the end of usurious financing in the auto industry. I know, good luck with that. Every time this business faces a crisis, the auto manufacturers somehow deem that the return of 84-month financing to lure unsuspecting buyers in is an unspoken right, and it is flat-out wrong. They should rename it ‘Upside Down Financing’ and be done with it, because it exploits buyers who unfortunately should know better into signing up for a loan on a vehicle that will ultimately be worth less – much less – than what they owe on it half-way through the term. Sure, for the small percentage of buyers out there who keep their vehicles ten years or more it might make a shred of sense, but for the vast majority of buyers in question it means signing up for financial jeopardy right out of the gate. And it’s unmitigated bullshit.”
— Peter M. DeLorenzo, Auto Extremist (2020)
RE:SOURCES
- DeLorenzo, Peter M.; 2020. “You can’t always get what you want.” Auto Extremist. Posted May 19; accessed May 21.
In the first place the people who want to replace a vehicle after 3 years or so would go for a lease if they are smart. I don’t pay that much attention to car prices, although my sense is they hang on to their value longer than they used to. Also, they last a lot longer than they used to.