How Automobile-buying has Changed, over the Years

imp

Senior Member
My Dad owned a 1935 Ford Coupe when I was born; the car was then 7 years old. It cost $635 brand new. He never, ever, bought a car, all during their marriage, all during his lifetime, on "time-pay".

Looking at used-car ads today (I am in the market), I see full-page layouts of pictured vehicles offered for sale, but instead of ASKING PRICES, they post "as low as" monthly payments! No price shown! The stupidity exhibited by the buying public in responding to such advertising is amazing. Yet, they all do it. Price? All they care about is the monthly payment. So profoundly ingrained has credit buying become.

Is this a relatively local phenomenon? Seen it in your neck of the woods? Approve of the selling tactics? I do not. imp

Edit: When I clicked "submit", I immediately got "webpage expired". When I then went to re-open Senior Forum to find out whether my post had "taken", it displayed that I was still logged-in. Lo and behold, it was here. Matrix?
 

I see this in ads around here, too. I do not like it at all. I want to know the cash price of what I am buying THEN I'll consider financing if I need/want to to. Besides which you can usually get a much better deal from a credit union or, in my case, USAA. The only time I used the dealer's recommended financing was when I bought my Saturn, at which time GM was offering a better deal than I could get anywhere else. I bought a new previous year's model just after the newer models had come out and there was a special deal on those.
 

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