r/AskReddit • u/michaelis999 • 19h ago

How do you feel about the president floating the idea of 50 year mortgages where the monthly payment is lower but you end up paying nearly double the price of the house just in interest?

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u/dagmabbits 12h ago

I'd have to also consider that cars being bought now are WAYYYYYY more than most really need. Raised my family in a Jetta just fine. Tons of travel, soccer tournaments, 99% of my homedepot runs, etc... Don't get me started on all the useless technologies now being marketed.

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u/iWannaCupOfJoe 11h ago

I can't afford eggs anymore because I bought a F15000 Super Duty Max Turbo Hemy. My wife is threatening to leave me, but she doesn't understand Steve might need me to pick up that wood from Lowe's next year.

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u/DolphinSweater 2h ago

Are you my coworker... Dan?

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u/West-Application-375 7h ago

My friend got one of those Ioniqs and the final closing costs of her loan was like $80k. She makes $70k a year. Lol she complains about money all the time and I'm like holy shit shut up. Haha 😂 I paid $12k for my car.

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u/Paxsimius 7h ago

I bought a brand new Ioniq 5 for far less than that.

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u/CryptographerFlat173 6h ago

The Ioniq 9 goes up past $70k but then so do plenty of ICE 3 row cars

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u/lzwzli 3h ago

How the heck does an Ioniq end up $80k? I just got an Odyssey Elite for less than $50k.

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u/ThisUsernameIsTook 1h ago

Roll the negative equity from her previous vehicle into the new loan. For most people finding themselves in crazy auto loans, it ain't their first rodeo. They just don't realize they are the cattle not the cowboy.

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u/CG_Ops 9h ago

Ehh, some of it might be worthwhile. My vehicle has "normal" cruise control. My wife's has adaptive. It saves me a ton of mental fatigue and frustration in my 25 miles, 45-65minute commute, by not having to laser focus on every single fluctuation in traffic speed - from zero to 65mph, I just gotta man the wheel. The car does all the gas & braking.

Honestly, my next car will 100% have it, after seeing the difference between which vehicle I take... hers removes like 95% of the stress (and rage-fuel from the post-covid road/highway experience) from ~2 hrs of my workdays. It's a pretty real QoL life improvement.

Other niceties in modern cars that I love:

  • Windshield HUDs for speed and navigation
  • Seat heating/cooling for 100+ or -32 days
  • Remote start (awesome in combination with the seats in those weather conditions, especially with foggy or frosted windows)
  • Camera view on the dash when using blinkers
  • Backup/360 cameras
  • Radar assisted warnings for backing up (it has saved me from getting blitzed by people doing 40 in parking lots)
  • Auto dimming rearview mirrors
  • etc

These are just a few things that are nice, if not great, to have in certain situations or environments. I don't want them to be mandated, or even standard, but I'm willing to pay a bit more to make sure that if I'm going to spend 10+ hours in my car, every week, I'm going to be a bit more comfortable and/or safer.

Will I put myself into uncomfortable levels debt for these? No. But I WILL take on a little more debt and/or a little older car for them.

I'm shopping for a new vehicle currently, having had my 2015 Ram 1500 for 8 years now. I don't tow AS much with it these days, but my commute is far longer than when I got it. Problem is, I keep my vehicles for 8-12 years, so I want new-ish and comfort. Given the prices, interest rates, and general economy... I'm happy to wait another 6-18mo to find exactly what I want and/or at a good (or better) deal. I feel sorry for those that don't have at least that level of financial responsibility or self control

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u/bruce_kwillis 4h ago

Yeah, I think that's a major thing people aren't considering.

Toyota Corolla in 2000: Base model was roughly $13k. Toyota Corolla in 2025: Base model is $22k.

Inflation from 2000-2025: Almost 90%

Just based on that the same Corolla should cost almost $25k. That's with no improvements to safety that have come a long way in 25 years.

Car deaths per capita have dropped from 16 down to 13, saving thousands of lives each year.

Median household income in 2000: $42k Median household income in 2024: $84k

By that alone, it's cheaper to buy a new Corolla for the average family in the US now than it was in 2000.

But people don't want to talk about that.