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Truck purchases are driving up the average cost of car payments. Some buyers pay over $1,000 a month (www.nbcnews.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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More than 1 in 4 car shoppers in Texas and Wyoming have committed to paying more than $1,000 a month, and experts say it is due to the high volume of large truck purchases in those states, according to a report by auto site Edmunds.

More than 1 in 5 shoppers in seven other states — Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Utah — are also forking over more than $1,000 for their vehicles each month.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't have anything to tow (I could tow something small), and I rarely see any trucks in my area that actually tow.

If you regularly tow, then a truck makes total sense. But you don't need a $1k truck payment to tow something.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You don't NEED anything. Many of these are wealthy buyers who have disposable income and choose to spend it on a nicer truck.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

And that's precisely what I'm getting at. A lot of people complain about their car/truck payment, but most of it is 100% a choice.

People point to average car payments like some kind of evidence that owning cars is significantly more expensive today, but prices for new cars have mostly come back to "normal" and average payments are being skewed by these high value vehicles (e.g. high end electric cars, trucks, massive SUVs).

So if your car payment is too high, there are most likely much more affordable options that'll fit your needs, so average monthly payment is a really silly thing to look at.