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The $25k car is going extinct?

(media.hubspot.com)
319 points pseudolus | 2 comments | 29 Jun 25 15:59 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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aorloff ◴[30 Jun 25 01:46 UTC] No.44418386[source]▶
Nobody else has said it so I guess I will.

The reason the US car industry does not want a $25k car is that the financing opportunities are crap for a car of this low cost.

In the same way that airlines exist to offer you a miles based credit card, the US car dealerships survive by offering you a loan for the car. Or perhaps, a car to go with your structured finance opportunity.

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SoftTalker ◴[30 Jun 25 03:11 UTC] No.44418924[source]▶
Buy the best used car you can afford for cash and forget all that dealership nonsense
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financypants ◴[30 Jun 25 03:26 UTC] No.44419017[source]▶
The small and quasi-loophole to getting a good used car deal is buying a hail damage car. I genuinely don't understand why cars were made to have shiny paint. Cars drive on dirty roads with insects and pebbles abound. Paint doesn't matter. Car washes are crazy, except to abait rust
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leakycap ◴[30 Jun 25 03:43 UTC] No.44419135[source]▶
The issue you'll face is when you go to sell it – any noticeable hail damage means you are getting 1/2 the resale value if you can even find an interested buyer.
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mlyle ◴[30 Jun 25 06:49 UTC] No.44420238[source]▶
Yes, but you also paid half the cost to acquire the car. You're just paying less in depreciation for the time you use it.
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1. leakycap ◴[30 Jun 25 07:39 UTC] No.44420519[source]▶
My last car got minor hail damage across many panels, it was a difficult PDR for some reason - when I traded it in it was worth 1/4 what KBB would have been for a similar year and mileage without dents

Even trying to sell it myself for around 1/3 KBB "good" value took 2 months because the next buyer can't get financing on a car worth very little, so you have to find a cash buyer who doesn't care how their new ride looks. It's rare for anything other than $2,500 cars

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2. lelanthran ◴[30 Jun 25 11:23 UTC] No.44421920[source]▶
> next buyer can't get financing on a car worth very little, so you have to find a cash buyer who doesn't care how their new ride looks.

The idea is to be the next buyer who is paying very little because of the hail damage.