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When you’re buying a car, Edmunds’ consumer insights analyst Joseph Yoon said the most important factor is to “really, really, really know your budget. [...] Go online, run every single payment calculator you can find and really familiarize yourself with how the numbers are going to shake out every month,” Yoon said. The average monthly car payment is now more than $730, compared to $527 five years ago, according to Edmunds.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/04/how-to-buy-your-first-car.html
Edmunds put a 2022 Rivian R1T and a 2022 Ford Lightning up against each other in its first all-electric towing contest. In the end, Edmunds says both trucks performed similarly in terms of efficiency and were equally good at climbing steep grades with a powerful electric truck. However, they did conclude that the Ford Lightning offers additional advantages over Rivian’s electric truck for towing.
Watch a Rivian R1T and Ford Lightning electric truck go head-to-head in a towing test [Video]
Ford has raised the price of the Lightning multiple times since its launch. Customers who choose the entry-level Pro model now pay at least $20,000 more than the original $40,000 price. Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds, said Ford could charge even more and customers would pay up. "The Lightning is a home run for Ford," he told ABC News. "The company has hundreds of thousands of reservations -- it's sold out through 2024. There is no cooling down in this market."
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"Auto loan rates hit their highest level in 15 years during the quarter, but seemed to have leveled off, said Edmunds Executive Director of Insights Jessica Caldwell."
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"Behind the vehicle shortage and inflated prices is simple supply and demand. Much of the problem stems from the surging prices of new cars. In February, according to Edmunds, the average new vehicle in the United States sold for nearly $48,000 — beyond the reach of many consumers."
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"Fueling an EV is cheaper, too: Edmunds.com data pegs the cost of driving a Model 3 Performance at $97/month compared to $238/month for an average midsize car in California. Electricity is much cheaper than gas. EV drivers pocket the difference, saving thousands of dollars."
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The update from Elon Musk's car company comes as the White House rolls out new measures to expand EV charging across the country. "I think Tesla understood that $7.5 billion is an awful lot of money, and if they can grab a significant chunk of that, then that's great news for them, but then that does have to be offset against the fact that they're giving away what most people see as their critical advantage," explained Alistair Weaver, the editor-in-chief at Edmunds.com.
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"We all know that 2022 was a tough year if you were looking to buy a car. New cars were scarce and old cars were expensive. But how will things shake out in 2023? 'I know a lot of people were searching in 2022, they come to find out that the cars they thought were on a dealer’s lot, they weren’t or were in transit. You get to the lot, there’s nothing there… you see the employees’ cars and not the cars for sale,' said Edmunds' director of insights, Ivan Drury. Drury said that things are slowly getting better, but don’t expect to find everything you want right away."
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"Taking the time to compare financing options before you decide on a vehicle can help you determine which of your options is the best route to take long-term, how that payment will factor into your monthly budget, and how long it will take you to repay that loan at the current rate. 'Other options to think about is to secure financing outside of the dealership,' says Joseph Yoon, Edmunds' consumer insights analyst. 'Say you’ve been going to the same bank for a while, or there's a local credit union that's running some special interest rates for new car purchases, I think that's a good way to kind of flip the table in your favor just a little bit, even if it's by a couple points because it adds up.'"
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"Edmunds' director of insights Ivan Drury explains that the inflated new and used vehicle prices we saw the past year combined with the recent decreases in used vehicle prices translates to a classic 'negative equity' situation, in which the value of an asset used to secure a loan is less than the outstanding balance on the loan. 'We are only seeing the tip of the negative-equity iceberg,' with car prices, especially used car prices, expected to keep dropping, said Drury. "
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