What’s going on? What don’t I know?

drainoil said:

frenchy what part of the metro are you talking?

Southern Part of Hopkins. 

Fueled by Caffeine said:

Appleseed said:

Tax refunds.

Ding ding ding. 
 

low interest rates + returns = April  baller status 

But it started 5-6 months ago.  Well, I started to notice it.  But old rusty minivans, tired Toyota's, beat up pickups being replace with newish high end cars.
 

Are 5 ish year old Mercedes, Porsche's, Jaguars, Land Cruisers etc particularly cheap right now?

interest rates on older used cars can't be as low as a Honda Toyota, etc factory deal on   New cars nor can they stretch it out as long so wouldn't the payments be higher? 

Maybe they got them early, expectingthe refunds to make payment right before they repo it? 

In reply to frenchyd :

2 year old Benzes, Porsches, Jaguars and Land Cruisers look an awful lot like 5 year old Benzes, Porsches, Jaguars and Land Cruisers which look an awful lot like 10 year old Benzes, Porsches, Jaguars and Land Crusiers. And 10 year old luxury vehicles are definitely feeling depreciation.

I'm not saying you don't know what you're looking at, I'm just saying that those vehicles don't see drastic aesthetic changes very often. A big reason why they're desirable is because they're instantly recognizable as a certain brand or model, which carries panache. An E Class Benz from 2020 looks pretty similar to an E Class Benz from 2010, etc. Because they all look so similar, the world knows that you're driving an E Class Benz (even if it's not fresh off the lot), which is a big part of the appeal.

What year do you think the following Cayennes are?

Spoiler: The top pic is 2003-2010, the second is Gen 2 (2011-2017), and the final is third gen 2018-current (specifically a 2020)

Same goes for 5 or 7 series BMWs.

My 2006 5 series still looks pretty modern these days when compared to newer styles (sans giant grills)

In reply to STM317 :

You are right.  It is hard to tell exactly what year cars like that are.  And maybe I am seeing 10 year old Mercedes, Jaguars,  Porsche's, etc.  Iin very well maintained condition.  But not Tesla's  and to go from rusty  old Mini vans, crusty Chevy' s, tired Toyota's and beat up pick ups? 

To those much more expensive cars?  One or two I can understand. Pay raise, good deal, etc  but to see The whole neighborhood change?  
 

I'm serious, you don't see any  of the former And all of the later are newish and shiney.  Displaying pride in ownership.  This is the rust belt normal is a coat of salt.  Getting cars washed didn't happen that often at least not during the winter.  A $10-12 car wash wasn't in people's budgets  
Yet there they are. Clean and with a shine.  

Maybe you can ask the kids that you pick up, if their parents all got new jobs or the neighborhood won the lottery?

Maybe you've discovered the Midwest HQ for George Soros paid disrupters lol. It is an election year.

Some of those cars you mentioned aren't gentrification, they're GRM gems.  I'm broke as a joke.  I work for a non-profit arts organization, but my current shopping list includes an X350 Jag Super V8 which was $110k new, but now they can be found for $6000.

Heck, I just passed on a 2014 S65 Mercedes AMG because of parts cost.  It was originally $168,000 new, had 100k on it, and listed for $14k OBO.

In reply to Curtis73 :

Yes at those prices I'd be tempted too. 
it's just that the sort of cars that used to be there were $500- 2500. 
suddenly there are $10,000. -30,000

This sort of thing is what's going on. People will spend their last cent to look more affluent then they are.... And once one person goes all out to look like they're doing well, often the rest of the street follows.

daeman said:

People will spend their last cent to look more affluent then they are.

The surest way to be poor is to worry about looking rich.

Author – Philosopher Reven’