this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2024
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the_dunk_tank

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It's the dunk tank.

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I feel horrible. Like I have been scammed or something. What can I do if anything? I still owe $130,000 on the car and can't even sell it because I would then owe around $60,000 to pay off the loan compared to what I can sell it for.

I love the car, I really do but having a hard time getting over this horrible feeling of being taken advantage of.

and the punchline:

Hol up, you bought a $155k car a year ago, and you still owe $130k on it? How small was your down payment? You are what's called "upside down" on your own loan: you owe more than the value of the thing you took out the loan on.

If you're asking what financially you can do, the answer is nothing; you took out a very large loan with a very small down payment on a depreciating asset. Take this as a lesson about why you don't do that, particularly when said asset can be crashed. All cars depreciate in value. Electric luxury sports cars from a relatively small company depreciate very, very quickly. Never trick yourself into thinking that your agreement to buy that car was ever anything but an agreement to light $155k on fire. In the future, if that's not something you can afford to do, do not buy the car.

If you're asking what you can do to make yourself feel better about your choice, my suggestion would be to try to focus on why you made the decision in the first place. You didn't buy a $155k luxury car with a zillion horsepower because it was a sound financial decision; you bought it because it was fun. Nothing has changed about the car between now and a year ago; it's still just as comfy, and it still rips your dick off when you hit the skinny pedal. The value of the car to you was never momentary, and that value hasn't changed. What can you do? The same thing you were going to do before; out make your payments, and you keep enjoying your car. Don't think about the financial value of the car; think about the value it has to you.

If you are in a situation where you can't afford the loan payments anymore, you're in a much tougher spot. I would talk to a financial planner, cuz you're gonna need to do some clever maneuvering to dig yourself out of that hole. I'm guessing your best bet would be to sell the car for whatever you can get for it, pay off as much of the loan as you can with that lump sum, and try to refinance the remaining $60k or so at a better interest rate. You'd basically be making payments on a $60k loan rather than a $155k loan, which should at least be an easier hit to take each month. If you need a car, buy a reliable used one in cash, and pay off that $60k loan as fast as you can. Swallow your pride and buy an older Prius or something for $10k.

And for the love of god, don't crash the Tesla; the max you're going to get out of your insurance is the cost to replace the vehicle (unless you have gap insurance, which I really, really hope you do). If you total the car tomorrow, the max you're going to get is $86k, and you'll still owe $60k.

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[–] [email protected] 102 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (11 children)

The amazingly stupid part to me isn’t so much that he bought a luxury car and then the price came down, it’s that it looks like he bought it with the expectation that the value was going to go up. Rule number one of buying a new car, 30-50% of the sale value disappears the moment you drive off the lot. That he thought Elon hype magic was going to offset that is an extra level of sad.

[–] [email protected] 50 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Elon hype magic

It's weird how some people - Elon, Trump, Steve Jobs - have a reality distortion field and their acolytes refuse to listen to logic or reason.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 9 months ago

P. T. Barnum outlined how to rope your average burgerbrain up in a fartshow and people just keep falling for obvious bullshit, over and over and over and over again.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The origin of the term "reality distortion field" is one of my faves. It was based on the Star Trek TOS season 2 episode "The Menagerie" and was coined by an apple employee named Bud Tribble, who shared his last name with the creatures from "The Trouble with Tribbles," also in season 2 of TOS.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I thought you must have been at least joking a little because "Bud Tribble" sounds like a Bobson Dugnutt name. But the story is true.

Folklore.org: Reality Distortion Field

Author: Andy Hertzfeld
Date: February 1981
Characters: Steve Jobs, Bud Tribble
Topics: Management, Personality, Reality Distortion
Summary: Bud defines Steve's unique talent

[–] [email protected] 17 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I know! It rules

[–] [email protected] 23 points 9 months ago (1 children)

At least the Jobs one seems to be dissipating, or maybe it’s just easier for people to see the warts when it’s generic CEO running the company and not The Visionary.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 9 months ago (2 children)

The Steve Jobs Mystery Cult never established much of a priesthood, so there was no one around to deify him once he died.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 9 months ago

It’s sort of analogous to the whole “The televised debates won JFK the election” thing. It helped JFK but him and his team didn’t fully understand it because it was too new. It would take later politicians to fully exploit it. Likewise, Jobs had the public persona for the mystery cult but he didn’t really develop it or get the potential in the Web 2.0 era, whereas Musk and Trump did and played it up for maximum effect.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I honestly thought this was common knowledge

[–] [email protected] 14 points 9 months ago

i don't have a driver's license and even i know that cars are depreciating assets

[–] [email protected] 20 points 9 months ago

Some days I think that people incorrectly referring to cars as "investments" is definitely a car industry op.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 9 months ago

He probably thought his meme Tesla was going to become a heckin collectible NFT

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago (1 children)

30-50% 0f the sale value disappears the moment you drive it off the lot

Tbf that's not really true since covid hit. New car my parents bought in 2019 only went down a a few thousand because of how long you still wait for a new car, it's sort-of normalizing though.

Car thefts are a huge thing where I live now, because luxury cars retain a lot more of their value in the first few years now. Meanwhile before a 2 year old luxury car was worth less than a new normal brand car usually.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (4 children)

This is a self-correcting loop though. If residual values remain high for 2-3 years after purchase, that makes Leasing extremely attractive and almost free. More people will lease than buy because of the very low monthly payments, which will then drive up demand for new cars and lower demand for used cars. This will then cause values to again drop when driving a new vehicle off the lot

(Leasing prices are calculated by taking purchase cost - residual value (the depreciation over the term of the lease) / term in months. Therefore the more cars retain their value, the cheaper leases get and the less people will want used cars)

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Buys a tesla, doesn't understand the depreciation of vehicles. A brilliant mind.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I have NFTs of the Brooklyn bridge to sell this guy

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago

Too late! I already copied yours

[–] [email protected] 48 points 9 months ago

certified "all my apes gone" moment

rest in piss bozo

[–] [email protected] 42 points 9 months ago (3 children)

I see people come into my job all the time and pay 27%+ APR on luxury sedans and Teslas every day. Like bro, you're not succeeding in life here, you're purchasing a lead anchor and proudly wearing it around your neck

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 9 months ago (6 children)

I've yet to see a single reason why anyone should get a car that isn't a Honda or Toyota (or maybe a subaru if you may need awd)

[–] [email protected] 32 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

if you have a place to charge at home, and you're mostly just using the car as a commuter box, something like a chevy bolt or nissan leaf can work quite well and save you a ton of gas money (but make sure to not buy new)

i still hold the opinion that you should not buy an EV if you do not have a place to charge at home.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'd be worried about battery degredation on a used electric car. Hybrids you can deal with because the battery is less costly to replace since it's smaller, and usually isn't critical to the operation of the car.

I'd rather buy an even older electric car and get the battery replaced so you're 100% sure of the lifespan than a medium-old one with a worn battery.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 9 months ago

Yeah, the issue with old Nissan Leafs is that they always have fucked batteries that only have like 30 miles of range.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Yeah, the cheaper EV's make sense if you're stuck in the suburbs and still need a car sometimes. Get a BYD or Tesla model 3, plug it in the garage (preferably with excess solar), and you get to drive around essentially for free (excluding taxes and insurance).

[–] [email protected] 25 points 9 months ago (4 children)

In many cities it is illegal to directly connect solar power to your house. For example, in San Francisco, you must sell your solar-generated electricity to PG&E and then buy it back for twice what you sold it for.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That's so stupid wtf.

Where I live you can sell it back to the grid and only pay/get paid for the net difference. That way you don't have to buy an expensive home-battery system.

I thought California would be better than my Conservative-run Canadian province but I guess not.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 9 months ago

It’s because San Francisco is owned and operated by a corporate cartel.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Tesla model 3

it's actually crazy how you can find model 3s in the mid 20ks now. these things depreciate like crazy

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm assuming those have issues? I think I'd probably get a BYD over a Tesla, although I'm not buying a new car anytime soon.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm assuming those have issues?

I just checked a bunch of listings on AutoTrader for Tesla Model 3 under US$30,000 and none of them mention any significant issues.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

none of them mention any significant issues.

Besides the significant issue of being an off-warranty car with notoriously shitty build quality?

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 9 months ago

Chinese electric car yo

[–] [email protected] 19 points 9 months ago

Legit. Nothing touches the reliability of the major Japanese brands. Driving sucks, but if I have to do it, my wheeled appliance better work every time.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 34 points 9 months ago

I love the answers that are like 'just shitty market timing'. Because apparently, there is a right time to spend six figures on a car. $86K is still too much, this bozo has more hurt in store yet if he's obsessed with resale value.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 9 months ago

Lmao. Imagine buying EVs new when you can buy them 1 year old and save like 10 grand

[–] [email protected] 33 points 9 months ago

Don't think about the financial value of the car; think about the value it has to you.

Lol I wish I could live like this

[–] [email protected] 28 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

The response is good though, great compassionate advice.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I don't have anything against the response. The dunk is a Tesla owner being fucked and that's just the comment that best explains why they're fucked and that there's no hope.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 9 months ago

Remember kids: If your ass sets on it, it's not an asset. You can't make money flipping cars (except maybe repairing vintage cars, but even then)

[–] [email protected] 25 points 9 months ago

nicholson-yes

eat shit bozo

[–] [email protected] 23 points 9 months ago

Almost tempted to login to Reddit to post “lol” on his thread but fuck Reddit and its MAU count.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 9 months ago

Lol it's some small business dipshit, get owned.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 9 months ago

I don’t give a shit

[–] [email protected] 13 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The kicker here is that Tesla offers leases on these cars, and that's how most luxury cars are intended to be used - rich people aren't going to bother with all the fuck around stuff (maintenance, repairs) when you own a car because they're always just a money pit. Even if he did lease it at a 160k value it'd be less of a financial hit.

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