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Comment by acdha | Hacker News Reader

Not just pandemic aid money but also loan rates - many people were making those luxury trucks and SUVs work by getting 5+ year loans under 4% but rates are over 7% now and that’s going to make a big difference in your monthly payments.

If you’ve been feeling pinched anywhere else, that’s going to make you reconsider if you’re one of the many pickup owners who bought it as a fashion accessory rather than for need:

> According to Edwards’ data, 75 percent of truck owners use their truck for towing one time a year or less (meaning, never). Nearly 70 percent of truck owners go off-road one time a year or less. And a full 35 percent of truck owners use their truck for hauling—putting something in the bed, its ostensible raison d’être—once a year or less.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/26907/you-dont-need-a-full-siz...

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That usage data isn’t really helpful since owners can use them exclusively for one or the other. Without changing those statistics, each owner still may need a truck if they are constantly doing another.

That’s likely not the case, but I’m fairly certain the real world usage isn’t as bad as that seems.

It’s possible that those groups are disjoint enough that every truck owner uses it for one of those functions but not the others, and does so to an extent that they can’t use another vehicle (e.g. uses the bed for more than fits in a car, etc.), but that seems unlikely. The sales have boomed for years and it seems unlikely that there are so many new ranchers or tradespeople, etc. especially given that most of the trucks you see on the road outside of rural areas are in pristine condition with no signs of being used to tow anything.

I keep seeing this quote but as stated those numbers allow for all truck owners to use their trucks for any of hauling, towing, or offroading 100% of the time.

I share the perception that pickups are underutilized but this quote really doesn’t support that belief.

Personal loans in the UK are typically a fixed interest rate for the length of the loan -- I did some home improvements in 2021 and took a 7 year loan at 2%

Their point is that when they try and trade in their 3 year old truck which they got a low interest rate for a new one, not only is their truck worth bugger-all to trade in but their next interest rate will probably be doubled or more.

Hence they'll stick with their current one so one less sale.

The same is true for many auto and home loans in the US. The point, I think, is that you have much less purchasing power now that rates have gone up than before.

Trucks are fantastic vehicles if you can afford them, but a 7% rate on a new $80k truck is beyond most people right now.

That seems about right, most of my neighbors use their pickup to drive to Costco and little else.

It's an ego/narcissist thing mostly about being seen driving a bit vroom vroom.

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