0:15 people really need to understand the difference between I can afford this car, versus I can afford the monthly payment. If you can only afford a monthly payment, on a 84 months term, that means you really *can’t* afford it.
I had two leases come due. 2017 Infiniti QX50 and a 2018 Kia Stinger GT. I looked at all kinds of new and used cars as I did not want to lease anymore. I decided to go with Lexus. Resale value and the fact that you can put 200,000 miles on the car and it would still run (maintenance of course) . Found a 2018 blue Lexus NX with 12,200 miles on it and a 2016 Lexus GS350 F Sport with 30,000 for half the price they cost brand new. Now, I loved the Stinger, but I had issues with the car and the poor service I got from my local Kia dealer made me decide to move on.
Oh man THANK YOU THANK YOU for explaining how car prices work! So many youtube channels just whine about the fact they can't afford a TRX or a Tesla Model 3. It always seemed to me you've got it made now - you can get a really nice car for under $25k with actual safety features OR get something reliable and cheap on the used market! 25 years ago good luck on that!
For roof strength test, I don't think they do panoramic sunroof vs. non-panoramic sunroof comparison tests. The pano roof will inherently be less safe in a rollover crash.
The Carnival top trim is actually over 46k. Plus destination and paint choice and you're at 48k. Base trim has normal tires while upper have low profile which will impact handling.
Dealerships are only stocking loaded vehicles. Last week I asked about Voyager. They told me they don't stock it. They can't lease it because all the best lease incentives are on loaded Pacificas
I gave up buying new cars decades ago. I purchase 2-3 yr used cars that look new with low mileage for 2/3 the cost of new, and usually get a mfr’s extended warranty built into the price. I negotiate the loan interest to 3%. I also keep them to 200k miles or more.
An actual "mini"van would be so good for me, as I would love to buy a compact 7 seater than still handles well. That's what I love about asian minivans like the Japanese honda Odyssey.
Any talk of Jen Stockburger's dreams of retirement makes me feel downright ancient. I persuaded my father to subscribe to Consumer Reports about the time Mrs. Stockburger might have been wearing a sun-suit with ruffles on the back and little white shoes. I have a couple of still-functioning stereo receivers that pre-date Jon and Keith by a decade or two! Time does fly and you're all a nice bunch of kids! Jen, that Kia Carnival looks like a gravid, gray Ford Flex. 😊
5:10 yeah that's one of my biggest things I say when recommending cars to people, start with your price and needs, then look. Part of having a happy car ownership experience is knowing you can afford the car. It's rarely ever worth being "car broke" to drive something you saw in a nice ad.
I always chuckle when I hear people pay more than 10k for a car. Cars are a huge waste of money and as someone who makes over 100k a year I would still never pay more than 10k for a car and I also drive them till the wheels fall off. Car payments are a big part of keeping people poor
I can relate to Jen's comments regarding handling in a minivan, they are top heavy and the body roll will be noticeable. As much as we love our family trip machine (2016 Sienna) on a recent trip to Tennessee, those windy back roads made a couple of our kids car sick because of the constant body roll. It really is a different vehicle out in the country.
I agree about the awd minivan for retirement. Unfortunately, the new Sienna second row seats are not removable. I wonder if Toyota will change that. Only thing better may be an awd VW Westphalia EV, with a huge battery. Imagine HVAC via heat pump, induction cooking etc. With only covid 19 in the rear view mirror.
Keith scuffed on the idea of bringing a Van onto the track while ur general purpose large SUV would handle worse than most vans.. i have driven a few and especially the outgoing Sedona with it's hydraulic power steering and tight suspension felt great wasn't floaty boaty at all and handled high cross winds better than even some trucks too.. Kia may have soften the Carnival ride would be interesting to compare
Thanks for another great episode! I must say, minivans are the most underrated vehicles. We're having a hard time downsizing from our '06 Sienna because it really is such a nice vehicle. The whole "mom car" thing drives me crazy. First of all, moms are awesome, so there is nothing at all wrong with driving a "mom car." Secondly, really any 3 row vehicle from a '79 Custom Cruiser to a '21 Telluride is really a family hauler. Minivans can take 7 or 8 people AND their luggage to and from the airport - try that in any sub-Suburban SUV (not to mention that the Suburban won't fit in the parking garage at the airport). I say go for the new Sienna AWD. That said, thanks for all your contributions Jen - I hope to see you on many more episodes.
I think the best impact has been on the entry level vehicles. You used to be able to get a new Nissan Versa for $10,000, but now the cheapest option is $15,000. They don’t have a manual option anymore, I believe. Plus, so much safety tech is included, which drives the price up. That’s not the market I’m looking for, but that’s just an example which comes to mind.
Yes, the upper end of the range has gotten more expensive, and the lower-middle has in some sense gotten cheaper because of competition and anti-sedan bias, but the lowest price cars are indeed disappearing - Justy, Fit, Yaris, etc are cancelled, and the most cash-constrained buyers are the ones most sensitive to this.
One of you was talking about median, and then the next started talking about average (which I guess means "mean"), but the median car price is above the median income. That is the issue. But the actual issue is that the median income is just not enough to buy any new car, so that ends up not going in to the median car price.
Hopefully a conversion van does not exceed gross weight of the vehicle. OEM tires should he fine. If you need to increase the load rating of the tires you now have other weak links. Stopping distance should also be fine... More weight also creates more frictional force for the tire (again assuming you don't go over gross weight the brake disk/pad should do fine).
When people feel that they need to "show off" their Tesla when they can only afford a Honda, that's when prices are extreme. The luxury dealers know that they "gotcha" when you salivate at the thought of driving down your street, showing off in a brand new overpriced car, when your neighbors can barely afford to pay their mortgage.
Adding AWD and an option for wider tires will solve most of the Carnival's handling issues, and seeing as how the 2021 Sienna is an absolute dog in the powertrain department, they should be able to secure a nice chunk of the minivan segment with this new vehicle. Especially when you consider the fact that all three of it's competitors top out at 50K or above, and none of them come close to matching Kia's warranty.
Adding AWD wouldn't do anything for the handling.. wider tyres definitely.. The out going Sedona handled great with it's hydraulic power steering and tight suspension wasn't floaty at all however people complained so i guess Kia soften up the ride on the Carnival
Inflation is a pointless comparison of what cost what before & what costs what now. 'Percentage of your Income' is a better rule of thumb & I suspect the percentage is MUCH higher today.
I never understood Toyota and Honda's reluctance to try sliding doors on the Highlander, Rav4, CRV and Pilot like Mazda did on the 5. Imagine all the door dings that could have been prevented.
CR gets what they want, standard safety features, battery powered cars, etc. Then everyone complains about the prices.Sorry, you cannot have it both ways. We don't have a choice when safety is standard - it just costs more money. It is why GM and Ford for so long pushed back on safety for so long making it standard. It still raises the Toyota Corolla price by $1500.
Jake Fisher says "In general, it's the vehicles that last longer. That could be because they are very reliable, or they are cheap to maintain and repair."
I do not buy that reasoning that the cars today are cheaper than before. In 2007, I was able to afford to buy a brand new Suburban with a loan interest of 6.9%. Now, I can only dream for it. I earn more money now, but still, I can't afford that.
Old VW vans never attempted to be sleek or "sporty". VW vans now command huge $ from the used market due to their "cool factor" and utility. IMHO the first brand to realize that, and make a van that embraces its own boxiness will cash in with a now-hidden huge segment of buyers (many of whom are wealthy).
Car prices aren't going up (at least not in real dollars) but the median car price is. That sounds like people are sinking more of their incomes into cars which depreciate quickly. Not a good thing.
how many times has the argument of allwheel drive vs. 2 wheel drive plus appropriate tires been done hasn't the verdict always been tires reign supreme? I've seen a couple of vids where a youtuber took a ski trip and rented a car and in their footage was there car slipping on the ice and even others having the same problem of loosing traction and me laughing cause allwheel drive helps get you going but doesn't help you stop and its the stopping that was the problem or taking a curve but that's people not knowing how to drive in snow which is common for people who live in places where snow isn't a problem
They’ve gone up because more people are comfortable going into debt! Even people that make the median income are comfortable getting a car they cannot afford through payments. The manufacturers are just making nicer cars because people will buy them not matter their income.
Cars aren't crazy expensive. People just need to stop buying shit they don't need. I sold cars many years ago and I can't tell you how often people go in with a set price point only to want something bigger, or faster, or fancier, or they want AWD, or they want a big engine. People are always trying to keep up with the Jones's and it is for the most part entirely self inflicted financial burden. Base model today have plenty of features. Most features are just gimmicks. We have an unhealthy buying culture where we like to spend money we don't have to impress people we don't know at stoplights.
@jen it’s not a stigma against mini vans, it’s the wallowing handling just like you mentioned about this Kia that vans are associated with. And this mini van is no different.
First impression of the new Kia Carnivore®? It burns nearly twice as much gas as a Sienna. Second impression? No AWD available. Final impression? Obsolete at launch.
In your article on rodents eating car parts. ARE YOU SCARED to name them? Those cute little squirrels don't look too cute anymore, DO THEY? The cute little shits cost me a couple of thousand dollars in damage. And they don't care if the cars are colllectors either.
I'm not liking the new Carnival. It looks really outdated. The previous generation looks newer. If Kia wants this to look like an SUV, why not make an actual SUV but with a sliding door? That makes more sense.
You guys still haven’t reviewed the Kia Seltos model. It’s a lot of car at a reasonable (affordable) price. Btw, that butt-ugly Kia Carnival that was shown looks like a refrigerator on wheels. All of Kia’s other models are head-turners. Kia has come a long way regarding reliability, affordability, longevity, and style, except for that ‘refrigerator on wheels’ that you showed and discussed. The grill on the Lexus is much less than attractive as well. Other than that, they are good lookers with beautiful interiors and reliability that is second to none.
@@richh7608 Thank you Rich. Somehow I missed that upload when it was posted. I’m surprised that the Consumer Report crew wasn’t overly impressed with the Kia Seltos. As for me, I love it and can’t wait till I get the one with the turbocharged engine, all wheel drive, heated seats, alloys, etc, etc., including 100,000 mile drive train warranty (lots of car for the money). Thanks again and best regards good buddy, oh and stay covid free. 👍
