Model A cost in today's $$$

[matt92vr4]

I believe a big difference between then and now is the percentage of consumers that finance. I've read that 100 years ago only 2% of homes/land in the USA were financed. I can only imagine this also held true for vehicles. Americans have been fooled that consumer financing is an acceptable practice and car dealers have been royally cashing in. I can't believe the amount of money people pay for a new car. It's ridiculous.

I'm very blessed to be well above the average income and on top of that, living in Florida is fairly inexpensive with no tax etc. I drive an old $3000 truck and an old $3000 car. Last year we splurged and bought my wife a used Prius for $14,000. Considering her long commute and 53mpg, the Prius basically pays for itself.

Generally speaking IMO there is no excuse for the middle class to pay more than about $10,000 for a car that will be used for transportation purposes. My kids school has a free food pantry for the needy, which is awesome. I always find it ironic however that the line of cars is always out to the street and EVERY single car in that line is much nicer than mine. The kids ask me why those people don't have any food but have nicer cars than us. It's a great teaching opportunity.