The End of Car Buying

It takes a while, sometimes, for a term or phrase in common usage to outlive its usefulness – because it no longer means what it once did. Like “gay,” for instance – which used to mean happy. It now means something else. And of course, “vaccine” – which used to means you weren’t going to catch whatever it was you just got vaccinated for. It now means something else.

So also “car buying” – which is something a dwindling number of people are able to do anymore because who has the money in hand to be able to actually buy a car? Survival Projects for ... Nash, Johnathan Check Amazon for Pricing.

Most people finance a car – or crossover or truck or whatever it is. But that isn’t really buying it, is it? What you’re doing in that case is making payments so that – eventually – you will have bought the car or truck or whatever it is. In the meanwhile, though, you’re only technically the owner. There is a lien on the title beside your name – and it is the lien-holder who is the real owner, until you make that final payment.

At one time – it was not all that long ago – it was possible to make one payment (in full) on the day you bought the vehicle. It may not have been a new vehicle, for most people, but the point is it was not only possible but common for people who needed a vehicle to just buy one, typically from a private seller.

The process began by looking for a prospect vehicle. Sometimes, just by driving around to look for one with a For Sale sign taped to the windshield. You’d do a little researching to figure out a fair price for the vehicle, then go get the cash – out of the bank or out of the cookie jar – and go check out the vehicle. There was no talk of payments – except the one. If you decided you’d like to buy the vehicle, you did just that – assuming the seller agreed to take the cash on offer.

The last time I did this was in the Before Time, around 2008 – when I decided I needed a new used truck to replace my getting-rusty old truck. I wanted to get the same kind of truck, just newer and less rusty.

At this time, there were many such trucks available to choose from and I was able to buy one because it was still possible, at that time, to do just that. I found a replacement for my ’98 Nissan Frontier – a 2002 Frontier – with much lower mileage (and much less rust) advertised for sale online for $7,500.

Imagine that, if you can.

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