Buying a new car is hard. Finding the right vehicle for your lifestyle and budget requires research, compromise, negotiation, and time. So it’s not surprising that some of us feel we’ve done it wrong. A new survey suggests that four in 10 of us have had regrets about the car we chose.
LendingTree surveyed 1,919 U.S. car owners online last December. They found that 39% of Americans had regretted a new car purchase.
Regrets seem to fade with time. Among those who had bought a car within the last calendar year, 47% regretted something about their purchase. Just 24% said the same about a car they’d had for six or more years.
The most common regret? Buying the wrong make and model. Buying an expensive car they couldn’t afford came in second, and not shopping around for a better deal placed third.
More Experience = Fewer Regrets
Younger buyers were more likely to feel they’d chosen the wrong make and model. Eighty percent of baby boomers have had no car-buying regrets, compared with only 40% of Gen Z’ers. Researchers did not attempt to find out whether baby boomers’ buying experience made them more satisfied with their purchase or if their expectations of a new car were lower based on experience.
A Surprise: High Earners Struggle More with Payments
About 17% reported struggles with paying their car payment. Counterintuitively, wealthier respondents were most likely to share this worry. Twenty-eight percent of respondents who earn $100,000 or more reported that they’d struggled to pay their monthly car bill. Among those at the other end of the income scale – those making $35,000 or less – just 12% worried about making the car payment.
Related: Shop Smart – Know the True Cost of Financing
Americans bought more luxury cars than ever before in 2021. Cox Automotive, the parent company of Kelley Blue Book, reports that the average new car sold for $47,000 in December, an increase of more than $6,000 in just one year. The spike was partly due to a shortage of new cars, and partly due to Americans choosing more luxurious models than in prior years. The average new car payment in America reached $688 in December — an increase of nearly 20% in just one year.
One-third of respondents had been underwater on a car loan at some point.
Men, High-Earners Most Likely to Sell, Refinance
Some who had regrets took action. Sixty percent of men reported selling the disappointing car, refinancing it, or taking another step to change their situation. Just 35% of women said the same.
Among those making $100,000 or more, fully 75% who had regrets did something about them. In comparison, only 35% of people making $35,000 to $49,999 made a change.
Maintenance Regrets
Satisfaction rose with time, but those who held onto their disappointing cars could still find themselves with regrets. Eleven percent of owners regretted not doing more maintenance on their car. Nine percent regretted ignoring an issue until it was too late. Other surveys have shown that up to 25% of Americans will ignore a check engine light forever.
Related: What Happens When I Get a Check Engine Warning?
