The most prevalent experience of the 21st century is thinking something is only happening to you, then logging onto social media and discovering everyone else is complaining about the same thing. There’s no better place for that than TikTok. Recently, a user on the app simply asked, “How much is your car payment?” — and all hell broke loose. More than 2.6 million views later, people are still chiming in about how unaffordable new cars are starting to feel.
TikTok creator @thee_secretbakup wondered out loud whether an older model that’s fully paid off might actually be the true sign of luxury. After all, what is luxury if not attainable excellence? For most people, a new car simply isn’t attainable anymore, especially with recent price hikes affecting everything from gasoline to groceries. Add to that the ever-growing complexity and cost of keeping a car on the road.
