Good points, BiochemPSU. This is just idle curiosity on my part - don't mean to be personal and don't mean to derail the current discussion: If car loan forgiveness were a thing, would most folks be okay with that, do you think? Maybe forgiveness for loans on cars made in America? (18 months ago I drove a UHaul truck for North Carolina to Texas as a favor to a cousin-in-law. Drove deeper south until I got to I-10, then headed west for what seemed like three weeks. Passed by the Hyundai plant in Alabama. That thing seemed to stretch for MILES!!) I understand the difference between investing for the future (college degree) vs. a necessary but wildly diverse vehicle choice; just curious what folks would think about that kind of gambit. Or how about mortgages? TIA!
Car loans top out at what - 6-7 years? Current system has folks playing student loan debts for 30 years at ridiculous interest rates. If after 10 years of car payments you owed more than you borrowed I think people would have an issue with that.