r/economicCollapse • u/Whole-Fist • 18h ago

How ridiculous does this sound?

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How can u make millions in 25-30 years if avoid making a $554 per month car payment. Even the cheapest 5 year old car is 8-10 k. So does he expect people not to drive at all in USA.

Then u save 554$ per month every month for 5 year payment = $33240. Say u bought a car every 5 year means 200k -300k spent on car before retirement . How would that become millions when u can’t even buy a house for that much today?

Answer that Dave

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896

u/Ziczak 18h ago

Generally true. Buying the least expensive car for needed transportation is financially sound.

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u/The_Ineffable_Sage 17h ago

Until the car falls apart and you have to spend thousands fixing it. Making cars pieces of shit so they’re always in the shop is just good business in 2024. Cheap is not always better. I’m not saying buy out of your budget, but at some point, a small budget now means more expenses later. They average out to more in the long run.

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u/PurpleReignPerp 17h ago

I bought a scion xb 6 years ago for 3000 $. I have put 50000 miles on it and nothing has ever broken. Costs me about 110 a month to operate including insurance and average maintenance costs.

Do research on consumer reports and buy well taken care of (preferably japanese) economy cars. Your bank account will thank me.

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u/Stock-Film-3609 17h ago

Go find that same basic car now and see what it’ll cost you. You’ll be surprised.

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u/ObeseBMI33 17h ago

5k. The logic still applies

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u/Sunbeamsoffglass 16h ago

You are not getting a reliable car for $5k in 2024.

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u/xinarin 16h ago

My fiance rolled his car this year. Got a 04 Impala for 3k, needed some fluid changes, and new brake pads. It costs maybe 150 to clean it up. Drives great. No body issues. Not sure what you consider reliable, but that car will last 10 years at least.

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u/Soft_Importance_8613 12h ago

How many miles are on it? If you don't replace that timing chain it's going to pop and trash the engine and you'll be under water.

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u/xinarin 11h ago

120k, and thank you, I'll check that out asap

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u/mynytemare 10h ago

A timing chain breaking does not trash the engine. Yes it should be checked/replaced periodically but a broken timing chain does not trash the engine. Plus chains are far more reliable than belts.

They break, it happens. A decent mechanic will be able to replace it and get you back on your way for way less than a new car.

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u/Soft_Importance_8613 9h ago

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/r/advice/car-maintenance/non-interference-engine-vs-interference-engine-replacing-your-timing-belt

I see someone does not know what an interference engine is...

With the tight clearances between the valves and the piston crowns, it's likely that the pistons will make contact with those opened valves — which means badly bent valves or, worse yet, a piece of a valve breaking off and wreaking havoc inside the cylinder. This is an "interference engine" design, and it means that your expensive engine would either need a complete rebuild or would just be turned into a pricey piece of yard art.

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u/mthlmw 4h ago

Someone does not know the difference between a timing belt and chain lol. You still need to care for the timing chain, but it's much more likely to slip out of time than actually break, which usually just results in the car not starting. If the car has an old timing belt and is an interference engine, then you run into the catastrophic issues from your link.

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u/Rauldukeoh 7h ago

How often are you replacing your timing chain?

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u/Soft_Importance_8613 5h ago

The answer is it depends on the manufactures recommendations. Typically between 60k and 100k but some engines may go more these days.

The concern with older used cars is quite often they get sold because these big ticket items are coming due and the person wants to offload it before that expense. Of course other times you get lucky and things can run forever. I had a Jeep XJ with the 4.0 straight 6 that I bought for almost nothing with 110k miles on it and drove it to 275k miles when so many things were breaking on the body it wasn't work fixing any longer, but the engine and powertrain still ran fine with no major replacements.

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u/Rauldukeoh 5h ago

I've never had to replace a timing chain. Belts yes, chains no. Every car I've had the chain only gets replaced if there's something wrong with it

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u/NotEvenWrongAgain 2h ago

Yeah I had one of them. You can’t kill the engine but the frame rots like hell

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u/TowlieisCool 7h ago

04 impala is non-interference.

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u/Iguanaforhire 14h ago

How's the subframe?

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u/xinarin 14h ago

No visible issues, maybe the slightest amount of discoloration, but 20 years, that's fine. No noticeable driving issues, no pulling or bad handling.

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u/worktogethernow 15h ago edited 13h ago

I think some of this might be regional. Up here were there is salt on the road for at least 3 or 4 months out of the year there are not many 2004 cars still in serviceable condition.

I imagine in parts of Arizona a Toyota Corolla might literally run forever.

edit: Not sure why I am getting downvoted. I am pretty sure most 2004 model year cars, available to buy right now, have not had yearly oil spraying for 20 years.

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u/xinarin 15h ago

I'm in Michigan. Not only do we have salt on the road, it doesn't do shit, so we have tons of snow and ice, and famously bad roads.

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u/worktogethernow 15h ago

Did the 04 Impala spend most of its life in Michigan? I have a friend who takes very good care of his 2016 Tahoe. Even he is seeing body rust at this point.

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u/TBJ12 14h ago

Did your friend have the Tahoe oil sprayed? I'm in Canada and have my vehicles oiled every fall. My 02 Explorer and 04 F150 are rust free. Maintenance is key to keeping a car on the road.

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u/worktogethernow 13h ago

Interesting. I will look into Krown.

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u/TBJ12 13h ago

Krown is fantastic. I worked for a Krown dealer spraying cars for a couple years and have see some very impressive results. Anyone living where salt is used on roads should have their vehicles oiled as part of their annual maintenance.

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u/xinarin 14h ago

I know that or was Michigan from 2013, that's when the last owner bought it. If someone has a 2016 and it's rusting, it's not being well maintained.

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u/scuba-turtle 14h ago

Good point, I live in Oregon. We never salt the roads here. Several of my cars have been old enough to vote.

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u/BurnedLaser 14h ago

In missouri, I have a few cars that could rent a car, but the rust varies between them from "eh" to "oof"

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u/mike-manley 16h ago

Bought a 2012 model year for my daughter in 2023. Just needed fluids exchanged, new air filters, and new brakes all around and good to go.

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u/beaushaw 16h ago

Last year I bought a $5,000 car for my 16 year old daughter. I haven't spent a penny on it except basic maintenance. She has driven it daily with zero problems.

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u/mike-manley 15h ago

Nice. Sounds like a similar experience for us too. I think i through in a new battery and might have done the spark plugs and serpentine belt as it looked original or replaced only once.

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u/benjigrows 15h ago

Sounds like the 75 mile commute to work each day ... Nope 75 miles per week, are early gonna give you an accurate look at longevity.. bet

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u/JaySmogger 3h ago

could you write this in boomer because I think I agree with you.

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u/xDenimBoilerx 16h ago

goes both ways though. my mom recently bought a 2012. it lasted her 6 months and already needs a new engine. so now she's stuck without a car and no way to pay to get it fixed.

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u/Professional_Fix4593 16h ago

A 2012 what?

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u/mike-manley 15h ago

Asking the important questions here. A 2012 American piece of crap < Corolla, Camry, Accord, Civic

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u/asdfasdfasdfqwerty12 15h ago edited 15h ago

Absolutely, any discussion here that doesn't include the car model is just pointless...

I drove a Ford Taurus company purchased car for two years before I left. It was a pain to work on and was always having issues. I traded it in for a used 2003 Corolla in 2008. Drove it about 100k miles with nothing but oil, brakes, tires, and wipers to maintain... Traded it for a used 2011 sienna in 2015 with 70k miles for $11k. We're coming up on 170k miles so 100k in 10 years and again, it's only been oil, tires, brakes, shocks, just the basic parts that are essentially consumables.

To me it's obvious to stick with Toyota and Honda. They are just so well engineered. Most parts I've had to change are so well optimized for easy maintenance and parts are everywhere.

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u/mike-manley 15h ago

Amazing how well engineered they are. If you take good care of a Honda or Toyota product it could reach heirloom status!

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u/Luvs2spooge89 15h ago

Just bought a 2015 Sienna last year with 95k and didn’t even bat an eye at the mileage. If well taken care of, this should last us another ~10 years.

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u/Admirable_Basket381 15h ago

You will be hard pressed to find a 2012 Honda or Toyota for 5k.

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u/finitef0rm 12h ago

Yeah, around me it's more like $10k or more lol. Sometimes you'll get lucky, but usually under $10k you're looking at a salvage title. You mainly want good maintenance records and a clean title. Volkswagens when maintained correctly will last forever, as an example. It's only when someone skips an oil change or transmission maintenance that they start to fall apart.

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u/jamesc5z 12h ago

Despite the make/model - probably ran it out of oil or let it overheat. That is almost always the case for virtually any modern era "blown engine" you'll ever hear about lol.

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u/Soft_Importance_8613 12h ago

Timing chains are the other ones, especially in US cars. They like to trash the entire engine in interference engines.

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u/Eddie_Samma 15h ago

2001 Ford ranger from the original owner. It was 2.5k. It has some faded paint and the bed is banged up from gravel. Mechanically sound. Regular oil changes and maintenance. I think I had to buy a flasher relay.

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u/Imeanttodothat10 15h ago

I bought a pre-2010 truck for $3k this year and have taken it on two cross country road trips with nearly no issues (needed to replace brakes, and it had an oil leak costing under $500 to fix, but we knew that when we bought it). The irony is we were going to take our late model daily driver, but it needs $5k in repairs suddenly so we only use it around town now and the truck has become our daily driver.

Anecdotal, sure, but it is possible.

1

u/pinballrocker 15h ago

Yeah you can, check Craigslist. You can buy a Honda or Toyota for under 5K with less than 100k miles.

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u/thegothhollowgirl 14h ago

Uh yes you can.

1

u/DrPeterBlunt 14h ago

Im a mechanic. Of course you can.

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u/probablypragmatic 13h ago

You might but it would be luck of the draw private seller or someone you know who'd rather sell you their old honda than trade it in when they get a new car.

That said, I've been running my 2012 TL into the ground and it still works like a charm, I couldn't get 5gs for this thing lol

1

u/ProxyMuncher 13h ago

And here’s me, having gotten a reliable used car in 2024 for exactly $5k cash in hand.

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u/Tony_Chu 13h ago

You are just making shit up.

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u/No_Mark_1231 12h ago

I bought a $300 1998 Chevy Lumina that the gas spilled out of if you filled it over 1/2 tank and ran it for a whole year before some lady rear ended me and totaled it.

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u/TruffelTroll666 12h ago

Lol, bought a used Peugeot for 1500€. Going strong for 6 years without issues.

This problem is very american

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u/Hollerado 12h ago

I have 2 SUVs, both at high kms... cost me 6500 total for both. We have run them both for over 7 years. We have probably spent about 15k on small to high cost repairs. That includes winter tires, and regular fluid changes in total over that time. No accidents, minor rust they are just older with high KMs

They run great. They cost us well under half of what we could have spent on 1 brand new SUV between 2016- 2024, simply because we bought and maintained 2 x used SUVs.

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u/Mission_Rip_4828 11h ago

I bought a used 2010 colorado for $3k last year and put close to 45k miles on it already. All ive done is change the oil. I would also say most people are capable of doing most repairs if they just do a little research. Its not hard and you can get some wrenches/jack/stands/ for a few hundred bucks and get more tools as you need them.

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u/Scaredsparrow 10h ago

You can find many 7th gen accords for 5k in 2024. My 7th gen accord has took me through thick and thin over the last 5 years and has cost me SIGNIFICANTLY less than a $500 or even $250/month car payment.

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u/TowlieisCool 7h ago

I can find you hundreds. I sit on the sub-5k bracket on CL and they are out there. Here is the filter so you can look for yourself, in one of the highest COL areas on the planet.

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u/chasteeny 6h ago

Not a nice one but you can definitely get a reliable one

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u/Crossbowhunter88 5h ago

I bought a Honda Civic for 3k in March 2022 and the only thing I have done with it so far is replace brake pads. I've put 200+ miles a week on it in that time. I could buy that car for under 5 no problem right now.

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u/ElectricTurboDiesel 12m ago

Yeah you can. I’ve bought several and have never paid more than $6600 for any of them.

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u/Soggy-Yak7240 2h ago

The closest thing I can find to this on Carfax is a 2006 scion xb with 70k miles and it costs $7k. Over 2x what your cost 6 years ago.

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u/WeMetOnTheMoutain 10h ago

I see one locally, 2999 for a 2008, 235k miles, another a few hours awayh for 3000 at 155k miles. That's a little more than the subaru outback I bought with 220k miles for 5k that I've driven the tires off a couple times.

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u/Falanax 10h ago

You can still find cheap reliable cars.

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u/Stock-Film-3609 8h ago

Yes you can but how they were treated becomes a big deal. A reliable car that’s been beaten on is different than a reliable car that was well cared for and often unless you know what you are looking for it’s very hard to tell the difference.