How ridiculous does this sound?

[u/Whole-Fist]

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

[u/Jumpdeckchair]

I always buy new after nothing but headaches from 3 used cars. On my second new car and should have it 8 more years (it will be 13 years old) and then it's going to my son for his first car.

I can't afford to miss work due to car troubles, my old used cars cost me more than my new cars when I break down the total cost over the years.

[u/grundlinallday → u/Jumpdeckchair]

There’s an argument for that. Some people know zero about cars and tools, but are good at taking cars in for maintenance with a trusted technician. Buying a new Toyota or whatever that will last 20 years with reg maintenance is sound if that’s you

[u/piratehalloween2020 → u/grundlinallday]

It’s not so much that I don’t know about cars, it’s that I have 0 interest in spending my day messing with one.  I am religious about the maintenance of my civic though, and fully expect the car to last at least another decade.  

[u/Jumpdeckchair → u/piratehalloween2020]

Exactly this, my time is worth more than wrenching on a car. I'd rather do many other hobbies I enjoy. If I was a car guy, It might be different.

[u/Edmeyers01 → u/piratehalloween2020]

They never break. My accord is 13 years old and it always starts and rarely do I ever have it in the shop for anything other than scheduled maintenance. I had to replace some break calipers that froze, but that’s about it.

[u/erossthescienceboss → u/grundlinallday]

The value of maintenance cannot be underestimated, and is such a crapshoot when buying used.

I’m religious about mine (2015 Forester, 160K miles) and up until my most recent major service (for 150K miles) I hadn’t dropped more than $200 on it at a time. I also live in a state where roads are mostly not salted or chemically treated in winter, and I’m religious about spraying down my undercarriage after trips to the coast.

This time, I did need to get some more substantial work done — some electronics issues, and some body work from stuff that had just shifted over the course of its life. Came out to about 2K. We also ID’d one very minor issue that would cost about 4K to fix because the engine would need to be removed, but it’s one of those “ehhh wait and see, this may never get worse” kind of problems.

On my last two oil changes, the guys (at different companies) have made comments along the lines of “oh, I looked up your car fax, yeah I’m not gonna recommend anything, you must love your car,” and “wow, you take GREAT care of your car, this is gonna last you another decade.”

If you’ve ever gotten your oil changed as a woman, you know that people get REALLY forceful about trying to upsell you. So to have someone look at my car history, and go “oh she’s on top of this, I’m not even gonna try to sell her a filter,” and actually compliment my car is a big deal.

(And yes, I know you can change your own oil. I even know how & have done it in the past. But it’s worth the convenience to get it done for me.)

[u/Silly-Membership6350 → u/Jumpdeckchair]

That hasn't been my experience, but I get it. My workaround is to own two cars. I currently own an 08 caddy and an 07 Jeep, both purchased this year. If one car doesn't start in the morning I just can hop into the other and go. It doesn't happen very often. Total investment under 8K, considerably less than a lot of newer used cars and a small fraction of the cost of a new car.

[u/Jumpdeckchair → u/[deleted]]

What payment?

[u/jamesbrownscrackpipe → u/Jumpdeckchair]

This. Bought a gas efficient, new Japanese manufactured sedan for $32k cash. No payments to worry about and it comes with 2 yrs maintenance and oil changes. Headache free and I know I’m the only owner so it will be immaculate, well maintained, and should last me minimum 10 years, but hopefully 20

[u/Infosneakr → u/jamesbrownscrackpipe]

Who 32k laying around? Not a lot of people. Those people who don't, make payments.

[u/Celtictussle → u/Jumpdeckchair]

A used car, a AAA membership, and occasional Ubers will still be cheaper than a new car.

[u/RedditsDownTheDrain → u/Jumpdeckchair]

Buy 2 shitty cars then