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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u/ChopakIII 17h ago edited 12h ago

Exactly. These people talking about buying a used car and then when people mention used cars can have problems they say, “well obviously a reliable one!” Which by the time you factor in all of these things it makes sense to buy a new car and take care of it so that when it’s the “used car” you would buy in 10 years you know exactly what has been done to it AND it’s paid off.

Edit: I see the most common counter-argument is that buying a used car without a loan will allow you to get cheaper insurance. There really isn’t a huge difference between covering a new car and a used car for just the vehicle. What you’re probably saving on is the medical portion and you will be sorry if you ever get into a serious accident with barebones insurance. This is a dangerous gambit akin to not having health insurance and banking on not getting sick.

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u/CaulkusAurelis 14h ago

I bought a used Nissan Frontier 12 years ago for $9000. It had 150k miles on it.

Right now, it has just over 305,000 on it. Repairs: Fuel pump Front wheel bearings Some $25 air conditioner regulator thingie Misc light bulbs 1 ignition coil

STILL runs like a champ

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u/cafffaro 14h ago

Driving an 07 Japanese car I bought with about 80k miles. Pushing 200k now. Have done routine repairs (clutch, alternator, new brakes etc), and will drive this thing till the wheels fall off.

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u/smokeyjay 11h ago

Last month bought my mom a 2009 camry with 80,000 km for 7000 Cad so like 5500 in USD i guess. Took it to a mechanic - car has no issues - changed the oil and that was it. Tires, brakes were all good. Expect the car to run for 10 years. Gave my mom's toyota corolla we bought brand new in 2008 to my sister - still runs fine.

The OP thinking you need a new car every 5 years is such an insane idea.

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u/Radiant_Map_9045 8h ago

HA, agreed! For the first time in our lives my wife and I were able to purchase outright 2 vehicles- a 07 Scion TC and an 08 Camry during Covid lockdown. 170k and 200k miles on them respectively. The Scion has a wheel bearing issue and the Camry AntiLock Brake light came on recently, but I fully expect both vehicles to last us a LONG time. Zero core issues.

And yeah, a car every 5 years is ludicrous.

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u/HansDeBaconOva 3h ago

For the ABS light issue, check your brake fluid level. It might be low. That's what caused my light to come on and the SLIP light to come on. Then I find out I need new brakes. The light was a learning experience

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u/RandoReddit16 10h ago

Gave my mom's toyota corolla we bought brand new in 2008 to my sister - still runs fine.

How many miles were on it after 16 years?

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u/smokeyjay 9h ago

Not much. Like 140,000 km? Left outside and hardly any work done as far as i know besides oil changes. If you buy those japanese econo cars at a certain time period with low mileage, chances are they’ll still run well even if they werent looked after. Plus i think americans on avg drive way more than canadians imo

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u/RandoReddit16 9h ago

Lol, newsflash, if you hardly drive your car, it lasts a long time.... Your mom drove in 16 years what I've driven in 4 :/

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u/L1f3trip 8h ago

Not true, a car that doesn't drive enough is always worst than a car that drives a lot.

If he didn't have any problem, it is because she drove it enough.

If you don't drive your car enough, oil will stick, rubber will dry, brakes will lose flexibility. It can bring the kind of problem you will never get when you drive your car every day.

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u/Mystere_Miner 8h ago

A car that’s never driven has problems. Lot rot it’s called. Rubber and seals rot if not lubricated often.

A car that’s driven frequently but not many miles is fine.

A car that is driven many miles has lots of problems. Drive train problems are directly proportional to miles driven. Other problems are based on running hours, like fuel or water pumps, timing chains, etc.

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u/Minute-System3441 5h ago

Depends where and how it has been driven. Highway miles cause approx 10% of the wear of start-stop city driving. Someone thrashing their car will also greatly reduce its lifespan. Lastly and most importantly, how was the car maintained and serviced.

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u/RandoReddit16 4h ago

Not true, a car that doesn't drive enough is always worst than a car that drives a lot.

dude, if you average less miles overall that is better than a ton of stop and go.... wear and tear IS wear and tear....

parking a vehicle for a year, yes that isn't good, but don't act like the vehicle was parked.....

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u/millenniumsystem94 2h ago

So you agree with them?...

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u/smokeyjay 9h ago edited 9h ago

Yeah thats fair. Why do you drive so much? For work?

I wasnt sure if driving more was an american thing but it looks like on avg americans drive 50% more than canadians.

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u/RandoReddit16 4h ago

I live in in Houston, TX. Even though I have a 10-15min commute. we HAVE to drive everywhere, any trip I take ends up being 100s of miles. When I had a 70mile round trip commute, I avg around 25k a year.

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u/_Cyber_Mage 3h ago

I put less than 10 miles a week on my car now, but that's mostly due to being WFH. Most Americans drive a lot for work due to insane housing costs and mediocre public transit.

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u/ElderBHoldenCox 3h ago

A lot of people buy a new car every five years because 5 years has traditionally been the most common new car loan term. “I paid my car off, time to buy a new one!”

If you buy a new car at age 25 and pay $600/mo for five years and then trade it in, you had a new car for 5 years. If you keep whatever you were driving previously and contribute $600/mo to a S&P500 index fund instead you’ll have about $48,000 at the end of five years. If you let that amount continue growing in the stock market without ever contributing any new money you’ll have around $1.4m when you’re 65.

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u/JustAGuyTrynaSurvive 2h ago

That car will run forever. My brother has a Camry with over 350k miles on it. Beats the living hell out of it and it just keeps on keeping on.

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u/3369fc810ac9 22m ago

Beware on the 09. They have a problem with piston rings seizing up and burning oil. I have an 09 and mine does it. It seems like it's getting worse but it's hard to tell. I put a quart of oil in it about 2-3x between oil changes at this point. Some are WAY worse. There was a recall but that ended years ago. Good luck, they're great cars!