Average new car price is $50K ? Insanity.

[AlphaOmega]

If I had an abundance of money, I would absolutely drive a nicer car. For me, ideal would be a Tacoma TRD manual transmission. I crave a fun, practical car. Sports cars are fun and all, but they’re just not comfortable and most luxury cars are too disconnected from the road to be exciting to me. But I don’t have enough money for any of that. I don’t even have a house yet. Stuck in an apartment. So I am forced to drive in a penalty box. But my penalty box is a manual transmission, so it is mildly enjoyable.

No problem with your watertight argument/position! Some others in this thread put forward a different position: I can afford any which new car, but "I chose to drive a 20 year old Nissan Sentra with 350,000 miles because I can source parts from junkyard for it cheaply" - or something similar along the lines - as a main motivation. I think that's an intellectually dishonest claim. Unlike yours, mate

 

[AlphaOmega]

Odometers are interesting but of course the devil is in the details. For example US based cars are loaded with technology and larger engines that may not be found in some of these above examples. Second we don't know how much anyone has paid to get their vehicles to that mileage nor do we know their current state. IJS

Most of these odometers are from diesel cars, which means there is a turbo and an intercooler. I doubt these people spend thousands $ at the dealer to get to such mileages and I doubt their cars are unkept if they made it to such mileage. Changing suspension is more or less the same process on all cars (excluding hydro-pneumatic active body control, with magic ride, that's a $15k option on a $110k Mercedes S class), no? Swapping ignition coils, spark plugs, draining coolant, is also similar. Coolant hoses are coolant hoses. And so on.

 

[brianl703]

No problem with your watertight argument/position! Some others in this thread put forward a different position: I can afford any which new car, but "I chose to drive a 20 year old Nissan Sentra with 350,000 miles because I can source parts from junkyard for it cheaply" - or something similar along the lines - as a main motivation. I think that's an intellectually dishonest claim. Unlike yours, mate

How about:

I can afford any new car (I really can; could pay cash for it, too) but new cars do not interest me. I'm happy with what I have.

 

[AlphaOmega]

How about:

I can afford any new car (I really can; could pay cash for it, too) but new cars do not interest me. I'm happy with what I have.

so you can afford any new car, but chose to drive a 1999 Nissan Sentra, with wheel covers, and rust bubbles throughout with 390,000 miles? It's a sincere question

 

[jeepman3071]

How about:

I can afford any new car (I really can; could pay cash for it, too) but new cars do not interest me. I'm happy with what I have.

This is me. I'm an enthusiast of certain vehicles. I like what I like, and new cars packed full of tech do not interest me. I work in the tech field, the last thing I want is more tech on my drive home. I drove a brand new M3 (at the time F80) because I liked the look of it, but the numb steering and annoying tech made me miss my E90. Instead of spending my money on new cars, I prefer to dump it into the old ones I like. It's probably not a good decision according to most, which is why I refrain from making judgements on what others buy. It's all personal preference, which is what makes life interesting. I'm picky about the cars I enjoy, the equipment I buy, the vacations I take, and the women I date.

 

[brianl703]

so you can afford any new car, but chose to drive a 1999 Nissan Sentra, with wheel covers, and rust bubbles throughout with 390,000 miles? It's a sincere question

Oldest vehicle I have is a 1984 Chevy Cavalier (was my dad's, he bought it new. I keep it for sentimental value, plus it's neat to have an old 80s station wagon). Newest I have is a 2013 Chevy Volt. I drive the Volt a lot more than the Cavalier. The Volt has 168K miles on it. You wouldn't be able to tell it has that many miles on it.

 

[brianl703]

Instead of spending my money on new cars, I prefer to dump it into the old ones I like. It's probably not a good decision according to most, which is why I refrain from making judgements on what others buy.

Can't be any worse than the unemployed, collecting SSI, sponging off a friend for a place to live, guy that I know who got $50k in an inheritance and immediately bought a new car with it. That car lasted about a year before it got totaled and for some reason the insurance company wouldn't pay (I'm guessing he didn't pay the premium).

My dad could certainly have paid cash for any vehicle he wanted, but he passed away 2 years ago owning 2 vehicles, a 1984 Chevy Cavalier (I still have it) and a 1998 Nissan Frontier (I still have it). I only ever remember him owning one other vehicle, a 1986 Ford Ranger, and he only got rid of that because it developed an engine knock and replaced it with the 1998 Nissan Frontier (and the HOA made him get rid of it, otherwise he would have probably still had it!)

 

[AlphaOmega]

Oldest vehicle I have is a 1984 Chevy Cavalier (was my dad's, he bought it new. I keep it for sentimental value, plus it's neat to have an old 80s station wagon). Newest I have is a 2013 Chevy Volt. I drive the Volt a lot more than the Cavalier. The Volt has 168K miles on it. You wouldn't be able to tell it has that many miles on it.

this logical and reasonable. My argument wasn’t against positions like/similar to your.

 

[AlphaOmega]

Instead of spending my money on new cars, I prefer to dump it into the old ones I like.

this is a different argument from what is being put forward here by some others

 

[jeepman3071]

this is a different argument from what is being put forward here by some others

True.

 

[IndyIan]

No problem with your watertight argument/position! Some others in this thread put forward a different position: I can afford any which new car, but "I chose to drive a 20 year old Nissan Sentra with 350,000 miles because I can source parts from junkyard for it cheaply" - or something similar along the lines - as a main motivation. I think that's an intellectually dishonest claim. Unlike yours, mate

Its funny I was thinking, around here, I most often see 5+ year old luxury cars is parked in front of a rental property...
But whatever, they can drive what they want, I have placed my limited funds in other buckets, and we do some fun stuff that isn't free, so missing out on DDing a nice car, to do more fun stuff, isn't too bad IMHO.
If you can afford it all, then that's good too.

 

[brianl703]

this logical and reasonable. My argument wasn’t against positions like/similar to your.

Well for a while I was driving my ex-cop, ex-cab 2004 Ford Crown Victoria to work and back and for other general driving, which is pretty beat up (horrible paint job and I don't think it has a single body panel without a dent in it). I put about 50K on it, it has 266K now. I pretty much saved that car from a trip to the wrecking yard (got it from a friend of mine who owns a towing company--it was impounded and the owner didn't want it back). Mechanically it's in good condition, but it looks ugly to some.

 

[AlphaOmega]

I have placed my limited funds in other buckets

Completely normal, appropriate, reasonable etc position. No judgement, scorn, or any other negative assessments towards it! It is the “I can go buy for cash new S class Mercedes with pocket change, but I chose this 1999 Nissan Centra with half a million miles on original struts and shocks because an alternator on S class costs twice as much as one for Sentra” type of argument that argue against! Makes sense?

 

[SaberOne]

Whenever I leave the hood, I take the long route through the homes looking for private sales. I keep hoping I’ll run across an 86-year old woman with an old car that she doesn’t need because her husband passed away. This is where I think I’m going to purchase a so-called ‘beater’.

 

[Kurtatron]

Its funny I was thinking, around here, I most often see 5+ year old luxury cars is parked in front of a rental property...
But whatever, they can drive what they want, I have placed my limited funds in other buckets, and we do some fun stuff that isn't free, so missing out on DDing a nice car, to do more fun stuff, isn't too bad IMHO.
If you can afford it all, then that's good too.

I’ve got one better than you. I’m in a lower end apartment complex, Cheaper part of a big city (not Detroit). The cars here are ridiculous. Escalades, Mercedes Benz, dodge challengers, many many newer SUVs. It’s pitiful. So most of those new flashy cars I see on the road are being parked at low income apartments. What a terrible way to manage your net worth. I can’t wait to get out of my current living situation.

 

[wtd]

I'm not sure anyone actually PREFERS to drive "beaters". Most who do are simply doing their best with what they have. Rare are the people who claim "I have excess to spend, but driving my 250k mile 1997 Camry just really makes my day".

But you are unwise to criticize someone who does drive an older car in the name of fiscal responsibility. Rather, that's something to appreciate.

No need to exaggerate the consumer's situation more, requiring further bailout, handout, etc. I'll keep my money, you keep yours, we do what we have to do.

This is always an aggravating topic for you. It's about time you put your big boy pants on, realize that the world, including BITOG, doesn't know or care about what you drive. So, why so much concern about what everyone else drives? Why such the toddler attitude on this topic, the constant need to validate other's opinions and to have your opinion validated?

Because that is how he is. He criticizes people all of the time and acts like he knows it all. He is probably the most negative person I've seen on here.

 

[fdcg27]

I’ve got one better than you. I’m in a lower end apartment complex, Cheaper part of a big city (not Detroit). The cars here are ridiculous. Escalades, Mercedes Benz, dodge challengers, many many newer SUVs. It’s pitiful. So most of those new flashy cars I see on the road are being parked at low income apartments. What a terrible way to manage your net worth. I can’t wait to get out of my current living situation.

It's all a matter of the choices we make.
Microeconomics tells us that we're all utility maximizers.
For some, a flashy ride equates to that.
For others, a modest car that's paid for along with a paid for house and a secure retirement counts for more.
We are all free to choose to plan our finances as we see fit, as should be the case.

 

[eljefino]

Whenever I leave the hood, I take the long route through the homes looking for private sales. I keep hoping I’ll run across an 86-year old woman with an old car that she doesn’t need because her husband passed away. This is where I think I’m going to purchase a so-called ‘beater’.

Solid plan.

 

[AlphaOmega]

a modest car that's paid for

Isn’t a car that’s worth $20-$25k a modest one, considering the average new car is $50k?

 

[Kurtatron]

It's all a matter of the choices we make.
Microeconomics tells us that we're all utility maximizers.
For some, a flashy ride equates to that.
For others, a modest car that's paid for along with a paid for house and a secure retirement counts for more.
We are all free to choose to plan our finances as we see fit, as should be the case.

That's fine, unless they go broke and cry foul and blame everyone else for their financial problems.