Car ownership is now a luxury

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last year I thought I would be clever and frugal and bought a used Kia Telluride, 5 years old. It was wonderful until about 10 months into it (and having been quite vigilant about maintenance and oil changes) that a major problem came along. Piston rings allowing oil to leak into combustion chambers, burned the oil dry, with ZERO warning or indication this was happening. No warning lights at all, just bone dry with knocking sound. The drivetrain warranty didn’t transfer and new engine would have cost 10k. Having no time to waste and not wanting to throw 10k into used car, I sold it for a lot less than I bought it for, and bought a new smaller Toyota.

However, as a family, we are maintaining and holding onto our older cars that we bought new 10 years ish ago. Newer cars seem to have more problems. Fingers crossed for the one I just bought.

The key for buying older vehicles is to go with Honda/Toyota for major reliability typically. Or spend on new and keep your car for 150-200K, that way you know what all the "little issues" might be and can stay on top of it.

But out of our large extended family, we've only seen one "lemon" from those brands---I had it and I suspect a lot of the issues started when someone hit me in a parking lot when the car was 2 months old (I was parked, they left no note). So in reality, not really a "lemon" from the dealer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Americans spend way more on cars than they think. It’s been this way for a very long time.

+1 I'm always shocked to talk to families who complain that they have no money to send their kids anywhere other than community college or to afford health care expenses, but they have a $60K SUV or minivan and ATVs and motorcycles to play around with.

It's about priorities. We decided in our 20s that taking car loans was not the best idea. So by time we were 30, we had fixed that. What we did was drive our first cars out of college for a long time. We had Civic/corolla level vehicles (so small, entry level), that were new, we paid them off in 3 years and kept saving the car payments. At 8 years and 115Kmiles, we sold one for $2K (long time ago), and put that with the $24K we had "saved from car payments" and upgraded with another $4K to a "luxury" Lexus at $30K and paid cash. Haven't had a car payment since then.

Now we keep cars for 8-10+ years and have very nice cars. But pay cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay where are you guys finding all these fantastic used cars that last forever? Please help a fella here. I bought a used 2020 Corolla 2 years ago and it's been issues after issues. I don't have any skills to fix cars. My mechanic is reasonable in cost. Maybe I am unlucky, but it has not been cheap owning this car.

Next time, how do I find a good used car? I bought mine from a Toyota dealership as a certified pre owned. Unfortunately within a year of ownership everything started unraveling. And forget about the extra warranty they sell you. It's a scam because suddenly everything is "wear and tear" so not covered.

I'll just find the cheapest new car I can find next time and save myself some headache

Our last few cars have been used. You have to do your research when finding a good used car. Covid made it difficult as the supply of used cars was so small that the quality of car out there was sub par. To start, check the carfax for history. You’d like to see a regular pattern of maintenance. Just know that carfax is a guide. If a record shows up on Carfax, it’s likely correct. It’s what does not show up on Carfax that you want to know. Always get a pre purchase inspection. Always.

We tend to stick with Honda/Acura. We look for cars only a few years old and it helps if they came off lease as it’s likely they were maintained. We look at the bigger dealerships and not the small independent ones as their inventory seems to come from auctions and trade ins that big dealers don’t want.

What were the problems with your used Corolla?

We shopped those and while we like new Corollas, our experience was that used ones varied in condition. Sometimes we could tell they weren’t cared for. Maybe that was the COVID/ poor supply issue though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:100% OP. In fact even higher income household are paying an absurd amount of money as a percentage of their fake home income for transportation expenses if they have a car note.

And cars are not getting cheaper. They come with far more technology than we need and are incredibly complex.

My car has been at the dealer for 2 weeks now. Only 5000 miles. The car just stopped working. And these expensive cars aren't designed to last for years.

You got it…new cars (yes even Toyota) are designed to last four years

[Anonymous]

The problem with used Toyota and Honda is that a lot of us base our opinions with older cars from the 90’s and 00’s when you could really abuse them by not having regular maintenance and oil changes and they would still be reliable. Newer Toyotas and Hondas need reliable maintenance. Issues can really can be model year specific as well. I really like “the car care nut” on YouTube. He runs a Toyota only shop and has some good videos on the best cars/years to get used.

[Anonymous]

I really think prime cars from the 90s into the early 2010s will spike a lot in value as they are still great and are actually maintainable.

Thankfully there are a few maintainable cars still around like the ND3 MX-5. But I'm guessing they will be mostly gone in a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with used Toyota and Honda is that a lot of us base our opinions with older cars from the 90’s and 00’s when you could really abuse them by not having regular maintenance and oil changes and they would still be reliable. Newer Toyotas and Hondas need reliable maintenance. Issues can really can be model year specific as well. I really like “the car care nut” on YouTube. He runs a Toyota only shop and has some good videos on the best cars/years to get used.

This

[Anonymous]

Hmm, who benefits... in a country where things are only accessible by car, cars eat up every cent a working person can afford, and any attempt at comprehensive public transportation is either stonewalled or gutted.

“A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation”

But no one has ever confused the US for a developed country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with used Toyota and Honda is that a lot of us base our opinions with older cars from the 90’s and 00’s when you could really abuse them by not having regular maintenance and oil changes and they would still be reliable. Newer Toyotas and Hondas need reliable maintenance. Issues can really can be model year specific as well. I really like “the car care nut” on YouTube. He runs a Toyota only shop and has some good videos on the best cars/years to get used.

That is why it is better to buy new yourself and drive the car for 10+ years. Then outside of getting a bad vehicle, you can maintain it well and know the quirks. Never buy the first year or two after a major remodel---wait for them to fix the issues

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let Chinese cars in. We need cheaper cars.

No. We need robust mass transit alternatives to help people fulfilling lives without having the albatross of personal car ownership hanging around their necks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmm, who benefits... in a country where things are only accessible by car, cars eat up every cent a working person can afford, and any attempt at comprehensive public transportation is either stonewalled or gutted.

“A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation”

But no one has ever confused the US for a developed country.

We paid a premium to live within walking distance of good public transit. So we have “only” one car for a family of 4 and take the bus or train or the occasional uber if we need to get somewhere beyond what our single car allows.

[Anonymous]

I mostly buy new Subaru cars for the wife/family car. For myself I have never bought a new car. Either a hand-me down forrester from my wife or I buy used. I bought a used Ford Mach E Ev eligible for the used EV tax credit last year. Great car for the money. Never buy a new EV, they plummet in value after a few years, but can be good deals after that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mostly buy new Subaru cars for the wife/family car. For myself I have never bought a new car. Either a hand-me down forrester from my wife or I buy used. I bought a used Ford Mach E Ev eligible for the used EV tax credit last year. Great car for the money. Never buy a new EV, they plummet in value after a few years, but can be good deals after that.

Sounds like a lot of cars.

[Anonymous]

Granted I’m guilty of buying each of my teens new cars, but the wealth around her is insane. My son’s 16yr old friend routinely comes over and he drives a brand new Ford Raptor with a ton of after market upgrades. The kid is pushing a 100K car. In addition to that i can’t even imagine the insurance costs.

[Anonymous]

You bought new cars for your teens?

Get out.