It's wonderful living simply so that you are generally happy with what you have.

I think it would be very difficult to live as OP because he/she has him/herself into such a prima donna, ordinary things appear irksome to them.

The only person I need to impress is me. What Joe blow thinks about what I drive is irrelevant, lol.

"If you really want to see the nicest cars in town, visit a trailer park" - wise old man (who sees more than the OP obviously).

Leather seats do not impress me. You all know how they are made right? Why are we killing animals for status in our cars, its crazy. If we called them animal skin seats maybe less people would covet them.

Anonymous wrote:The only nice thing about rental cars is that they're new and clean. Everything else is below the base model. I prefer to drive our own car vs fly and then rent a car.

Really? Having your own car is that important that you would drive it over flying somewhere and renting? What's your cut off for this? 500 miles? 1000 miles?

Anonymous wrote:I feel happier when I have money in the bank instead of driving around in it. But that's me. If it's worth it to you, awesome. It's not for me.

And from the rest of us; we don't have the money in the bank.

DH and I both have long commutes and so spend enough time in our cars each day that it makes sense to pay a little extra money for some comfort.

He has a Mercedes GLC 300 with almost all the upgrades. I have a fully loaded Ford Fusion that I'll probably eventually replace with a Mercedes. The extra features (especially auto park and adaptive cruise control) are awesome. On really hot days when I get into my car that's been sitting and baking in a parking lot all day, I love having air conditioned seats. On cold days, I appreciate heated seats and heated steering wheel. We can afford these cars, so why not have them?

The only nice thing about rental cars is that they're new and clean. Everything else is below the base model. I prefer to drive our own car vs fly and then rent a car.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I drive a 12 year old van. It gets me from A to B. I honestly don’t care about any of the other stuff you listed. I also don’t care what anyone thinks of me. I can’t wrap my head around worrying what random strangers on the street think of my car! So bizarre.

I just think driving a nice new car is a happier experience is all.

Maybe for you. I don’t care at all and frankly dislike leather seats. My legs stick to them in summer.

I prefer to spend my money on a nice ride....of the equine variety so I am not exactly a penny pincher....

NP, and I am amused by the PPs offering up their own cars as examples of how humble and non-fancy they are. You do realize that a new Subaru Crosstrek or Outback is $23-26K? For some people that is still expensive!

One of our cars is a 2009 minivan, base model (own outright). The other is a 2016 Forester, also base model (almost paid off), and we frankly should have bought something cheaper. Not everyone is rich.

These are truly first world problems.

I feel happier when I have money in the bank instead of driving around in it. But that's me. If it's worth it to you, awesome. It's not for me.

Anonymous wrote:OP isn’t talking about people who can’t afford anything nicer. She’s referring to people like those on DCUM who brag about their thriftiness. I don’t get it either, OP. Life is nicer with some luxuries (as long as you can afford them and aren’t trading financial security for said luxuries.).

Sure. But unless you have unlimited means - and those people are rare, even on DCUM - you still have to choose which luxury you prefer. And I simply do not prioritize cars. I don't claim to invest the money I save; I spend it on equally (or more!) frivolous luxuries.

The frustrating thing about threads like this is people like OP simply can't comprehend that people of equivalent means don't necessarily prioritize the same things, and seem to view not valuing fancy cars as some sort of moral failure. It's an extraordinarily myopic view of the world.

I guess this is the benefit of anonymous forums. You can post whatever obnoxious thought pops into your head without revealing your rude attitude IRL.

It’s one thing to say “I had to rent a base model car and it sucks. I love my own car.”

But it is another to say “HOW do people POSSIBLY deal with lower tier cars? I just can’t fathom how some people can’t spend lots of money like I can!”

There’s no such thing as a dumb question...except this one, OP. It also happens to be really rude and obnoxious.

I think for those who have experienced life w/out access to a vehicle in the past, would appreciate ANYTHING w/wheels.

I was a Single Mother & when my kids were young, we had no car.
(We lived in SoCal where the public transportation was/is very subpar too since in Cali, car IS king.)

It totally limited our mobility + I would have given anything to have any type of vehicle back then.

Even now, leather heated seats do not impress me.
At all.

What DOES impress me is a vehicle that gets me where I need to go, when I need to go w/very little trips to the mechanic’s garage.