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It’s not that I love my bike. It’s that I love the hundreds of unplayed indie games I bought on Steam more than I would love a car.
Ooohhhh e46 estate 😍
Long live the long roof!
I am going to laugh if OP didn’t pick a BMW for a reason and it was just the first car image to come up when they made the meme.
Yeah, I drive a Mazda.
Stop measuring your self-worth by the car you drive -> Buy ancient Toyota or Honda -> Save $800/mo in car payment, $300/mo full-coverage insurance -> Pay for the occasional repairs -> Profit.
Or, keep paying out the nose for a status symbol that you use for an hour or two a day to be seen by strangers who will think you’re an asshole who can’t drive or park regardless of how shiny the badge is on your hood.
Like the guy in the 100k BMW is gonna stop to think about depreciating assets… C’MON!
Like the guy in the 500k BMW is gonna stop to think about depreciating assets… C’MON!
A fool and his money…
reliable used cars cost nearly as much as new ones these days.
Reliable cars have existed for quite some time. Some of them are older and need some of the parts replaced, but they are no less reliable.
But, If by reliable you mean ‘cars I can drive for years with only simple maintenance’ then yes, you’re right. Only new-ish cars will have that property.
However, if you have to spend $5000 to repair a $5000 used car which costs you $0/mo + $80/mo in insurance you will save far more money in the long-term than paying a $5000 down payment and then $700-800/mo + $200-250/mo in comprehensive insurance for the next 72 months.
It is a lot easier and less hassle to simply sign a contract and pay $950/mo, but it is far more expensive in the long-term.
Until that $5000 car needs another $5000 repair, and another and another.
There is a reason most cars don’t last more than 10 years.
There are not many things that can require a $5,000 repair, unless you’re crashing your car into things in which case a new car is going to hurt your even more.
A $5,000 repair is still cheaper than an $1000/mo car+insurance payment. Unless you’re replacing your engine or transmission every 4 months then you’re still going to be paying less by covering the repairs.
The cost of ownership of a used car 5-10 years old is cheaper than a new vehicle. This has been the case for decades. Buying a new car has always been the most expensive option in both the short and long term.
lol what. i have a 1yr old car. my insurance and car payment is like 450 a month, and the new payment goes away after 3 years. you are vastly over exaggeration.
i got a new car because my 10 year old car needed $5000 worth of work and it made no sense to keep it anymore. new tires, fluid flushes, new brakes, etc. not sure if you have had a car worked recently, but like a brake job for all four brakes alone is $1500. the tires and wheel balance was $600, etc. a nicer car would have cost a lot more. one reason i don’t own a suv is the maintenance costs are double that of than a fwd sedan. had it been a crv the maintence would have run me probably 8000.
your prices seem 10-20 years out of date for car repairs. yeha, in 2002 I was paying like $2000 to overhaul an old camry, but that was 25 years ago.
your prices seem 10-20 years out of date for car repairs. yeha, in 2002 I was paying like $2000 to overhaul an old camry, but that was 25 years ago.
The cost of new car ownership has massively increased since 10-20 years ago. If it was a better deal 10 years ago, it is even better now.
Here’s the data: https://www.bts.gov/content/average-cost-owning-and-operating-automobilea-assuming-15000-vehicle-miles-year
data is great, but data isn’t reflective of my local mechanic rates.
in my city car mechanics charge 200/hr, on the cheap side. bicycle mechanics, charge 100/hr.
i am sure in rural texas the costs of mechanic work or half or less than what i pay.
Me in my $1300 lancer wagon 2007 laughing in duct tape and safety hazards
Well, my 2002 Golf mk4 1.9 TDI only needed a rear axle replacement, some not really necessary stuff (rust) and oil changes.
What are people doing with their cars?
I think its more what are they not doing. I bought this car in a meh condition and have only done the bare minimum to keep it alive and passning inspection.
Fair point. The car has actually been in my family it’s whole lifetime. It was taken care of and regularly maintained, like all cars should be.
But if you bought your car in a shitty condition and/or can’t afford to repair it, it’s fine.
It means you cannot afford that car and should either get an appropriate one or none.
Depreciation is the biggest loss for newish cars, but maintaince, fuel, tires, insurance costs come up quickly, often averaging 5-7K/year.
In much of America, not having a car means not being able to get to work or buy food.
If you can’t afford a car, you might be able to afford operating costs for a used japanese motorcycle.
Biggest car costs are insurance, taxes and big repairs as you said. In lots of countries those costs can go down if you choose the right car. Other option of not owning a car, while varying in difficulty, include car pooling, taking the bus or other kinds of public transportation, moving near place of work or at least moving near public transportation lines.
Anyone who is broke because of their car obviously doesn’t have better options.
Two important things:
- In case of justified need, can a person afford their car or is a downgrade or change to a more affordable car the right move.
- The car might be just an option and one can go with owning one.
I can afford my car, it’d cost me 5-7k a year if I had to rebuild the transmission every year. Mostly I get by on <3k a year all in since it’s depreciated and my insurance is like 20 EUR a month and I do my own repairs. This with a notorious German money pit that will be celebrating its 20th next year.
However
I’d still take the motorcycle if I could. Seems way more fun. But now I’ve got a 2 year old so that plan’s on pause for several years. I had a nice older Ducati Monster picked out before I got coaxed into this, which I was fully expecting to not be very sensible lol
7’000 per year for a car? How much are you driving? The average is “only” 14’000 miles per year (median much lower). At 5$/gallon and 25 MPG that are fuel cost of 2’800 $. The rest combined should be below the fuel cost.
Eh? My Honda Civic just had to have its struts replaced, and that was a $1000 expense which was difficult to cope with and would have been impossible were I not working three different jobs. If I wanted working AC, which I have never had in the vehicle, I’d need to spend like ~2k every year because the model has a defective condenser (and in Trump’s America, warranties are suggestions)
At some point you have to recognize that many Americans cannot afford any vehicle. Unfortunately the U.S. is not designed for people who don’t have vehicles.
While my car was in the shop yesterday, I looked at my options for getting to work, which is about seven miles from my house. There was a bus route, which would have taken at least a full hour compared to my usual 15 minute drive, and there was Uber/lyft, which would have cost me about a third of the money I’d make at work.
If god forbid, something happened to my car, I’d have to take a loan out for something I could not afford, because I have to be able to get to work to survive and pay for the damn car!
How are you even working three jobs?
Really it’s like 3.5 with the side gigs too.
I’d probably be ripping my hair out and back inpatient if it weren’t for one job ending in a couple of weeks and another slowing down substantially around the same time.
I don’t sleep much until I get sick and have to take off from one of the jobs for a “catch up” day. I drink three or four Red Bulls a day, plus some Diet Coke to top off.
I was hoping to have enough to move states by the end of the summer, but it turns out I’ll probably still not have enough. Very difficult to rebuild when you get divorced from a vindictive billionaire.
That sounds rough. Respect for keeping things moving, especially with three jobs. Seriously impressive dedication. If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of work are you doing to make this setup possible.
All the jobs are in the field of education.
Somehow, I’ve mastered the art of doing calculus on 5 hours of sleep!kk
Very smart choice. Education is a good field. 👍
Woo…the BMW E46 Kombi is one of my favorites.
