In 1995, Americans over 55 bought about one-third of all new cars. Today they’re buying almost two-thirds.
That's an interesting stat.
That's an interesting stat.
If you get a used car that cost 3k to 5k, often they need a lot of tlc, and to me they are in the same condition as a $500 car was back when I was a teen (30 years ago). So my choice over the last 3 car purchase cycles has been "might as well buy new", and my last new vehicle lasted 17 years before I got rid of it.
First car: $2200 purchase price. 98 vw cabrio. 36k miles in 2010. It died in 2016 due to an electrical issue. Sold to scrap, but I also collected an insurancr pay out from it when someone hit me.
$2200 / 72 = $30 per month.
Bought a 2005 ford focus. Needed the extra space and had to buy it quickly and unexpectedly. Paid $3000, with 100k miles.
It's been 1 year already, and I'm expecting 3 total years of life out of it.
$3000 / 36 = $83 a month.
Not bad at all really! Insurance is $55 a month and I don't spend much on tires/oil.
There was nothing really wrong with it in terms of like, cosmetic damage or rust or engine noises or crunchy transmission.
Vw Cabrios just have horrible electrical problems and therefore quite bad re-sell value. Coupled with a motivated seller, VW Cabrios and Jaguar X Types are probably some of the cheapest cars to buy used, but will die quite quickly, especially in wetter climates.
Towards the end of its life, my car flat out wouldn't start if it was rained on, and in the last few weeks of its life, when it was humid! Haha. Water droplets in the starter impeded electrical flow to the spark plugs.
You buy stolen tires? Or cheap low end shit? That's the most important part of your car that keeps you alive.
If you get a used car that cost 3k to 5k, often they need a lot of tlc
So long as you maintain a good used car, the thing most likely to cause a major repair bill is the automatic transmission. Most companies don't do a good job making them, and they'll often incur a big repair cost, eventually. So a good way to save money is to drive manual.
Toyota gets their automatic transmissions from Aisen. That's one of the few companies that knows how to make automatics that last.
https://www.click2houston.com/news/investigates/channel-2-in...
~1M cars was flooded by Harvey https://weather.com/news/news/2018-02-26-hurricane-harvey-ca...
Life in a city with public transport is simply better. You have 2 choices in almost any big city today: spent time in traffic jams in comfort of your car, or ride public transit
granted cycling doesn't have an accessibility solution, but it's much better for mind and body than car and public transport.