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Comment by TrueGeek | Hacker News Reader

When my son turned 15 we told him he could get any car that he could afford to pay half of, was recommended by Consumer Reports, and was a stick shift (so he can’t text and drive). After working for a summer he got a Toyota Corolla for $3k with 200k miles. It’s been two years and the car has needed nothing but oil changes and, soon, tires. It gets incredible gas mileage and it was so cheap most people only need liability gas mileage.

And this isn’t just a anecdotal. The Corolla has been a well rated reliable car by many sources for years. It’s just boring as hell.

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Almost all ICE cars here in Ireland are manual, and unfortunately I see people texting away on their phones every day. I'm not certain it'll be the deterrent that you expect it to be.

The car also continues to depreciate. Not as dramatically as early on, but the depreciation does continue.

Important point. The net present value of a car does not approach zero asymptotically, it crosses zero and keeps going.

Why does the value become less than zero?

The old saw about restoring classic cars is relevant:

"What does it take to own a Sunbeam Alpine MkII worth a small fortune? Start with a large fortune."

Eventually mechanical things need more repairs than they are worth functioning. That is a negative value car. People who can wrench themselves can make those repairs only for the cost of parts and if you think about it as a hobby, then you actually aren't paying for labor, but even then, you spend far more than the return the car could give you.

Most obviously when a car whose value is $x needs more than $x of repairs to get drivable again.

It seems like everybody believes that you should get rid of a car when it costs more to fix than it's worth, but that seems like a complete non-sequitur to me.

The question is whether the repairs over time cost more than the monthly cost of a newer car.

Assuming there are no features you feel you need on the newer car.

But I think the truth is, by the time a single repair can cost more than a car is worth, people are usually sick of it, and a nonsense reason is all that's needed.

Maintenance, repairs, gas, etc.

For ten years I've been driving a '91 Accord. I bought it for $800. This year I finally replaced it, after putting 100k miles on it, and sold it, for $600. I had the timing belt and windshield replaced when I bought it. I've also had an alternator and head gasket go out. But even with those repairs TCO is easily under $1k a year for the time I've owned it.

All the cars I've owned have been used cars with over 100k miles. Pick a reliable brand and my observation is that value is more asymptotic than not at >10 years old and >100k miles. You have to factor the cost of repairs into your TCO and be willing to put up with some crappiness like dents, scratches and interior cosmetic issues. But it's much more economical than buying newer cars.

So you spent $200 on depreciation, plus a bunch more money on repairs to address what would have been even greater depreciation.

I wasn't claiming that it isn't cheaper to do what you have done, just that cars continue to depreicate. And you have made my point.

> a stick shift (so he can’t text and drive)

This is genius, thank you. I have been very nervous of my kids texting while driving.

You absolutely can text while driving a stick shift; please don’t rely on this to prevent the behaviour.

I doubt this actually stops people texting all that well, it just adds one more distraction to it.

u can still text and drive with a stick shift. ask any of my friends who are car nerds

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