I guess I own the biggest POS vehicles known to man. Haven’t figured out how to use a vehicle and be maintenance/issue free.
Every vehicle has matanance cost even new.
Buy low milage used and known to be higher reliably models of the type that fits your needs. This time I needed a truck and fairly quickly. I had options between f 150s with 5.4 and 4.6. Went with the lower milage 4.6 even though it and rust the other did not becuse it had 40K less miles and the 4.6 has less known issues. Will this one who knows? I also have my eyes open for a low milage old camary for a daily to save on mpg and keep miles down on the truck when not doing truck required things. 1 cars are cheaper to buy and operate than trucks so using them when I dont need a truck saves money. I'm geting 16.33 mpg out of my truck this week. An old camary will be double that saving me 2k a year in fuel cost. In just 2 to 3 years of fuel savings that will pay for a cheap car alone .
Few people are buying new vehicles in cash. I pay about what a down payment on a new one would be cash. This time 6500 the last few 3200. The average car payment is about 700 a month. Even if i spent 2k a year on matanance thats only about the cost of 3 months car payment. (and I dont ever spend that much a year every year typically maybe 500 to 1000 every other year if that) I buy liability auto insurance saving thousands over the years I have each used vehicle. If I spend 1 to 5 k in matanance in 5 years on a vehicle I paid 6500 for thats 11.5 k in 5 years. Zero monthly payments, zero intrest, and generally matanance is basic wear items. Breaks, rottars, plugs, wires, maybe bearings, a starter or battery tires. Now 11.5k vs 50 to 110k for a new truck plus 6% intrest and lower price auto insurance buys a lot of repair work. Instead I buy used pay cash and instead of the slave making debt payment use the something like $625 a month into my wealth building roth.
But people want new and shiny and tell themselves I deserve it, I need something reliable ect. Car payments have been normalized its odd for people to not have a car payment.
Going from my experience people are lieing to themselves using its cheaper to buy and operate new.. both vehicles have wear items. Very few run the actual #s and see what that new vehicle actually cost them. And by that I mean puting that money into investments over 10 20 or 30 years vs into vehicle payments.
That driving that new vehicle cost you a million or more over 30 years in opportunity cost..
Its their money spend it how they want but make informed decisions using math not emotions. Most people see a new vehicle as a visible status symbol. Your brokerage account is not visible to the public.
Most of the public is busy trying to look rich and that keeps them from becoming rich.