> Once you buy a car you will use it until it breaks. This assumption really calls the conclusions into question. I understand the problem is easier to model t

> Once you buy a car you will use it until it breaks. This assumption really calls the conclusions into question. I understand the problem is easier to model this way, but it’s neither pragmatic nor realistic. People do fix cars, all the time, and it’s often economically rational to do so. You can keep a good-quality 20-year-old car in nearly-new condition for much less than payments on a new car. Many cars that are legendarily reliable are so because they’re easy to maintain; finicky cars are more fragile and harder to repair. So this is a fun thought experiment, but it’s not useful to think of it as car buying advice until it accounts for maintenance.