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> Okay, so what about used cars? The average used car price in the U.S. is now over $28K (KBB). That's more than I've ever paid for any new car I've ever bought

> Okay, so what about used cars? The average used car price in the U.S. is now over $28K (KBB). That's more than I've ever paid for any new car I've ever bought! That's more than I've spent on buying, taxing, insuring, MOTing, and repairing every car I have owned since I passed my driving test nearly 30 years ago. We live in an age of ubiquitous information. It has never been easier to learn how to repair things. Why would you pay more than most new cars cost, when you could pick up some shiter for a few hundred, run it until it breaks, and then figure out how to repair it from a couple of youtube videos?

shortcake27 4y ago
> Why would you pay more than most new cars cost, when you could pick up some shiter for a few hundred, run it until it breaks In this thread and IRL it seems people are deathly afraid of a car breaking down. When I bought my most recent car (2001 Corolla) people were like “ooh what if it breaks down”. Wow, IDK, maybe I’ll fix it? Or maybe I’ll junk it. Still cheaper than buying a newer car. And it’s not as if newer cars are immune from problems. If anything, newer cars seem both less reliable and less repairable due to the ever increasing complexity. The cost to repair the CVT transmission in a 2017 Subaru is twice the cost of my entire car and their failure rate is through the roof.
- Gordonjcp 4y ago
  Exactly. I drive a 25-year-old Range Rover. I get a lot of "Oh but what if it breaks down?" Well, I have tools in the boot. Also, a couple of times a week I look underneath to see if anything is hanging down that shouldn't, and look under the bonnet to see if anything is visibly out of place or pishing out fluids, and I check that there's enough of something that looks more-or-less like oil on the dipstick and enough of something that looks more-or-less like coolant in the radiator. I'd jump in that thing and drive it anywhere, at any time, in any weather conditions, for any distance.
earthling8118 4y ago
It's really easy to have that perspective if you already have the knowledge and wealth to do so. Right now it's winter and there is melted slushy ice everywhere. I only have street parking available where I live. My car is a cheap rusted pile of crap because that's what was affordable. It's not feasible for me to maintain my life while also going out on the street and trying to learn how to fix whatever issue went wrong (while dealing with the rust on top of it). I happen to be luckier than many people as well. My car is constantly stealing my money from me and the only reason I even can make it work is getting cheap (free) mechanical labor due to family.
- Gordonjcp 4y ago
  > It's really easy to have that perspective if you already have the knowledge and wealth to do so. This is exactly the problem I'm talking about. A £50 toolkit from the DIY chain of your choice and a couple of Youtube videos will get you started with at least basic maintenance like changing your oil and filters, and replacing brake pads. > Right now it's winter and there is melted slushy ice everywhere. I only have street parking available where I live. Yes. It sucks. No way but the hard way. I did a set of head gaskets on one of my Range Rovers during the Beast from the East in the driveway outside my house because I still needed to get to work. They went back on ridiculously clean because of the amount of time I spent inside cleaning them up and defrosting. It sucks, but that's the way it is. > It's not feasible for me to maintain my life while also going out on the street and trying to learn how to fix whatever issue went wrong Yes it is.

shortcake27 4y ago

> Why would you pay more than most new cars cost, when you could pick up some shiter for a few hundred, run it until it breaks In this thread and IRL it seems people are deathly afraid of a car breaking down. When I bought my most recent car (2001 Corolla) people were like “ooh what if it breaks down”. Wow, IDK, maybe I’ll fix it? Or maybe I’ll junk it. Still cheaper than buying a newer car. And it’s not as if newer cars are immune from problems. If anything, newer cars seem both less reliable and less repairable due to the ever increasing complexity. The cost to repair the CVT transmission in a 2017 Subaru is twice the cost of my entire car and their failure rate is through the roof.

Gordonjcp 4y ago
Exactly. I drive a 25-year-old Range Rover. I get a lot of "Oh but what if it breaks down?" Well, I have tools in the boot. Also, a couple of times a week I look underneath to see if anything is hanging down that shouldn't, and look under the bonnet to see if anything is visibly out of place or pishing out fluids, and I check that there's enough of something that looks more-or-less like oil on the dipstick and enough of something that looks more-or-less like coolant in the radiator. I'd jump in that thing and drive it anywhere, at any time, in any weather conditions, for any distance.

earthling8118 4y ago

It's really easy to have that perspective if you already have the knowledge and wealth to do so. Right now it's winter and there is melted slushy ice everywhere. I only have street parking available where I live. My car is a cheap rusted pile of crap because that's what was affordable. It's not feasible for me to maintain my life while also going out on the street and trying to learn how to fix whatever issue went wrong (while dealing with the rust on top of it). I happen to be luckier than many people as well. My car is constantly stealing my money from me and the only reason I even can make it work is getting cheap (free) mechanical labor due to family.

Gordonjcp 4y ago
> It's really easy to have that perspective if you already have the knowledge and wealth to do so. This is exactly the problem I'm talking about. A £50 toolkit from the DIY chain of your choice and a couple of Youtube videos will get you started with at least basic maintenance like changing your oil and filters, and replacing brake pads. > Right now it's winter and there is melted slushy ice everywhere. I only have street parking available where I live. Yes. It sucks. No way but the hard way. I did a set of head gaskets on one of my Range Rovers during the Beast from the East in the driveway outside my house because I still needed to get to work. They went back on ridiculously clean because of the amount of time I spent inside cleaning them up and defrosting. It sucks, but that's the way it is. > It's not feasible for me to maintain my life while also going out on the street and trying to learn how to fix whatever issue went wrong Yes it is.