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No you don't. New Toyota corolla: $16,000 2005 Toyota corolla: $4,000 I don't think there exists a scenario where you can end up outspending the MSRP if you b

No you don't. New Toyota corolla: $16,000 2005 Toyota corolla: $4,000 I don't think there exists a scenario where you can end up outspending the MSRP if you buy a used previous model. Say for example your absolute lemon has chassis damage and needs to be scrapped (that's the absolute worst scenario). You still have $12,000 with which to buy another used car. Say you spend a whole week working on it to fix something catastrophic. I don't think anything would take that long but anyway. How many people actually make $12,000 in a week? Not many that need to save money on cars.

dangerlibrary 12y ago
It's almost like you didn't read the article to discover that his point was only tangentially related to the headline.
- mahranch 12y ago
  Bingo. It's pretty common for people to comment without reading the link on sites like reddit, but that was never the case here. Until recently, that is. They see the title, then head right to the comment section to give their "superior" opinion.
  - freehunter 12y ago
    When I came in here, there were three top-level comments and all of them were variations on "I drive a late-model used version of a reliable car with relatively low miles and it's never broken down!" I would say more than half of the people commenting here either did not read or did not absorb the message of the article.
  - zo1 12y ago
    I don't see it that way. As long as the posting itself causes discussion to occur, then that's great. If that happens because of the title, rather than the content then so be it. Additionally, I'm mostly participating and reading the comments here because of the general topic of new vs used cars. The content, at least in this case, is irrelevant to me.
- pierrebai 12y ago
  Actually, I would bet I did read it and his point was directly addressing the article. In fact, the article itself commits suicide by the end when the author admits that one can just hire a mechanic to do the work. (And his quoted price for per-hour is ridiculously high. My mechanic charges me 70$ per hours, not 170$.) And yes, the author's point is totally dead. How can one be able to pay 300$ every single month but unable to pay 600$ once every blue moon for a big repair? Predictability is oversold. The only fact remaining is people inability to live within their budget; if you can somehow put away 300$ every month when forced to pay for a new car's reimbursement, you should be able to put aside the half as much for future unknowns. This is not theoretical since that's how I live and how I manage my car. I own a 2001 Corolla. I even had to change both the motor and transmission two years ago. The cost of which, including parts and labor, came down to less that one year's worth of payment on a new car. You can buy used car. You can pay for repair. It's still cheaper than a new car, and you don't need magical privilege to do so. (Simple real-world hindsight would tell anyone so. Just look around: poor people drive old cars. According to you and the author, they couldn't. Yet they do. So, which is wrong: reality or arguments on a page?)
  - scotch_drinker 12y ago
    He doesn't say "used car". He says "cheap car". Those two things are different and seem to be a great source of confusion in your comment and others in this thread. Also, he said $170 for two hours of labor.
teek 12y ago
On carmax a 2005 Corolla with over 100k miles still sells for over $9000. General car advice is the minimum you should spend on a used car is at least $5000. And that's if you're really lucky. If you want a problem free used car for a usable amount of time (3-4 years) then you need to go up to at least $8000.
- kbenson 12y ago
  I'm always leery when I see absolute numbers like that bandied about without qualification of when someone decided they were a good idea. If someone actually spent some time and figured that out in 1995, that doesn't really mean the same thing as in 2015, just from inflation (the simple inflation calculator I just looked up and used shows it at over $7500). And that's ignoring all the other things that may affect the automotive industry over time, such as different regulations causing different materials to be used which can greatly affect how long the cars from that era may last. I own a car from 1973, I'm in no way confident that the same model car in 2015 will still be drivable in 40 years.
  - sejje 12y ago
    Not to mention a $5000 Jeep Wrangler is entirely different from a $5000 Ford Mustang from a $5000 Toyota Corolla. As to your last point, I have no reason to believe cars aren't lasting longer and longer. Engine life is determined more by use than age. (Do you have a million miles on your 40 year old car? Probably not)
- chiph 12y ago
  As someone who tried to sell a $2000 Honda Accord one time for $1200 (to get it out of my driveway before I started getting angry letters from the HOA), I agree. It's tough to find a buyer in that price range that has cash, or at least a check that will clear. Pretty much everyone that looked at it wanted to make payments to me for the car. And no, I wasn't going to chase them down every two weeks for my $100. edit: Wanted to also point out that banks won't lend on cars that old or cheap or decrepit. Someone in that position who needs a car to get to work, has no option but to pay cash.
estebank 12y ago
It's not so much about earning $12,000 a week, but rather working for a company that's flexible enough to let you take a week of on short notice to fix your car, regardless of pay.
- mattmanser 12y ago
  In what crazy world do you live that it takes a week to fix a car? And that there are no transport links or taxis? This whole discussion is coming across as if Americans have crap transport links, have no such things as taxis and really bad quality cars. Because this discussion is just plain bonkers from a UK perspective.

dangerlibrary 12y ago

It's almost like you didn't read the article to discover that his point was only tangentially related to the headline.

mahranch 12y ago
Bingo. It's pretty common for people to comment without reading the link on sites like reddit, but that was never the case here. Until recently, that is. They see the title, then head right to the comment section to give their "superior" opinion.
- freehunter 12y ago
  When I came in here, there were three top-level comments and all of them were variations on "I drive a late-model used version of a reliable car with relatively low miles and it's never broken down!" I would say more than half of the people commenting here either did not read or did not absorb the message of the article.
- zo1 12y ago
  I don't see it that way. As long as the posting itself causes discussion to occur, then that's great. If that happens because of the title, rather than the content then so be it. Additionally, I'm mostly participating and reading the comments here because of the general topic of new vs used cars. The content, at least in this case, is irrelevant to me.
pierrebai 12y ago
Actually, I would bet I did read it and his point was directly addressing the article. In fact, the article itself commits suicide by the end when the author admits that one can just hire a mechanic to do the work. (And his quoted price for per-hour is ridiculously high. My mechanic charges me 70$ per hours, not 170$.) And yes, the author's point is totally dead. How can one be able to pay 300$ every single month but unable to pay 600$ once every blue moon for a big repair? Predictability is oversold. The only fact remaining is people inability to live within their budget; if you can somehow put away 300$ every month when forced to pay for a new car's reimbursement, you should be able to put aside the half as much for future unknowns. This is not theoretical since that's how I live and how I manage my car. I own a 2001 Corolla. I even had to change both the motor and transmission two years ago. The cost of which, including parts and labor, came down to less that one year's worth of payment on a new car. You can buy used car. You can pay for repair. It's still cheaper than a new car, and you don't need magical privilege to do so. (Simple real-world hindsight would tell anyone so. Just look around: poor people drive old cars. According to you and the author, they couldn't. Yet they do. So, which is wrong: reality or arguments on a page?)
- scotch_drinker 12y ago
  He doesn't say "used car". He says "cheap car". Those two things are different and seem to be a great source of confusion in your comment and others in this thread. Also, he said $170 for two hours of labor.

teek 12y ago

On carmax a 2005 Corolla with over 100k miles still sells for over $9000. General car advice is the minimum you should spend on a used car is at least $5000. And that's if you're really lucky. If you want a problem free used car for a usable amount of time (3-4 years) then you need to go up to at least $8000.

kbenson 12y ago
I'm always leery when I see absolute numbers like that bandied about without qualification of when someone decided they were a good idea. If someone actually spent some time and figured that out in 1995, that doesn't really mean the same thing as in 2015, just from inflation (the simple inflation calculator I just looked up and used shows it at over $7500). And that's ignoring all the other things that may affect the automotive industry over time, such as different regulations causing different materials to be used which can greatly affect how long the cars from that era may last. I own a car from 1973, I'm in no way confident that the same model car in 2015 will still be drivable in 40 years.
- sejje 12y ago
  Not to mention a $5000 Jeep Wrangler is entirely different from a $5000 Ford Mustang from a $5000 Toyota Corolla. As to your last point, I have no reason to believe cars aren't lasting longer and longer. Engine life is determined more by use than age. (Do you have a million miles on your 40 year old car? Probably not)
chiph 12y ago
As someone who tried to sell a $2000 Honda Accord one time for $1200 (to get it out of my driveway before I started getting angry letters from the HOA), I agree. It's tough to find a buyer in that price range that has cash, or at least a check that will clear. Pretty much everyone that looked at it wanted to make payments to me for the car. And no, I wasn't going to chase them down every two weeks for my $100. edit: Wanted to also point out that banks won't lend on cars that old or cheap or decrepit. Someone in that position who needs a car to get to work, has no option but to pay cash.

estebank 12y ago

It's not so much about earning $12,000 a week, but rather working for a company that's flexible enough to let you take a week of on short notice to fix your car, regardless of pay.

mattmanser 12y ago
In what crazy world do you live that it takes a week to fix a car? And that there are no transport links or taxis? This whole discussion is coming across as if Americans have crap transport links, have no such things as taxis and really bad quality cars. Because this discussion is just plain bonkers from a UK perspective.