bg5 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 8:11 am
Good Morning,
Everyone has their "thing" that they enjoy to spend money on so if cars are your "thing" then please don't be offended. I have no problem dropping $500 on a round of golf at Whistling Straits or spending $200 on a meal every now and then.
With that being said I am always shocked at the amount of money people throw into cars. The vast majority of people cannot afford the cars they drive and it really takes away at their ability to become financially independent. I totally understand that on this boglehead board that most people can easily afford the cars they drive.
My goal with this post is to make people realize that if you want to get rid of your $700 car payments its very easy to buy a car in the $2000-$4000 price range and have it last for many years....often times being able to resell it for almost what you bought it at.
I have found that both Honda and Toyota's are almost indestructable and will often times reach well over 300,000 miles if you keep up on standard oil changes. There are plenty of cheap Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys on FB Marketplace right now in the price range I described above. I have been doing this for years and have found that the vast majority of my wealth has come from not having car payments and taking that money and investing it. See my story below and please understand that these cars are not rust buckets...I live and work in a wealthy area and these cars fit in just fine and dont stick out like a sore thumb.
2010 I bought a 2000 honda accord with 180,000 miles on it for $2200 and I drove it for 3 years and put 60,000 miles on it. The car still worked great and I ended up selling it in 2013 for $1700.
2013 - I bought a 2002 Honda pilot with 200,000 miles on it for $2800 and drove it for 2 years and put 40,000 miles on it. In 2015 I sold it for $2200.
2015 - I bought a 2005 Honda Pilot for $3300 and it had 210,000 miles on it. I drove it for 3 years and put 60,000 miles on it and in 2018 I sold it for $2600.
2018 - I bought a 2007 Honda pilot for $2300 and it had 210,000 miles on it. I drove it for 15 months and the engine blew......I sold the car in 1 day after the engine blew for $1000
Unreal as the resale value of Hondas is nuts....basically had people fighting over the car with the blow engine and still got a stinking grand.
2020 - I bought a 2009 Honda Pilot for $4000 and it had 220,000 miles on it
Bottom line is I realized that my cars Im driving are costing me very little amounts of money and I am taking all the money that I would of put into car payments and just invest it. Cars drop in value like crazy but what I have found is that there is always a HUGE market for cars that are selling in the $2000-$4000 range. If I showed you pics of these cars you would say to yourself that these are nice cars....they are not rust buckets and they look and fit in just fine.
So if you are someone who is trying to free up some cash then I would start with cars....they lost a lot of value and there are plenty of deals out there for reliable cars at a cheap price. I buy all my cars off of private sellers on Facebook marketplace and I know very little about cars. I could not even change the oil if I needed to. Buy a Honda or Toyota and it will run and last a lifetime while still having a great resale value.
If you have questins please let me know.