>>60838323
>>60843529
Yeah I've never understood the mentality around always needing a new car.
I waited before buying a car until I had a fulltime job, worked a year taking a bus to work to save up, and even then I bought a honda civic. Granted it wasn't a base model, it was new, and it was the ex-t model, all in for 21k, supported carplay/android auto, heated seats, sunroof, great gas mileage, and it felt responsive to drive. I had enough to buy it in cash outright but the interest rate was 3% and I wanted to keep the money in the market. So I financed and aggressively paid it off over 3 years.
Anyway, I've driven it for the past 9 years, had no problems, oil changes every year and minor maintenance, and air conditioning was fixed under a recall at no cost. Could probably keep driving it another 10-20 years, or resell it for 15k.
It seems crazy how little it costs when I consider resale value. 21k minus 15k = 6k plus maybe 2k in maintenance, so 8k to have a car for 9 years is just $74/month. You can't rent or finance a car for that cheap anywhere, so owning was definitely the best financial decision.
Meanwhile one of my coworkers who makes a similar amount has leased 2 different cars in that time, a lexus, an acura, and now he bought a tesla model 3. Over the past 9 years he has probably paid over 100k compared to my 21k. All for what? Marginally more comfortable interior? Faster acceleration? Speed limits are low everywhere so who cares? Guess it's just a status thing.
I've always wanted self-driving though, being able to sleep while my car takes me places is the dream. If Tesla or anyone ever makes unsupervised self-driving a reality I'll be happy to sell my car for it. Feels like they're close with robotaxis, maybe we'll actually finally see it in 5 years.
Would be nice to not need to do oil changes, or being able to send my car in for maintenance while I chill at home. Or take a cross-country trip and enjoy some sleep and wakeup in a different city.
