Those who buy a new used car (beater) frequently, how?

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C-C-X-V-I@reddit

Buy low sell high. If you're not in a hurry you can get more than you should for anything

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thecanadiandriver101@reddit

Cars aren't appreciating assets. Expect to always incur a loss whenever you buy any car, beater, new, sports, etc.

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-WhoLetTheDogsOut@reddit

Unless you’re wealthy and can essentially break even, or ultra wealthy and can profit. OP, if you’re super wealthy, I’d recommend buying a limited production Ferrari or Bugatti

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ZackD13@reddit

if you have the money to "invest" in an appreciating car, you will make more money investing elsewhere

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bottomless_pit1@reddit

Also are we factoring annual maintenance costs of supercars in the tens of thousands?

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Super exclusive cars are worth hundreds of thousands or millions more than you paid the day you buy it. No other investment is going to make you more that quickly, but the catch is you have to spend enough to be allowed to buy them

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BattlePrune@reddit

This simply isn't true for 90% of collector cars. They cost more than when you bought them. But S&P500 returned even more over that time.

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Dopplegangr1@reddit

I'm talking about cars like the Ford GT where you pay $500k and upon delivery it's worth $1M

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BattlePrune@reddit

Maybe a small percentage of super/hyper cars still has this, but this isn't 2021 anymore, used car market bubble popped

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-WhoLetTheDogsOut@reddit

Only if you measure your returns in dollars

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InclinationCompass@reddit

Invest money in stock market now and buy the car later even after appreciation. You’ll end up with more money in your pocket.

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IRENE420@reddit

You were downvoted. Interesting

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-WhoLetTheDogsOut@reddit

Yeah and then instead of buying the car later, just invest it again and get the car later later. Or… buy the thing you want with the money you’ve worked hard for, and maybe even make a buck while you do it

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foolear@reddit

I prefer Cheetos tbh

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Rabo_McDongleberry@reddit

McChicken

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uchigaytana@reddit

Then this can be said about any car that brings you joy, realistically.

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hi_im_bored13@reddit

There’s plenty of cheaper cars that break even, though it’s harder to find which ones. Hagerty does a bull market guide each year that’s a good start

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PCDevine@reddit

Nsx and s2k are definitely great buys in that regard. I accidentally did pretty good as well buying my sw20 MR2 in 2016 and 996 911 in 2019. I wasn't buying them because I thought they'd appreciate, but I'm not upset that they did.

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Either-Durian-9488@reddit

They take longer, the kids have to destroy the 240sxs before they get expensive, the Bugatti is so limited by comparison that it’s already a commodity. But also remember that the cheap 240 you wrecked into a light post in a suburban parking lot in 2011 is a lot cooler to you.

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Raalf@reddit

Eh, Ford actually offered me more for my gt350 than I paid for it 4 years prior 1yr old, bought 5k below sticker. I haven't looked in a couple years but I'm betting I could still get 40k+ for a 7 year old car with a sticker of 58k even after putting 50k miles on it.

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dsarif70@reddit

The market the past 4 years isn't really what you could call normal. Also, we've had real inflation that most of us haven't seen either (so $50k now is not the same as $50k 2020). So I wouldn't count on all of this continuing.

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Raalf@reddit

Given my Tesla is 1/8th of purchase price in the same window, it's definitely an anomaly I'd say.

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Big-Energy-3363@reddit

Porsches work too. I bought a 2002 Boxster S in 2003, kept it 20 years and 63k miles. Sold it for 19k, black over tan 6spd.

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zipciofounder@reddit

This is something the general public just does not understand. When they see someone in a $300k+ car, they think you lit $300k on fire, for a car. I’ve never lost more than $5k on an exotic car with max 2 year ownership. I’ve lost more than $5k on a Ford Fusion when I was younger and didn’t have money, lol. Two big points are that you buy 2 year old models and search for a killer deal that also has a maintenance package…. Dealer interest on exotics will murder a business, so dealerships holding exotics will eventually let it go for near wholesale if you know where to look. It’s also super easy to pin exotic dealerships against each other, because another dealership is very likely to want that car off their lot more than the other dealership. The maintenance package is also key, because a lot of exotic cars have 3 free years of maintenance. So you buy 2 year old models, utilize the last free year of maintenance, then trade it for another 2 year old model. That being said, I have recently given up on that game and went with a 15 Aventador. I have already lost $12K between exhaust, ceramic coat, etc., and the yearly maintenance will be $4,500. That being said, I’m still likely to lose less money overall than I would on a new BMW.

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rosinall@reddit

Just \*don't drive it\*. It's worth more with incredibly low mileage and service records of $30K in maintenance

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Big-Energy-3363@reddit

Not true, I buy and sell cars as a sideline. I do about 12 a year, usually I am buying distressed sales, people getting divorced, losing jobs, moving, deaths etc. I buy solid transportation cars, there are something’s I won’t buy. Hyundai, Kia or Chevrolet pickups, Traverse, Trax etc. Ugghhh. I prefer Toyotas, Honda, Subaru, Volvo or the right Mercedes.

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Inflatable_Lazarus@reddit

Buy the right car well, and it's at least a break-even deal when you sell. Things I've bought/sold over the last 20'years or so for break-even or more money after at least a year of driving (buy price/sold price): * 1993 Ford Escort; $850/$1400 * 1969 MGB; $1400/$1500 * 1990 Volvo 740; $1700/$1800 * 1991 M-B 300D; $750/$3500 * 1972 BMW R75/5 motorcycle; $2200/$3400 * 1998 Ducati 900SS motorcycle; $4800/$5300 * 1989 M-B 420SEL; $1400/$2400 * 1986 Porsche 944; $7700/$23000 Smartly buying the right car/bike by jumping on a deal when you find it, buying a decent one at the bottom of its depreciation curve, then using but not abusing it, doing maintenance and little repairs on your own, and taking advantage of market conditions, will very often result in at least a break-even deal. It has nothing to do with wealth or connections or anything other than knowing a good deal when you see it and buying things that people already or are likely to want.

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newtonreddits@reddit

Just because you can sell a car for more than you bought it for doesn't necessarily mean you come out ahead after factoring in taxes, registration, gas, maintenance, inflation etc. I think it's better to just accept cars are an ultimate cost even if you manage to come out ahead.

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Inflatable_Lazarus@reddit

Any machine has associated operating/use costs unless you never register it, park it in free storage, and never use it at all. That's not depreciation, that's operating cost. The statement was about depreciation and suggested that it's unavoidable. Basic value depreciation not associated with operating costs is avoidable. Saying 'yeah, but there are, you know, *other* costs" is kind of a no-shit-Sherlock moment.

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Intel_Oil@reddit

\*laughs in Skyline\*. But you're generally right.

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alehanro@reddit

Except the blue chip cars like limited production Ferraris and Lamborghinis or things of that ilk. Cars are boxes you throw money at so they’ll take you places.

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The_Bucket_Of_Truth@reddit

Leaving tax aside, the people who actually come out ahead on these are likely buying poorly marketed or off market cars for under their true value and then will be handy and fix a few things themselves or with a trusted mechanic and maybe give it a nice detail and then re-sell it for a bit more because the car is then more attractive to a wider audience and can go for more money. But a lot of people will just take losses also. And I say don't lose money on constantly swapping out boring daily drivers. Doesn't make much sense.

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Some0neAwesome@reddit

I used to stalk to market for too-good-to-be-true deals to pop up and jump on them quickly. By the time I get bored of it and am stalking the market again, I'll still be able to sell it for more than I bought it. Hardest part is having the cash upfront to buy the new car before selling the old one. Lately, I've been having fun rolling the dice at a local public in-person/online hybrid car auction. I recently got my little 02 Mazda, 5 speed with 170k miles for $1200. I could probably sell it for around $2500 in the shape it's in. I can beat on it for a year, buy another car, then sell this one for $1500-2000 for a small profit. When I bought the Mazda, I then sold my $850 auction 97 Accord for $1600, which covered the cost of transferring the title and getting plates/tags on the Mazda. Back when I was a teenager and early 20's, I'd list my cars for trade just to see what you get offered. I made a couple good trades back in the day. Trade my worn out 91 Civic hatch for an 86 Jeep Comanche and drove that truck for 18 months when I traded it for a 1990 Bronco. Had the Bronco for a couple years.

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JayBee58484@reddit

I'm taking a loss no matter what because I pay cash for the most part. Just gotta have the money that's it really

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zxrax@reddit

simple, they're buying things they can afford to take a loss on rather than stretching their budget.

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Banananaan99@reddit

I feel a few of the people here lack the passion for cars that motivated you to fix them yourself, if you have the knack then it’s opens a whole realm of possibilities. It’s easy once you discover you don’t have to get the car you want, you just need the car that you can transform into the car you want. Especially if you’re poor it makes sense, you can’t pay someone else to fix your junk, you just have to learn to fix it. Then it can just snowball into fixing people’s cars, buying cars and fixing them, selling them for a profit. You can move a lot of cars when you just buy, fix, sell. It’s good fun too. You discover what you like, love and hate haha Anyway, that’s one way to do it

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Desperate-Dog-7971@reddit

If you do even the least amount of research you will realise that you dont do it without a loss. But you knew that already.

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aaayyyuuussshhh@reddit

Usually at best you will break even. Very few people will actually make money once you factor in insurance, tax/title/license fees, gas cost, inflation, regular maintenance, potential repairs, and the tax you technically have to pay if you make a profit (usually most don't). Some limited edition 6-7 figure cars might make you money but that's about it. Usually if you are gonna get a daily beater or as your only car, buy a 10K car with less than 100K miles and has all service history. Will last you a good bit of time, insurance is likely less than for a beater (because better safety), gas cost is also probably better than an even older car, etc. If you need a beater as a winter car or something, just find the cheapest well running 4x4 or awd car for under 2500. When it dies buy a new one. Also currently in america, the best beater/daily drivers are cheap EVs. Will get you from A to B and usually really cheap to maintain. And if the motor/battery does die, you wouldn't have lost any more money than having an engine/trans fail in a car. You can find older EVs for like 5K-7.5K all day long

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davidm2232@reddit

Buy a beater that needs work. Like a timing belt or electrical issue. You can usually get them very cheap. Fix it up, drive it for a few months until you get bored of it, then sell it for a profit and buy something else

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A403X@reddit

Buy cheap with issues that are fixible (a leaking radiator is a good example), put in the time to fix the car (parts are cheap, tools are more or less a one time investment), insure and drive until you get bored or more problematic issues that aren't so easy to fix pop up, then you sell and move on to the next project. Yes, you're still going to spend money on insurance and gas, but I manage to not lose money on at least 3/4 beaters I've owned. Oh, and buy Hondas. Honda's resell well, are incredibly easy to work on, and just generally good cars. Good luck!

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democracywon2024@reddit

If you live in a state without inspections and are om with a bit of risk it's pretty easy. Like Ohio right next to PA. In PA our inspection process is really tough. In Ohio they don't inspect anything. So, if you live in Ohio just buy a beater from PA that runs with no inspection (likely due to horrible rust). Drive the thing into the ground. Like there's an 06 Nissan Frontier with a cracked windshield, body damage on every corner, and a rusty frame for $1000 that the seller says drives as an example. There's a 09 Ford Ranger with rust issues for $1000. When you figure stuff like this has a scrap metal value of at least $300-500, well you basically will only be out a few hundred.

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Ran4@reddit

>So, if you live in Ohio just buy a beater from PA that runs with no inspection (likely due to horrible rust). What a shit idea, those cars are forbidden for a reason - they're not safe.

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democracywon2024@reddit

The vast majority of cars fail inspection at first due to severe rocker panel rust. "Unsafe" is a relative term. That's up for you to decide, not the big bad government.

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Ran4@reddit

Wow you're a bad person. It's absolutely up to the people at whole to decide this, not you.

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Unlikely_File@reddit

Buy a cheap car drive the shit out of it when it breaks fix it if you can't buy a new one.

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jrp1918@reddit

Only buy cars that are basically worthless

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Sinminiscus@reddit

I usually buy cars that need some work, and then do the work myself, drive it for a bit, then sell it and can almost always break even

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trey74@reddit

Buy cars for less than market, then sell it after a short while for at least break even money.

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JawKeepsLawking@reddit

Sort of hard to do when factoring in tax.

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trey74@reddit

Depends on how your state/country/city/county handles it. Where I live, if I sell a car for $4k, then buy one for $6k, because the different is less than $3999, I don't pay taxes at all. Taxes don't start until $4k.

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JawKeepsLawking@reddit

Lucky. Here we have a 13% tax on everything, but you can make a "declaration" for having your cars value worth less and thus pay less tax, provided by an "authorized" appraiser.

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trey74@reddit

Ugh. I see what you mean now. Adding 13% to every purchase would suck.

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Yankee831@reddit

Yes but it scales linearly. When I lived in NY nobody paid full tax on these types of deals. Super common to have two bills of sale one for the v (tax man) and one for court.

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liam821@reddit

No tax sales tax here in Oregon. Buying and flipping cars is easy!

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Big-Energy-3363@reddit

Unless you are in a no sales tax state!

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Dependent-Arm8501@reddit

Find your states lowest taxable sale price and put that on the title when you buy/sell

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foolear@reddit

So, commit fraud?

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Dependent-Arm8501@reddit

Pretty sure it's tax evasion but yeah that's right. You really going to pick on the little guy dodging $40 in taxes on this?

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garytyrrell@reddit

It’s both. You really gonna commit multiple felonies to save $40?

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foolear@reddit

Fraud is fraud. Don’t break the law.

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Dependent-Arm8501@reddit

Yawn goodbye

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irtimirtim@reddit

Buyer pays tax in California, when they register it in their name. So if you sell a car for $5k, and report that (honestly) to the state, and the buyer reports he paid $500, the buyer will get caught. It’s good for selling a car, but if you want replace it, not so good. When I was younger I would collude with a buyer and document a lower price. Not any more.

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Dependent-Arm8501@reddit

It definitely depends on the state and who you choose to do business with. I did this on shitty cars not worth that much. I'll edit my comment to specify those things, that's my bad. Obviously it wouldn't work out for anybody with a car above a few thousand. I just took the context of the question to assume we were talking about beaters lol

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ZannX@reddit

Or just any cost of ownership. People saying break even aren't been honest with themselves.

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Blaze4G@reddit

Patience looking for right deal has never failed me. Bought my first car for 4500. 4 years later sold it for 4300 after putting on 49k miles. Second car bought for 8500, sold for 6700 after putting on 46k miles. 3rd car bought for 6300, sold for 8500 after putting on 16k miles. Sure I lost money but with the amount of miles I put on I think I came out great.

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mbmbmb01@reddit

Depends on where you live. No tax on private vehicle sales where I am, just as an example.

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Yankee831@reddit

Vehicles hit a point where they are fully depreciated. Even maintenance items at a shop cost more than the vehicle is worth. For someone who does all their own work that’s a sweet spot. If you’re that knowledgeable you can tell and research vehicles issues and choose accordingly. You’re not jumping from Nissan CVT to CVT but jumping from 5 speed Focus’s to 5 speed Fiestas or something like that. My Element will basically always be worth the same as what I paid for it as long as it’s in running and driving shape. I sell every few years around tax rebate time and buy in the fall/Christmas time.

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pretygirls@reddit

It’s pretty normal to want a new car, but it can be hard to avoid taking a loss. If you're always switching, the key is buying cars with good resale value or just accepting that it’s a bit of a 'hobby' cost. Maybe try to focus on fixing the issues you dislike with your current car instead of buying a new one every few months.

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Kanetheburrito@reddit

Worst decision I’ve made of my life was selling my 2011 Suzuki equator, I owned it. Traded it in for a whopping $2500 off of a 2020 Camry Trd. Now I did go from 12mpg avg to nearly 30, but I also pay $621. Now I sit here in a cool car, that’s less cool. And I miss my gas guzzler. I’ve tried to go to Toyota 3 times looking at more affordable vehicles but the numbers never make sense. One day I’ll another Suzuki equator -_-, I cry.

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HangoverGrenade@reddit

I buy a new $3000 beater every few years. As long as they last me more than 8 months, I consider myself ahead.

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CoooooooooookieCrisp@reddit

You might be my neighbor. Why not spend more, say $10k, to get a nicer car that will last longer?

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HangoverGrenade@reddit

That’s the idea. I can do 80% of the maintenance myself. That’s what makes it workable. If I had to pay a shop to install new control arm bushings or whatever, this would t work. My last car was a $4000 2001 BMW 325i. I drove it for 5 years, and sold it for $2200. Did some minor maintenance. It beats the hell out of a car payment. The sweet spot for me is late 1990s to early 2000s. Still modern enough, but easy to fix.

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happy--muffin@reddit

I think they meant every few years, you buy a $3k car. Drive it for at least 8 months, then it’s considered “ahead ✅”. Then when they’re bored, sell it for $3k and buy a different $3k beater and repeat. So if nothing major breaks, they’ll have a new used car every few years unless it breaks down before it hits the 8 months mark. I once bought a Celica for $3200, drove it for few years then sold it for $3500. Never fixed the oil leak or ac compressor leak

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kiIIinemsoftly@reddit

Even if they go to the scrapyard after 3 years, that's only $1000/yr on buying cars, less than $100/month. Maintenance and such is inevitable, but if this is your strategy you should be able to handle the normal stuff. If you want to sell it and get something else after 8 months or so, you can probably get most or all of your money back, since there tends to be a price floor for reasonable cars.

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happy--muffin@reddit

I was able to buy a house in my 20’s because all I did was drive broken ass cars, vs my friends that were buying BMWs for 40k. I finally caved and bought my first brand new car 2 years ago for $45k in my 30’s, tho I already lost $20k on it because Tesla. With wife and kids tho I guess it’s better than driving a beater that might break down on me at any moment’s notice. Wife was not happy with my Celica since the A/C doesn’t work half of the time lol

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Vesploogie@reddit

I had a W211 for a while. Had the original sale sheet with it, bought brand new in 2005 for $65,000. I bought it in 2015 with 75k miles for $10,000. Who took the loss there? Once the suspension collapsed at 125k miles I sold it for $4k, and I was fine with that. Point is, people who hop beaters are buying cars at the bottom of their depreciation. Especially for something like a Mercedes, doing so means you are always going to come out ahead vs buying new. Cars depreciate no matter what, so it makes sense to save on the percentage side. On the other hand, poor reliability can make you lose in the long run. If you go through 4 or 5 cars in a year because they died sooner than you thought, you'll likely end up spending more than if you got a cheap new car. Keep your car til it dies, or if you're okay with spending the money, buy whatever you want.

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Jmanswagga@reddit

I dont know

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Sharp_Cow_9366@reddit

Is it really a loss when I make no payments and drive a $2k car for a year or two or three?

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pm-me-racecars@reddit

The average car payment is $500/month. I buy an $800 car every 6 months. For some reason, people will spend twice as much as me on cars, but ask how I afford it.

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RandomTasked@reddit

I gave up on "cool daily drivers" and went with a Lexus Rx hybrid with like 200k on it. Runs like a top, I get 26mpg, damn thing is indestructible. Bought it over a year ago, and I can still sell it for what I paid for it with tax. Soul sucking Toyotas or Hondas are the way to go if you want resale.

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Ran4@reddit

A modern Corolla isn't soul sucking though, they're actually rather fun to drive.

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snatch1e@reddit

The urge to switch cars is definitely normal —it’s that “grass is greener” syndrome where you just want to experience something new. If you want to break the cycle, try to focus on what you love about your current car.

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TheDirtDude117@reddit

So there's some truth to the whole "cars are always depreciating" in most aspects. I'm a car dealer and I have bought a lot of personal vehicles from all over. My advice is to buy something that has no HARD issues like Rust & has a long service life. A major marketing point (fuel mileage, towing, hauling, size etc) all can make other buyers more interested despite age or miles. Short last 3 beaters 12 Honda Fit Sport MT BOUGHT 70k $2200 Sold 110k $11800 I bought This one from a dealer auction in the inop section. It was a two- owner vehicle that was repossessed from Ethel with Monster/Anime stickers everywhere. The clutch and slave cylinder were both siliconed with house silicone to fix a leak and the engine bay was disassembled greatly. Axles out, trans dry, no battery, everything past the throttle body missing, and interior was full of trash, needles, and Horder junk. I checked the vehicle in person. Jumpered the clutch switch with a paperclip and used my jump pack to get the engine idling poorly but not knocking. Bought it. Fixed and cleaned it then drove it like a mad man. I did have to get tires, shocks, do some electrical repairs, add a radio, and ended up having to do a clutch. Original paint and got 40mpg. Easily financed to someone who wanted it when I wasn't wanting to sell it. 1999 Mazda B2500 Troy Lee MT 2WD Long bed Bought 150k $3000 Sold 170k $7200 Bought this from a friend who replaced the shocks, spark plugs, timing belt, fuel system, and clutch hydraulics for $3000 as he was buying another truck and needed this one gone. Paint was TRASHED by the sun and interior was dark gray with some stains. Got it home and pulled the full interior to deep clean it. Seats were light gray and blue with the carpet being night and day different. I did have to balance the 1 year old tires, change brake pads+shoes, swap u-joints, and change the original radiator. I also had a friend respray the truck black and it looked like new for $800 for the hoot, roof, fenders, and bed caps. Rhino lined the bad as well as added some new hardware bolts for easy removal. Probably but $1500 into it BUT I also sold a second rear end it came with for $500. Find a clean 4 owner Ranger with oil change and fuel records dating back to 2001... '14 Ford F150 V8 4x4 Reg 8ft Bought $7000 150k Sold $12000 180k Bought this on my 30th birthday while I still had the Mazda above. Negotiated down $500 due to an oil pan and trans pan leak. Changed the fluids, deep cleaned it, bought a steering wheel with audio controls and a driver seat bottom from Pullapart for $60. Swapped those in and coded the truck for it and the larger tires it had. Replaced the belt, fuel filter, spark plugs, and rear diff breather. Even did the Trans cooler line mod for safety. Truck was titled to it's 1st registered owner in 2023. Original owner was an Avocado farm in California where it got 120k miles, a new frame, a new engine, and a torque converter at 98k miles. Second owner (seller) was a wholesale dealer who had neck surgery and nobody would bid on it at auction. There's a few special things that I have done this with but these are the most recent

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Big-Energy-3363@reddit

That’s the way to do it!

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thewheelsgoround@reddit

I've nearly never lost money. I've made money on nearly every car I've bought and sold. I've always bought cars which have needed some amount of sweat equity put into them, via unusual (call them "industry insider" sources). I repair, restore and make that car the very best it can be, drive it until another great opportunity comes along, buy that car, then sell the car I was previously driving. It really helps to be friends with people involved with dealership trade-ins, tow yards, scrap car pickup services. The sorts of people who are involved with cars which were never put for sale in the first place. Geography probably helps a lot, too. I live in a city full of wealthy people, with suburbs filled with huge houses and garages. It's not uncommon for an older, wealthy person to buy a new car because the old one is "broken" and simply want nothing to do with the old one. You show up, ask no questions at all, and take away a 2003 330i with 48,000km on it for $1000, all because it needs a battery. The owner, at the last moment, throws in the entire service records since new and tells you there's a full set of wheels and winter tires that they want you to take with it. In their mind, the problem is solved, the car is gone, and they're up $1000.

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lastplacewinner_@reddit

You always lose money unless you are good at flipping and that's the intention. Cars lose value, is it worth it to spend a grand or less on a car that will only last a few years at most? If you need a car for work then yeah sure it's worth it, especially if public transportation doesn't do the job or you live far away from your work to just bike there. Plus public transportation can be costly if you pay for it. Depends where you are

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2Drogdar2Furious@reddit

I buy them with mechanical issues and fix them a bit and sell them after a few months. I haven't done it for a few years since I had kids... but i just picked up $500 Ranger that I'm going through and I'm expecting to put about $500 in it and see how it goes from there. But basically just judging the time vs cost to repair over sell value and keeping some of the money aside for the next one.

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AnastasiusDicorus@reddit

Historically, I have paid around $5-10K for a car and it lasts me 4 or 5 years. Usually it could keep going but I get tired of it and get a different car. If I drive a $10k car for 5 years, the purchase cost is around $170 a month, not too bad. And since I'm a good mechanic, repair and maintenance is a lot cheaper.

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mrclark25@reddit

I buy them needing notable work, fix it, drive it, and then sell it.

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CoconutLustre@reddit

Some buyers prefer to pay cash upfront for their vehicles especially if the car is older or has a low price tag

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bigchilla777@reddit

“cars are depreciating assets” gang doesn’t seem to understand that every special car has a bottom dollar before it comes back up for good i bought 3 BMW e30s for $1k each similar cars are listed for $13,500 each, cheapest i saw was $12k i also own a $3,000 12v Cummins, my local facebook thinks they’re worth $10k

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Scazitar@reddit

If you really want to become sick in the head the trick is to just keep buying cars and own multiple at once. That's how you really win at losing money like me.

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Specific-Gain5710@reddit

I buy trades from my dealership. I only buy trades with an exit strategy in mind - I ask myself, in three years, if this has a major mechanical failure would I be willing to walk away from this for a couple hundred bucks. Considering my wife drives about 35/40k a year, my answer is usually yes.

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After-Chair9149@reddit

Once cars get mostly depreciated, they don’t change much value wise year to year. I bought a 2009 Kia sportage 3 years ago for $2000. Sold it last year for $2000

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Intel_Oil@reddit

Did my calculations and trying to keep the Daily <1k/month is the sweetspot for me. That includes every cost factor like financing/amortisation to insurance and running costs. Cars usually don't appreciate if you're not sitting on a Honda Prelude that you bought in the 90s or something.

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joeuser0123@reddit

You may never recoup the loss. Keeping a shitbox is about the balance of keeping it on the road versus the cost to replace it. Sometimes this is in your favor and sometimes not. It's never that way with a brand new Mercedes let alone a used one. That being said get a 3rd gen prius (2009-2015) and send it for 500K km

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BlackDS@reddit

Honda Civics are a life hack. In 2017 I bought a 2006 for $6,200, and later sold in 2019 for $6,000 In 2020 I bought a 2003 for $1,500 and later sold in 2021 for $2,000 In 2021 I bought a 2007 for $5,000 and later sold last week for $6,000 Now, all of these cars required maintenance and work, but nothing major. Things like brakes, spark plugs, that kind of stuff. Junkyard runs for better interior parts and that kind of stuff. I've never had a car payment in my entire life.

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Fcckwawa@reddit

I buy stuff cheap with stupid issues that have expensive labor bills and fix it my self, drive it a year or winter then sell it for more. To me a beater with a heater is just basic ass point a to point b transportation so don't really care what it is, though some I will keep if its useful or fun like a truck or rwd chassis.

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InsertBluescreenHere@reddit

my states plate title and registration fees would kill me if i was doing it every year...

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uglyugly1@reddit

The way to make money on them is to fix and flip. Otherwise yeah, you're going to lose money one each one.

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Either-Durian-9488@reddit

If you want a bunch of stupid old European cars, I cannot recommends k motor Honda enough, they are built to be abused, and having a car that takes those miles with a smile on its face is a godsend for someone that loves cars that don’t.

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RearAdmiralP@reddit

> stupid old European cars > k motor > Honda Instructions unclear, bought a Rover 45

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Either-Durian-9488@reddit

In the land of the twingussy it’s a solid hilarious choice

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Jugzrevenge@reddit

Look around for reliable cars that are not working. Go look at the car and see what it’s going to take to fix it. Do the work yourself. I make money on most of my cars (96 ish cars so far). I lost money on a few but I can count them on one hand, Ford Explorer was a money pit that just kept breaking for some reason and let it go for $1000, I paid $5000 and sunk $4000 into the fuckers! A few cars I more than doubled my money after driving the car for a few years. Opel omega I bought for ~$1500 put $500 into it, drove it as my daily for two years and sold it for $6500.

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ILikeTewdles@reddit

Cars are my only hobby. I usually swap once a year and do incur a loss. But, I'm ok with that as it's my only hobby and I could spend lots more on other stuff. My family/friends dont get it but whatever.

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aroundincircles@reddit

I have a YouTube channel, I make money, and spend money on cars, computers, motorcycles, and gums. I lose money on cars usually when I sell them, but I make enough to pay for the cars and the other toys. I currently have 7 cars and two motorcycles.

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Bimlouhay83@reddit

I have a friend that buys used Subarus that need a engine. He usually gets then for $500ish and knows a guy that sells 2.0 for $850 and 2.5 for $1200. He can do an engine swap in 4 hours or less and sells them for no less than $3500. If you know what you're doing, have the space and the tools, you can torn cars around all year long and make pretty good money doing it.

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acurah56oh@reddit

I’ve bought and sold a lot of cars. The only one I’ve ever made money from is a 2018 Honda Accord EX-L 2.0t. I bought it for about $25k and sold it for $28k to CarMax less than a year later. I used the extra cash to buy a Ford Mustang EcoBoost Premium with a manual. Problem is, I got greedy and thought I could do that with any car. I was wrong and took losses on the next two I sold (though fortunately not catastrophic losses). Currently, I’ve stuck it out with my Dodge Charger V6 AWD and I’m happy to have something fun that’s paid off. To answer your question, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having that itch to swap out cars often. I have it all the time. The key is to do it in a financially responsible manner. You might stick to vehicles that keep their resale value if you want to ditch a vehicle quickly. But know that almost all cars are depreciating assets and taking a depreciation hit is a near certainty. Enjoy whatever you buy and budget appropriately.

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Dependent-Arm8501@reddit

You can get decent at haggling and trading across interests, that's your best bet aside from fixing up broken cars and flipping them. I've traded Eclipse GSX for 4wd trucks and older interesting cars for newer modded ones. You can ride that fine line, but you still never really come out on top unless you flip broken ones

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4score-7@reddit

I look at it like this. A car performs a service for me, and I’m paying for that service. If I don’t own, or make a monthly payment on it, I’d have to rent it. Again, a cost. Like this Monday and Tuesday. My old, long ago paid for 3 series is still in the shop, but I gotta have wheels to get about 30 miles out and 30 miles back, those two days. I’m gonna pay 60.00 per day, and rent something. What I’m getting at is, some cars, particularly if brand new, take a long time to recover from the upfront depreciation. A used car has less of that from when you buy it, but still has it. Think of it in terms of how much is it costing me in annual or monthly, or even daily, depreciation? You’re likely coming in way less than I’m about to pay for 2 days of a rental car. My 3 series is 14 years old now. Wouldn’t get $4-$5k out of it if I sold it. But, I only paid $21k for it used, a decade ago, with 28k miles on it. That $17 grand to “rent a car” for 10 years. $1,700 a year. $150-something bucks a month. Not too bad.

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DaRiddler70@reddit

For one....we don't buy used E320s. I find the best lowest mile example i can for bottom pricing. I can drive it for a year, maybe put a few bucks in it and basically sell it for what I bought it for or a bit more. It maybe costs me fuel and tax to have that vehicle for 12-18 months.

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NopeNotEvenOnce@reddit

Being a car enthusiast means you pay for things you love to do.

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iforgotalltgedetails@reddit

The real answer.

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RIG_PIG69@reddit

I suspect people that do this are not actually breaking even or coming out ahead. Usually when I talk to these types they leave out the taxes and maintenance they have to pay for.

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Hunt69Mike@reddit

It’s all about finding a great deal on the right car. I bought a clean title, manual frs almost 4 years ago for $5,500. 40k miles later I could easily sell it for a profit, even with tax and maintenance included.

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rudbri93@reddit

Yea im pretty sure i never made money on any of my beaters except when my mustang got totaled out. But the point wasnt to make money, it was to have a functioning/better functioning vehicle.

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crandad@reddit

In my experience I will almost always exclude maintenance from the investment calculation. That’s with the exception of major occurrences like engine or transmission or for initial maintenance to get it up to snuff. General maintenance is going to be a given on any car, even a new one. Well within financing periods you’re going to face having to replace tires, brakes and some suspension parts. That mainly leaves the initial purchase vs. the revenue from selling. In my experience I buy at a vehicles end of life. I get almost nothing out of my vehicle when I’m done with it, maybe money for scrap. The lowest KM’s I bought at was over two hundred thousand. The most I’ve paid is $2500. Sometimes you can still sell the car, if it’s a valuable ish one, for decent above scrap value. As for wanting another car. You’re damned to live the life of a gear head! You’ll always want to experience another enjoyable attainable car.

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Threewisemonkey@reddit

I justify that my car habits are still around the same as financing an economy car, with less depreciation and more enthusiasm from my end. But swapping every few months is a not a good idea unless you’re buying something that needs work and flipping it after doing some work. Come on over to r/projectcar to talk with likeminded degenerates. Having multiple cars really helps.

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