What happened that you had to buy a <$5k car....

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EducationalTailor883@reddit

Because my truck motor blew up so I needed a new car to get to work then it caught fire months later while I was building my project car so now have to sell both cars to get another sub 5K car cuz I’m 18 and broke

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talkgomi@reddit

I like cars! I currently have eight interesting cars and only paid more than $5K for two of them ($6K Mitsubishi Minicab K-Truck, and $8K for a Fiat 500L with Abarth engine and 6 speed manual). Some people spend a bunch of money to get one boring car that does everything. I prefer having a special car for any given occasion. Sometimes I drive a different car to work each day and that makes me happy! If you are knowledgeable and patient $5K will buy some very interesting machinery. I picked up a Jaguar XJR6 with under 100K miles, straight body, excellent interior and mechanical condition, for $4500K. The paint is sunburned, but that just means I can drive it without having to worry about birds and door dings and such. The Fiat is a bit of an odd choice... I went to look at it on a whim but it was so nice and so stupid fun to drive I decided I needed it. With only 65K, like new condition and lots of dealer service records, it was a bargain at $8K. And it is nice to have something around a bit more modern than most of the cars in my fleet. Last weekend I paid $4000 for a 2003 Mazda MPV as an all purpose backup car and something my friends and family can use when they are in town. The miles are highish (147K) but the rest of the car is like new - one owner, garaged since new, lots of maintenance. I keep my eye on the market looking for interesting bargains, and have been watching for a clean late series MPV for several months. They are bland to look at but very comfortable & reliable, and a great drive by minivan/SUV standards. They are also huge inside without being big on the road which is nice in the city.

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ustilladumbbitch@reddit

I'm a cheap person by nature. I'm a former mechanic and try to do all my own repairs I despise new car dealerships. I understand they're not all crooks. I know some good ones. I also know and work for a bunch that are fuckin crooks. New cars are an awful investment. They deprecate as soon as you drive off the lot. They always have scam fees attached that you have to fight to get removed. I got in an accident with my 600$ 300k mile Malibu and needed something within 3 days. Some of the most reliable cars I've ever owned cost less than 5k. I've rolled over 300k miles on cars I got for a grand or less consistently. They are some of the best bargains. Also, I just love beaters. I live in the city, so it's great to not care about the random dings and scratches that come up. They're a blast to wip around, drive hard, and not worry about costly repairs or voiding a warranty. Personally, for my life style. Sub 5k beaters are just better and the superior enthusiast option.

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jrh0516@reddit

For my first time driver (son) to drive and eventually wreck. It was a great learning experience for him through all the aspects of car ownership and maintenance.

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BagBoiJoe@reddit

If there's one thing I know about, it's cars. New cars are an incredible waste of money, even the cheap ones. Luxury cars don't appeal to me and depreciate even more drastically than the average new car. Electric cars are unreliable, douchey and have no style. A couple years ago, I bought an AWD manual 2000 Honda CRV for $3,000. I've replaced CV axles, brakes, oil pan and valve cover gaskets... a few other things. I did it all myself. It has a quality set of oversized mud tires on steelies, a 2" lift and some othet aftermarket suspension work. It's fun, economical, whimsical, capable, and incredibly efficient in every way. I've got about 5K in it total, including purchase price. On the trail, I've scratched it up, busted the bumper off (fixed it) dented it etc. How would I feel about doing that to a $70,000 Jeep that the bank still owns? Or having to get a repair done that costs as much as a decent older car because parts and labor are staggeringly expensive and modern cars are so complex you practically need an engineering degree to wrench on them? To put it simply, I have a good-paying job but I work hard for my money. For me personally, new cars are a tremendous waste of money and they don't impress me or anyone I'm interested in impressing.

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ThirteenMatt@reddit

How am I supposed to own so many cars if I pay more than that for each ? I have literally no reason to spend more on them. And I mean as someone who is deeply a car enthusiast, not "just get something to go from A to B". If that's what I was looking for I'd spend less than 2000€ to get it. As you mentioned, being able to fix myself is a very important part of it. Having your car repaired can be very costly, even for small stuff if it's hard to diagnose. But I'm able to judge if an issue is important or not and fell capable to do pretty much anything a car would need.

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zombienutz1@reddit

Right? I have 5 vehicles with a total purchase price of $7400. Two are commuters, a truck for hauling, a Camry as backup, and a Suburban for anything else. All are basic vehicles that have cheap parts and are easy to work on.

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IShitMyFuckingPants@reddit

I have 4. 2 “sporty” cars, a sedan, and a pickup. A friend (who makes like twice what I do but has a wife and 3 kids) joked about me being rich once and used my cars as an example. Shut him up when I told him the car he bought his wife cost twice what all 4 of mine cost combined.. I’m just single with no kids so I get to buy the fun shit and don’t need to worry about dad shit like safety and fuel efficiency.

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Physical_Touch_Me@reddit

This is why I don't have kids. I'd rather have my El Camino than a family, or SBC swap my Jag than a family, or a few old beater trucks than a family...

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Damnthatsmackg@reddit

My kids love my LS swapped 300 tho

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scammersarecunts@reddit

Man I'd love to do that too. But unless I'd only get one set of plates for all cars (and can therefore only drive one at a time and not park the others on the street) I'd pay so much in monthly taxes here.

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KronosX3TR@reddit

Where do you live that registration isn’t tied to individual vehicles?

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scammersarecunts@reddit

Normally they are, but you can opt to have one set of plates for a max of three cars, then you only need to pay taxes on the car that has the highest tax. Austria is the country.

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KronosX3TR@reddit

Ok so not the US. That’s pretty cool

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Skvora@reddit

TIL that it's a thing somewhere! That's so sensible and sort of convenient.

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scammersarecunts@reddit

The other side is that our taxes on cars are high. A 200 hp car will cost €90/month. A 350 hp one is 182€/month.

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Skvora@reddit

To, have registered on the road?? And then insurance on top?

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scammersarecunts@reddit

Yes, that's just taxes, insurance is on top. And when buying new the sales tax is also quite high, a well specced M340i will cost ~€28k in taxes, a 320d something like ~€13k. It's the reason why you don't see many high powered cars here. A lot of people could easily afford it, but spending €200/month just on taxes so you can have a faster car is really hard to justify.

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Skvora@reddit

Wait, taxes being primarily for vain emissions and all that nonsense, so how the hell is a *diesel* cheaper than a normal petrol car???

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scammersarecunts@reddit

The sales tax calculation is fairly complex but it primarily revolves around CO2, engine power and price. I think a 320d is lower in taxes simply because its a less powerful engine and cheaper car.

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Nosayscecil@reddit

Oh I wish. I’m in bc and they definitely don’t allow that very sensible approach.

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ThirteenMatt@reddit

I'm European too, yeah that is a strong commitment on my part but I love cars and bikes. I currently own 7 cars and 4 bikes, but if I sold all of them and went shopping for new vehicles instead I'd be able to get something like a base model Renault Mégane with 0 option and a Yamaha XSR 900, or just replace all of it with a single car and get a base model BMW 3 series. Neither of which I would enjoy as much as what I have currently and in both case lose a lot of money on depreciation.

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AlasknAssasn858@reddit

Legit, annual registration and insurance costs alone in CA make this idea cost prohibitive, sadly. I’m very mechanically inclined with a solid dash of tech savvy

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RecommendationUsed31@reddit

I have 10 cars. I pay 500 a month insurance for them and I have 4 drivers with 1 under 24. I pay about 2100 in registration though. Its doable but you need to be ready to pay a little.

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Plumber-Guy@reddit

Damn. I pay 440 a month for 3 vehicles. 2 work vans and my personal car. We have public insurance, so we aren't able to shop around for a better rate.

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RecommendationUsed31@reddit

I have mercury. I have been with them forever. I dont know where you are but trucks are commercial vehicles in California as well so there is that. I count myself lucky. Good driving records, no at fault accidents.

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Plumber-Guy@reddit

Not where im from :( I have to use the same coverage for my personal vehicle as for my work vans, sadly.

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RecommendationUsed31@reddit

That sucks. Sorry to hear that. Our trucks are automatically commercial vehicles. Not suvs or even vans. Just trucks.

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Pixelplanet5@reddit

well you are paying almost exactly 10 times as much for your insurance as im paying for my one car. why does one need 10 cars that are registered and insured though?

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RecommendationUsed31@reddit

You have to register them in california and believe it or not I use them all, each has a purpose and there are 4 drivers in my family. They all have to be insured as well. California is a fun place

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AlasknAssasn858@reddit

I pay $500 reg, $2700 annual insurance on a hybrid and xterra. All discounts, home owners, no tickets accidents etc You pay $2100 reg, $6000 annual on 10 vehicles, 4 drivers. Thank you for your info!

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goaelephant@reddit

Volume discount

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RecommendationUsed31@reddit

Last car added about 15 bucks to the bill. 97 camry

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AlasknAssasn858@reddit

I genuinely appreciate the info. There is definitely diminishing returns on the later vehicles

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RecommendationUsed31@reddit

Yep. Car 9 was a 250z. Cost me 35 more

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RecommendationUsed31@reddit

No accidents and california drivers. It is 50 a month per car but that is with the young one. If he was a full time student it would be a lot cheaper but his school keeps him at 11.

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Skvora@reddit

One does not car enthusiast living in CA... or VA.

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xamboozi@reddit

I'm apparently in the minority - I only own 3 cars, but the wife's minivan is 5 years old and far and beyond the most expensive to insure. Newer cars suck for insurance.

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MoirasPurpleOrb@reddit

How much do you pay in insurance?

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zombienutz1@reddit

~$75 per vehicle every 6 months. It comes out to under $800 for the year.

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CivicIsMyCar@reddit

Where do you live and what kind of insurance? I have a couple of older vehicles which don't get driven much (under 4k miles per year for both combined), live in suburbs of a relatively small city (Richmond, Virginia), relatively good driver (no accidents ever and only one ticket in 2009), and yet the cheapest insurance I can get is $98 per month for one (04 Tacoma) and $112 for the other (98 Acura TL).

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zombienutz1@reddit

VT, all the vehicles are 1996-2004 and are all through Progressive.

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CivicIsMyCar@reddit

Full coverage?

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MoirasPurpleOrb@reddit

Dang that’s surprisingly cheap

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Rattle_Can@reddit

>Camry as backup, you always need a toyota as a backup, you never know when you're gonna need one 💪🏼

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Zappiticas@reddit

I’m guessing you bought most of those pre Covid?

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zombienutz1@reddit

One of them was 2021, another 2023 and one last month. I flipped a few in between but I usually have 4-8 vehicles at any given time.

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RecommendationUsed31@reddit

I have way to many vehicles. They all run though. I have a truck for hauling small things, I have a truck for hauling bigger things and a truck to haul really big things. I have a forester for harsh terrain and weather. I have a legacy gt for somewhat wonky weather and terrain. I have a passat tdi for expansive gas need to travel a long ways cheap. A 350z, I mean who doesnt want one. A camry, because who doesnt want one. A 72 superbeetle and a 1980 Fiat spider. Oh and a 2013 kia optima because I hate myself.

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FirehawkLS1@reddit

I totally understand where you are coming from. I too am em enthusiastic for decades. Could I afford a new car? Absolutely. But I prefer older cars so newer cars don't appeal to me, and by newer I mean anything made after 2005. I do not having multiple modules in cars for every single system. I don't like hvac controls buried in a touch screen. Give me basic hvac controls that are mechanical in nature, not blend door actuators with plastic gears, not adaptive ride control. None of that is anything I need. Heated seats? If I want those I'll get a seat cover for $50 that can do that function and when it breaks, I'm not ripping out seats and upholstery to fix it. I'm a simple person with simple needs. I'd rather the car handle well through aftermarket upgrades and something I can work on and be my own blank canvas without being locked out of ecm / ECU or having to go through miles of wiring. Anything easy to work on, cheaper, large aftermarket, and makes respectable power stock, that's what I want.

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ThirteenMatt@reddit

And at that point even if you do want all the gadgets and amenities you don't have to spend more than that. A few months ago I bought myself a "new" daily driver, which is a 2004 E500 wagon. I paid 5500€ for it (well ok, that makes it over $5000, but not much), and in that car I have: * Cruise control / speed limiter (the one that actually limits your speed, not the one that beeps) * Electric everything with memory (seats, mirrors, steering wheel) * 4 zone automatic climate control * Heated seats front and rear * Ventilated front seats * Electric hatch * Front and rear parking sensors * Air suspension * A brake hold system that also has some kind a one pedal driving mode at low speeds That's not a full list of the options and mine isn't even fully loaded. You could still add stuff like active cruise control, heated steering wheel or a programmable stationary heater and they're not that hard to find with all that stuff.

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fadedcurry@reddit

Sold my 2019 S550 Mustang convertible a couple months ago and I’m about to purchase a 2007 E550 4Matic (Had a baby, need more space and No more car payments). As a fellow enthusiast, I am so excited to be back in a sub 5k car. Doesn’t hurt that it’s a 380hp sedan with a ton of loaded options.

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FirehawkLS1@reddit

That's a lot of options especially with it being 20 years old. And the 5.0 in those makes good power if I remember correctly. You could do a lot worse for the price. I'd say that was a solid buy if it needs even a little work.

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Flashy-Marketing-167@reddit

Every car I've ever owned was sub $5k but I own my house free and clear.

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SpaghettiDoom@reddit

Quantity over quality!

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Damnthatsmackg@reddit

I guess my reasoning is that I know I can fix them and how much they’re worth running so <$5k for a +$5k car is just the logical way to go for me

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Honest-Annual1838@reddit

I bought a 2022 mustang GT premium and was racking up miles, currently it has around 13.5k miles. It’s been super fun and reliable no complaints and it’s a blast even in the winter. Sadly I live in Illinois and don’t want my first fun car to go to shit due to rust and all that bs so I bought a 2005 GMC envoy for 1k with 142,000 miles. It has been flawless really nothing broken down only a tune up and some other stuff but yeah. The GMC is my beater from work and other stuff and it’s quite fun with the AWD and not being tensed up whether something will damage my mustang. Then on the weekends I take out the stallion for a spin. Love the balance and it gives my mustang all the more to want and get in it.

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psyspoop@reddit

Mixture of financial reasons, frugality, and the fact that I can work on them myself. My last purchase was somewhere around 3-4k. I grew up poor and had not been out of college in my first "real" job for that long, so I didn't have a lot of savings or help from family and still had decently high student loan payments, so I couldn't get something much more expensive without setting back other more important financial goals (emergency fund, beginning retirement saving, paying down high interest student loans, beginning saving for a house downpayment, etc etc). I also grew up working on my cars and helping my dad with working on cars, so I didn't mind buying something that I might need to do some work on myself.

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Daddysgettinghot@reddit

Sweet EXL Honda Accord with 3.5 fell in my lap. Friend wasn't able to obtain a work Visa and had to head back to home country so gave me a sweet deal.

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Graywulff@reddit

I saw a Miata for $1750 before they got expensive, I’d finally parted ways with a troublesome Saab, and people said, why don’t you get a Miata? It was literally the best car I ever owned, least expensive, convertible, fun to drive, the guy dropped a lot of money on the sound system so it sounded fantastic, it needed a paint job, a new top, seat covers, and it would have been a $5500 car, that car now would be like $12500 on an cars and bids or bring a trailer. It never broke down, other than needing a battery once, it was really easy to work on, great on gas, as a single gay guy the convertible factor was there. One time, I was at a gay bar, and this smoking hot navy guy comes in. I realize I have 30 seconds at best, usually I’m really shy and reserved, I walked up to him and said “did you come alone?” I recognized what the dolphin on his uniform meant, he said “yeah” so I said may I? And he said sure, and I held his coat gently and whispered “*let me be your seawolf*” and he’s like whoa, and I said “hey I have a convertible…” he’s like “I haven’t ridden in a convertible before”, and I thought of hunter s Thompson and said “well, isn’t it about time?” And we went for a ride, I know some roads with really good views, a tunnel the exhaust sounded really cool in second gear in, and a scenic way back to my place. We wrote for years, somehow we lost touch. I wish I didn’t sell that car, bc that’s the only time I was that bold.

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CantSeeShit@reddit

Tcg?

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Graywulff@reddit

?

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FirehawkLS1@reddit

It pays to be bold sometimes. Helped me to become married to the woman who I always wanted to talk to, but was in shitty marriage at time and even though it was shitty (lots of mental abuse that I went through) I wasn't about to step out and do that to my now ex. Few years later I reached my breaking point, which happened way too late but at least I realized how shitty I was being treated, so served her papers and left. Didn't care that she lived in house that we bought together, my mental health at that point was more important than getting screwed financially which I'm still trying to fix my credit for eleven years later, but 7 months into divorce I had the guts to talk to my now wife. Figured I pretty much lost everything at that point except my sanity, what do I have to lose? Guess being bold paid off because we'll be married for a decade on Halloween and I'm way happier and although any relationship has ups and downs, she's been by my side through anything and everything and likewise. Also understands my hobbies which includes cars. She has her own hobbies that I totally respect and support so it's been amazing.

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falcon0159@reddit

Why is your credit still fucked up 11 years later? Even if you stop making payments, it drops off after 7 years. You should look into fixing your credit, there are plenty of subs that can help.

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FirehawkLS1@reddit

Ex opened credit cards up in my name and racked up charges several years after divorce. I'm still working on getting all that fixed. It was / is a mess.

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bearded_dragon_34@reddit

As someone who is also a Car Gay, that’s an adorable story. I love it.

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CantSeeShit@reddit

Is the facebook group invading reddit now?

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Graywulff@reddit

Thanks, I wish I hadn’t lost contact. The navy wanted me badly, but I couldn’t bc of don’t ask don’t tell? He said “you’re from a lost class of officers, I always wished I had a gay officer to look up to”. Don’t ask don’t tell had ended, but literally nobody was an officer yet, they’d showed me a submarine and that’s how I recognized the dolphin on his uniform, I’d researched it and that’s why I made the seawolf reference, there are three of them and they were really secret then. So part of the confidence was having a sports car, the other part was the navy literally wanted me to do what he did, when I told him he told me that… but I knew what to say too. It wasn’t a cheesy pickup line, it was insider language.

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ruttin_mudders@reddit

You must mean in the last few years right? Because when I was in HS (1999-2003) $5,000 could get you a lot.

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turniphat@reddit

When I was young, that was just a normal amount to pay for a used car.

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benboxerUSA@reddit

Have you ever driven a sub 5k car? It's fun as hell and you don't have to worry about banging it into rocks, trees, parking barriers etc. Way easier to have disposable income when you're not tied to a $879/mo car payment too.

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Apprehensive-Good828@reddit

Why do we have to have an annual registration, an annual tax and some annual other bogus inspections that let people pass with leaking brake lines and rusting out frames.

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Real_Imitation_Crab@reddit

So I've bought like 5 cars in recent years, and everything I buy for 10-20k my wife crashes within a year or so. But my 2012 hyundai sonata GLS 6M, that I paid 4500 for in 2018, somehow has outlived them all. I bought it because it was what I could afford at the time, it has a manual transmission, and it looks okay for what it is.

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amethystenthusiant@reddit

So I got into a wreck with my reliable daily driver. 2016. It had to be in the shop for 3 weeks to get fixed. I'm 19 years old so many car rental companies wouldn't allow me to rent or had a outrageous cost. So I decided to buy a 2001 chrysler lhs for $1800. It was a 2 owner car, both owners kept a log for everything that was done to vehicle (oil changes and other repairs) and it only had 130,000 miles. Drove it for those 3 weeks and tried to fix up minor issues. As well as detail it. Sold it for 2000. Didn't end up making money but I broke even. Better than renting a car IMO.

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AndromedA_63@reddit

I bought a $1500 Accord because my commute is filled with a bunch of morons not paying attention. But, when I want to have fun, the S2000 comes out to play

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AlwaysChangingMyName@reddit

Car payments are ridiculous. I can fix cars so I buy nice used cars that need work off market place and run them for 3 to 5 years

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TC_Trails@reddit

I bought a cheap run-down Chevy hatch back 2 years back for like 2k. Only used it as a beater car was in a bit of a dying condition, rusty body, run-down rockers, altonator on edge of death, etc... Financed a TC last August cost around 16k, but still, I got my old Chevy, and still, to this day, I use her. She ain't mint, still run down, but I did the work to make her last. I use her when winter hits hard, or the TC needs some work, or if I just want to drive her. I never put that many kilometers on the Chevy from when I bought it to now (about 20k kilometers). She's cheap to run and wouldn't cost an arm and a leg to fix. Overall, I owning the Chevy is just for a beater comutte for me, but it works out well. Would definitely recommend having a cheap sub 5k beater. If it wasn't for the Chevy, I'd be paranoid to drive nearly 24/7 since my TC is a prize car to me. The Chevy is my life saver.

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V10Lada@reddit

I bought a car that was just under $5k. I'd just moved countries with my wife, we needed a car, and I was unemployed at the time. My mom was also the seller, which mean we knew the history of the car, and it was intriguing enough from an enthusiast perspective. It was great while it was being used for the grocery run and dropping my wife off to work, but it started falling apart once I got a great job that was in a different city. It started caving under all the miles.

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mr_lab_rat@reddit

I moved to the USA with $900 in my pocket.

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Scageater@reddit

How’d you survive the first year?

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mr_lab_rat@reddit

There were two of us, working minimum wage jobs 7 days a week, sharing an apartment with other people. It got a lot better after that. We were young and didn’t really have any expenses. Basic car insurance in Florida was like $150 for a year back then (we are talking 1998-1999), gas was about $1. I don’t know how easy it is for an immigrant to start from nothing these days. Probably a lot harder.

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Scageater@reddit

Thanks for the response :)

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SpillinThaTea@reddit

And you have an M2 now? Sounds like you have a lot to be proud of my friend!

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mr_lab_rat@reddit

Yeah, I didn’t say how long it took 😆

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SpillinThaTea@reddit

Still tho. A lot of people start out with a lot more and end with a lot less.

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Skvora@reddit

US is the land of working smart, after initially hard. Also vast majority of our population and some immigrants are horribly financially illiterate.

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Rattle_Can@reddit

more realistic example than my dad who came to USA with 6 dollars in his back pocket

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beholdthemoldman@reddit

the uncles that tell these stories always end up with less and less money 🤣

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New_Citizen@reddit

$300 for me back in 2001. Glad you made it!

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xXxDickBonerz69xXx@reddit

Hell yeah brother. You're scrappy. I love it.

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Nosayscecil@reddit

Rock and roll bud. Don’t push , don’t back down. Work hard and welcome to you.

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gimpwiz@reddit

My man

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All_Wheels_Drive_YT@reddit

I have no choice given that I'm too young to make good money to buy anything over $2k most times and am self made. I'm proud of that tho don't get me wrong. It also helps that I happen to see potential in every shit box and can do a great deal of work on my own and know how to save the money to pay for what I can't do. Also new cars kinda have no soul and the manufacturers have too much remote access to it

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DavidSpy@reddit

Because showing up at work with a different vehicle every day of the week breaks peoples minds

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d_boss_mx@reddit

Interest rates and expired warranties. The only way to get good rates is to buy new and get factory financing. I personally can't afford new unless I buy the cheapest offerings. To get what I want in my budget (around 20k) I have to buy an older higher mileage vehicle. To finance an 8 year old 100k mile vehicle the banks jack up interest rates even with good credit. Then that car has no warranty plus higher insurance. I can't justify spending all that extra money for a car that's out of warranty. So I tend to look for cash deals around 5-7k and ride them as long as I can. Currently driving a 2005 Trailblazer I bought for 6k with 150k miles. It's been 3 years I've put 24k miles on it. I did rebuild the front end last year and put new brakes on. With the added maintenance costs it's kind of a wash but at least if the engine or tyranny dies I'm not still in debt on it.

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RichSPK@reddit

Nothing ever happened that allowed me to afford more expensive cars.

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GuestExciting6896@reddit

Started commuting 55miles to a new job per day. My daily was a new Toyota Tundra so I found a $1500 Saturn SC2 to commute in. It got about 36mpg, was very reliable, and best of all had cruise control. After 3 years of that ended up moving to a house just 5 miles from my place of work and no longer needed the Saturn. I cleaned it up real good and sold it for $1500 to a 16 year old driver.

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PowdahedShugah@reddit

Got a DUI and totaled my Mom’s old car. Was right out of college and bought an old VW Passat wagon for $4500. Best purchase I ever made, I loved that thing, even with a breathalyzer in it.

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Chicken_Zest@reddit

I was lucky enough to graduate college in 2008 right at the start of a recession. My career kind of sucked wind until my 30's. I drove cheap cars by necessity. The good part is that I was already a pretty handy fella and learned a lot about maintaining cars. I also grew an affinity for those 90's / 2000's era vehicles. And so here I am... still driving 90's / 2000's era vehicles... I just have a lot more of them now.

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intern_steve@reddit

I paid $1600 cash for '01 Lancer with a CEL in '17. As with every daily I've ever bought, the purchase was made under duress with very limited savings and terrible credit after my previous vehicle was disabled, but it was probably my favorite car. I replaced the motor mounts to fix a strong vibration at idle, replaced MAP sensor and cat/manifold to fix the CEL, replaced struts and did a brake job. I eventually put tires on it, and because it was on oversized rims I also bought a set of used wheels in the stock diameter. The paint was peeling pretty bad, but it had almost zero rust, and I had just isolated a slow battery drain to a failed AC clutch when I got rear ended at a stop light in early '21. All repairs included, I probably put another $1600 into it in parts and one mechanic shop repair, and approximately one dream car's worth of sweat and personal bonding. I would still be driving it otherwise, but the insurance company took it and I financed a big, gently used, family car, which was probably the right move even if I hadn't been wrecked. The totaled value ended up being very very close to my total investment in the car, which was super surprising, but I'll take it.

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Full-Willingness5519@reddit

My daily was a 2001 F250 diesel with upgraded injectors and a bigger turbo, absolutely hauls ass but only got about 10mpg. Buddy of mine was about to ship out to boot camp, offered to sell me his 2012 Chevy Cruze 6mt for $750. It’s an absolute hooptie but god damnit can’t say no to a running, driving, car for less than a grand these days lol. The truck was gifted to me by my grandfather when his Parkinson’s got too bad to drive it so I’m never getting rid of it but it is nice to have a little shitbox economy car to save a little pain on my wallet day to day lol. Added a couple extra batteries in the trunk and shoehorned a 15” sub in a 4 cu.ft. Box pushing it with a 5kw rms amp, I still get to have a little fun with it 😂

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EmilySakuna@reddit

covid times cost me my job, car got repo’d, unemployed for a long time because nobody wants to hire anymore (nor do they want to pay a living wage, and finally had a job opportunity and needed wheels for the 20 minute commute so i gathered enough money together for a $1600 daewoo. times is hard and cheap transportation when public transit isn’t an option is necessary.

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Real-Actuator-6520@reddit

I bought a 2008 Honda Fit Sport with the manual because I wanted a frugal and fun daily. Cost me $5000 CAD. We also knew the prior owner so we had an idea of how the car had lived its life. But also, it was to replace a terrible TSX I had bought for $6200CAD (and sold for $2500 to preserve my sanity), so I didn't feel like I should spring for something more expensive so soon. Honestly, we had the money - just that with a young child and my wife on mat leave, figured it would be prudent to "make do" with the Fit. Lo and behold, I don't think I'd ever want to sell the Fit now, as it's plenty of fun for a daily (put in some "feel" mods like a Buddy Club short shifter, inexpensive Brembo front rotors, better pads, RPF1s, and a Progress RSB). Though I will say that even before these mods, the car was more peppy and fun to chuck around than it had a right to be. Long essay to say: a $5000-or-less car is often just the cheapest option, but sometimes, it can just be a great option period.

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guy-anderson@reddit

I absolutely adore my Honda Fit. The manual shifter is one of the best I have ever used. The short wheel base makes it a hoot to drive - it's an enormous go-kart. Make sure you stay on top of valve adjustments! I did mine at about 150k miles and it absolutely breathed new life into the thing.

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Real-Actuator-6520@reddit

I did mine (along with the ignition coils and spark plugs) not long after I bought it. Definitely a good call! The stock shifter is really punching above its weight.

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Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit

Yeah there really isn't a modern equivalent to what the Jazz does: - Renault Modus (yes circlejerk sub I mentioned the funny car) is dead - Peugeot 1007 is dead - Mitsubishi Colt is dead - Honda Jazz/Fit is Europe only since 2020 - Mazda 2 is alive in lots of places, but hasn't had mini MPV sizing since 2007 You can pay as much as you want but there's really nothing that fits "light, fun car which can take more loads than your mum" that is over 5k USD in the US. Hell you could probably import a first gen Demio/121 for less than 5k now they're 25 years old lol

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Logaline@reddit

Same here, I’ve also got a manual GD3 Fit and paid a similar amount for it. Amazing car stock, incredibly fun with some mods

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Real-Actuator-6520@reddit

Just gotta upgrade those stock brakes. No idea how Honda allowed a 2,500lb car to have such terrible braking stock.

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damn_jexy@reddit

I buy cheap cars, fix them up and have fun with them for a while then sell them for profit. I do have a newer cars that I call it my "main" car , but the main car doesn't get driven as much because I drive the cheap&fun cars a lot , and this make my main car last longer.

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I_Drive_a_shitbox@reddit

Nothing happened. I made the choice. I absolutely hate dealerships, salesman, and service advisors. I can work on 99% systems of the car if something goes wrong. Only take it to shops for inspection, emissions, and alignment. No car payment, gas and insurance are pretty cheap. Older cars have less complicated electronic systems than today's vehicles. I don't care if it gets some rust, dings, scratches, etc. People may find this hard to believe but I spend less each year on repairs than some people do just for their 12 month car payment. No hate to anyone who has leased or financed a vehicle. I'm just lucky enough to have cash on hand for a shitbox then I drive it till its not financially viable, sell parts off it and buy another shitbox. Works great for me.

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falcon0159@reddit

I no longer had a long commute and didn’t feel like spending money on another car payment, so I bought a cheap used Saab 9-3 Aero Wagon with a 6 speed for $3400. I also had a GTR at the time and some other cars.

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Generous_Cougar@reddit

Friend of the family offered me a 1992 Subaru SVX for $500. To be fair, I had told him that if he EVER wanted to sell it, to come to me first. So I bought it. Prior to that, my tastes were skewed towards older Volvos. You could get a running/driving 240 for sub-1k any day of the week. The only cars I've bought that were OVER $5k were a '96 Volvo 850R and an '01 Subaru Legacy GT - both wagons.

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NavBumba@reddit

Mine wasn’t sub 5k once I finally bought it, but 2-5 years ago you probably could’ve found an alright example for that much. Mine was $8k, a 2001 Acura Integra GS-R and I could probably sell it for 10k now, but it is my dream car. A super fun nimble car for when I want to enjoy driving mountain roads, manual transmission to enhance the fun and keep me engaged on long, boring, tired drives, plenty of storage room, fuel efficient, and while it’s a little slower than the Type-R trim it has AC to keep me alive in Georgia summers. It’s dream car with the perfect balance of fun and comfort for 8k, of course I’m buying that! I almost bought a Miata at exactly 5k and it was about the same level of comfort, a good deal slower, but in some ways even more fun. It all comes down to what your standards are for a car. Some people have lower standards for what they want out of a car, and some people just have different standards. Things like a silent interior, super smooth ride, automatic transmission/CVT, Bluetooth, and power everything are the bare minimum standards that most people expect from a car today, and older cars that don’t have those will often be cheaper. Some people don’t care and just want a car to get from A-B with AC, so they’ll pay less for an old car and be just about as happy. I personally dislike all of those features other than Bluetooth, which I can and have installed myself. I want to hear the engine, feel the road, and feel the handbrake tighten as I pull it, even crank windows wouldn’t bother me. I was in a crash about a year ago and got a nice rental, but after the novelty wore off after a week, I was miserable driving a 2022 Nissan Maxima because it had all those features, which made a drive boring and sometimes made it hard to stay awake. Sure it’s a nice car but it’s not worth a $5000 to me, much less the $8,000 that I happily forked over for a 2001 Integra. Ofc there are also people who just don’t have the money. They need a car and they don’t have the credit score to not get ripped off, or they don’t have the stability to reliably afford hundreds per month for years. That would’ve been my situation if I didn’t already have my heart set on a relatively cheap car. TLDR: cause I want to

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Colorado_Car-Guy@reddit

Because how much you spend on a car means absolutely NOTHING . Cheapest car I've bought was $400 for a 95 mitsubishi eclipse. Like 6 years ago. I still have it. Still runs and drives. I also have paid 16k for my FRS I abuse both. However the eclipse was $400 so if I wreck it at the track going full send, oh well. Wrecking 16k at the track stings more mentally so I'm a little more cautious. Ever see supercars at track days? Most of the time they are driving like it's a Sunday cruise getting passed by everything at the track.

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Skvora@reddit

Ayyy, '13 ~$16k 86 gang! Now, do you agree or disagree that the twins are at *most* $18k level cars and absolutely nowhere near 28-32k?

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i_hateredditards@reddit

>Because how much you spend on a car means absolutely NOTHING What an ignorant thing to say.

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Colorado_Car-Guy@reddit

Because how much you spend really does mean nothing. All that means is how much you think the car is worth You can spend what 30k on a gen 2 86/BRZ for what a slight increase in HP over the gen 1 which go for like 10k used? 300k on a mustang GTD for what? A supercharged V8? Demons are what? 100k? For pretty close performance. Then you got them supercars (720s, 911 gt3, hurricane ects) 300k on what? Something you'll take out once a month because tires and maintenance is 1/3rd the cars value upfront? Vs something that's $500 and you can send it over and over again, parts everywhere and unlimited seat time. As a daily driver price also means nothing 2k will get you a 2000s camry that's reliable as fuck vs what 50k on a new vehicle?

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i_hateredditards@reddit

Blah blah blah you said something stupid own up to it

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ItsMeTrey@reddit

You said how much you spend means nothing, but then your whole comment is the opposite lol

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Colorado_Car-Guy@reddit

Means nothing has in if you spent 10k on a car and I spent 4k on the same car what makes your car different other than what you paid for it?

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Navaros313@reddit

Nothing in what sense? Seems like it matters to you if you wreck 16k vs .4 so I don't think what you spend on a car means NOTHING.

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Colorado_Car-Guy@reddit

Because it various WILDLY on where you buy said car. I got mine at a dealer so it was 16k. You can go on marketplace and find these cars in the 6k-10k range all day. It's like saying you paid 20k for a car but on marketplace older models are 10k It's not about how much you spend but more so how much you value it. And my FRS is the "reliable daily" I drive more so not because it was 16k but more so that a replacement is a couple grand and I gotta drive it home afterwards.

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bearded_dragon_34@reddit

Do you buy track day insurance when you take the FR-S there?

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Colorado_Car-Guy@reddit

Nope. 16k to me still is a good chunk of change for me but realistically not out of the relem of finding replacements for 5k or so if something where to happen. But if I took something to that track that is $40k+ then I would get some insurance on it.

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gimpwiz@reddit

I see plenty of supercars at track days driving hard but otherwise yeah

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dingusduglas@reddit

You live in the make believe land. I used to live there too, I get it, but outside of maybe NYC the same thing doesn't play out anywhere else in the US.

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Avocadosoup@reddit

what an odd generalization to make. people with money for a track toy don't have more money to get their track toy fixed if it breaks doing the thing it was bought for?

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dingusduglas@reddit

It's not a regular thing to see high end supercars at run of the mill track days in other places I've lived, no. In the Bay Area, yes.

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gimpwiz@reddit

I live in the bay area. So.

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dingusduglas@reddit

I know. That's what I was referencing. See you in r/bayarea all the time.

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inline6throwaway@reddit

I remember seeing a couple of high end new gt3s and c8s at a track day at Sonoma last year

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Avocadosoup@reddit

because most people don't own high end supercars in the first place? like yea ofc those places are going to have more affluent people by being closer to affluent cities. leave that area, the affluent cars will be less existent.

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dingusduglas@reddit

Yes, that was the whole point of my comment. Thanks for re-iterating condescendingly.

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Avocadosoup@reddit

so what was the point of saying other dude is in make believe land if these things are the case? again crazy generalization you initially made.

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KingGumboot@reddit

> You live in the make believe land. He literally goes to the track and sees it first hand but ok

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dingusduglas@reddit

He is responding to someone who says that supercars are not normal at track days. At most they are not. u/gimpwiz is also a regular on another subreddit I frequent, r/bayarea. I used to go to track days in the Bay Area when I lived there. Supercars were routine. That has not been the case anywhere else I've lived. I have no idea why people are jumping down my throat over this.

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gimpwiz@reddit

Haha well yeah man you figured out the secret. I guess it's not make-believe land, just where you used to live :)

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dingusduglas@reddit

I'm just saying that yes, where you live, supercars at track days are normal, but where you live is the exception. It's not really a counterargument to their general statement. Almost nowhere else has such a concentration of hyper wealthy individuals. There are plenty of exotic cars in Chicago but these guys are cruising in them, not hitting up the autobahn in Joliet.

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bluenosesutherland@reddit

Cheapest car for me was a 1971 144 Volvo I bought off a guy’s lawn for $60, put a frost plug in it and drove it for two years.

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Fiasko21@reddit

I wanted to buy a house AND keep my STI. So my daily car on payments had to go, and replaced with a cheap cash $4000 Toyota. Best decision ever, yea my old Toyota isn't as "nice" as the german daily I had before, but OMG it's a better workhorse, more reliable, cheaper maintenance, no car payment, it's awesome and I've fallen in love with my old Yota.

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nero10578@reddit

Is it the Matrix with the 2ZZ?

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Fiasko21@reddit

1ZZ, it's just my slow workhorse! But not gonna lie, I set the cruise to 100mph and it doesn't struggle a bit.

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6carecrow@reddit

Where do you have space to set cruise to 100mph??

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Skvora@reddit

Damn near everywhere that's 30 miles off of any major city or town? Plop that radar detector on and fly away.

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Fiasko21@reddit

Used to be all the time.. I could set the cruise to 120+ on my STI. But with Florida's growth I'm lucky to be able to cruise at 90 during off season now.

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nero10578@reddit

Oh wait yea 1ZZ lol. They’re pretty cool cars tbh.

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jcforbes@reddit

Are the meds for the STI that expensive?

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Eggith@reddit

Without insurance they can easily run in the thousands. At least in the US.

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Skvora@reddit

Nah, meds for STI owners are those cheap disposable vapes you can get at 7-11.

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fireexe10@reddit

Welcome to the US of A

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EssayComfortable9499@reddit

Not having a payment is the key. If that means a sub $5k car, then do that, if you can spend a bit more, but keep it cash, then yeah go for it. So nice to be free from car payments.

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ElementField@reddit

For the first 20 years of having a license, I made about $25k a year. So obviously if I was going to have a car at all, it would be as cheap as possible. It wasn’t until I was making $80k that I even considered something more expensive than that. I was taking the bus at the time, and decided to finally indulge my car enthusiast dreams to buy a used hot hatch for $32k. The general answer to your question is that people are buying what they can actually afford, and not what they feel entitled to. If you make less than $60k a year and haven’t built up your emergency fund yet, and/or aren’t contributing to your retirement in full yet, a new car is probably out of the question. You’re probably going to want to stick to transit or something pretty cheap until you’ve got things sorted.

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Skvora@reddit

My last/first sub $5k car is now worth 6-8, and is my daily backup. My second, $6k car, is now worth 8-10 and is a fun weekend/backup backup for the daily.

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TheScummy1@reddit

1. I like a good deal. 2. I can fix most things fairly efficiently so an older car is ideal for me. 3. I like modifying cars so I'm not going to get a car that's expensive or that I'm paying off. 4. Financial reasons. I'm disciplined enough and willing to sacrifice enough to save up, so why even consider financing a vehicle? I don't want monthly payments, interest or high insurance costs.

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limitless__@reddit

When I emigrated to the US I had about $1500. I bought a car for $600. If decent 5k cars were still around (they haven't been since 2020) I would have bought one for my son when he turned 16 but I had to spend 10k to get something that was acceptable.

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Interesting-Swim-162@reddit

Hey i bought an amazing car for 3.5k in 2021 or 2022! (i can’t really remember when i actually bought it bc i didn’t drive it for a while lol)

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yesletsgo@reddit

They are still around I’ve bought several in highly expensive Northern California

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Mental_Turtles@reddit

Yuppp, the $5000 car is definitely getting a bit harder to find. My girlfriend’s little brother got a 2001 RX300 with about 120k on the dash for 5 grand a year ago, and that was definitely a diamond in the rough. Little older, but rock solid reliable, practical, and comfortable. My dad also recently just bought me a 10k car, 2009 CRV with one owner, clean carfax, only 85k on it. Definitely easier to find than a clean $5000 car for sure.

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ItsTheCougs@reddit

They are still around, just gotta look for em. Bought an 07 Dodge Magnum with 124k miles a month and a half ago for $3000. Runs and drives amazing and is in great shape.

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goaelephant@reddit

Similar to the Magnum, you can get a W211 Mercedes E320/350 for under $5k

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probablyhrenrai@reddit

Do Mercedes' not fit the "most expensive BMW is a cheap BMW" bill? I feel like the maintenance would be a constant, totally-not-worth-it headache, at least as a daily driver or "only" car.

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ZombiePope@reddit

A V6 pre-2010ish E class without air suspension is actually a surprisingly reliable car

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goaelephant@reddit

6 cylinder E Class , W210/W211/W212 generations are some of their most reliable models. BMWs are considerably worse

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mikeycp253@reddit

My Toyota was $1000, bought it because it was $1000. Sat for 12 years before I bought it. Trans was blown up, leaked from everywhere, rotted tires, bad brakes, sagging suspension, bad carb, bad ignition system, etc etc. Spent ~$5k all in buying and fixing it, now I drive it every day.

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Interesting-Swim-162@reddit

Found a hyundai tiburon for 3.5k. Why not. I love the car to death and it was an amazing purchase (:

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Zbinxsy@reddit

Car payments are stupid, there are many great cars under 5k, just have to find them. If you need a thing to get you to a to b and you aren't caught up in trying to keep up with the Jones it's a far better spot of spend money on over 30k into a depreciating assett.

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Thr33Evils@reddit

For anyone who's not aware, there is a special market of lightly used small Japanese imports under $10k. Known as "Kei" cars, they fit a special legal category there based on size and engine displacement limits, so they're not suitable for large people or those who need to do much highway driving. There's everything from small 2-door sporty cars to vans to mini pickups. I recently discovered this category and am really impressed; it would be a great teenager car or extra vehicle for errands around town. The reason so many are in decent condition for like $5-6k is Japan has a law that almost forces car owners to scrap them after 10 years or pay heavy penalties, so we have a fresh supply of these small vehicles coming in. For those thinking about one, just know they are Right Hand Drive and usually stickshift, and have to be 25 years old to legally import to the US.

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TweeksTurbos@reddit

Mostly because they are ideal cars that somebody just didn’t fix. 1 was “totaled” Most others needed a lil work mechanically.

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cessna209@reddit

Bought an 05 Scion tC for $3000 about 2 years ago. Still my daily driver. I moved for a new job that didn’t pay too much but had great promotion potential. Didn’t own a car at the time since my previous car was a lease and I’d been borrowing one of my parents’ cars for a few months until I moved. Just needed a car to last a few months until I could save up more and by something else if necessary. But almost 2 years later I’m still driving it. It’s got almost 180k miles and has cost me almost nothing in maintenance outside of routine costs. I’ve taught multiple people how to drive manual in it. Now that I’ve gotten those promotions and make almost 4x what I did when I started here I can easily afford something else. But to be honest, I don’t want anything else. I’ll keep driving this one til the wheels fall off.

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argent_pixel@reddit

I bought the Odyssey for $1000 in late 2019 as a temporary holdover while I was shopping for a sports car. I had to put about $2000 into it (timing belt, water pump, fluids, tires) but it was solid mechanically and clean inside/out. I started looking for said sports car that winter, and by middle of February 2020 I was working from home for the first time in my life. I put the car buying on pause while we figured out what 2020+ would look like. By the time Covid had become more of a known quantity, interest rates were set to go up so we switched gears to house hunting which ended up taking a little over a year. Once we bought the house, we ended up spending another year making changes which we're finally almost done with and now I'm back to hunting for a sports car while I've been driving a $3000~ minivan for the last 4 years that was supposed to be a 4 month thing.

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y4m4@reddit

These anecdotes are worthless without the year you purchased your 27 cars, each for less than $2000. $5000 buys your a basic serviceable car these days, but not much else.

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edwacht@reddit

Not broken by any means, I just love the car! 2005 Hyundai XG350 / Grandeur. I feel like a king in a comfortable and well equipped car for 3500 bucks!

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Hallingdal_Kraftlag@reddit

I've toyed with the idea of one myself, large luxury car that is at least here in Europe a rarity. Too bad it's FWD only.

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Shitboxfan69@reddit

Old Hyundais are either hit or miss, but damn, when they hit they hit. I drove an 02 Accent for a few years. Paid $600 for it, in the first few months I did all the fluids, new tires, and timing belt/waterpump, and plugs. Only issue it seemed to have was how it loved to burn out coils 2 or 3 times a year, so I eventually just kept a few junkyard ones in the trunk. Super quick to swap out, other than that it ran perfect. Thing was bare bones though, I never minded though when like $5 in my tank could get me anywhere in my city and back easy.

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JaKr8@reddit (OP)

I always liked the xg. It was a bit of a unicorn here in the states.

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rg25@reddit

A few years ago I moved from one state to another. I didn't have a car at the time and I was also in the processing of buying a house at my new location. Generally when you're in the home buying process you do not want to take out any new loans. Also car prices were insane at this time in 2021. So I just paid cash and got a Scion Xa with a 5 speed. It was a super reliable and surprisingly fun little car. I drove it for a year and a half and sold it for just about what I paid for it.

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_TheFudger_@reddit

My first car was a 2001 Ford focus automatic. First car when I had a learners permit, just wanted something to go point a to point b and practice. Then I sold it and got a 2000 civic to learn stick. 1550 and 1750 USD each. Sold the first for what I bought it for and the second spun a couple of main and rod bearings. I replaced them and now I'm looking at selling it because in the process I got a 1990 Miata for 5450. Not quite sub 5 but you get the idea. That one's to have for a long time. I love it. Then the day after I purchased it one with 25k less miles and a better hard top (OEM vs aftermarket) was available for $500 more than I paid for. Womp womp but oh well.

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SlimJesusKeepIt100@reddit

I wanted an E39, I also wanted a Prelude, neither of which are exactly expensive.

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piss6000@reddit

Got a 2006 Civic Coupe for sub 5k 2 years ago as my first car, best purchase I’ve done so far, I love my car.

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Blitzcrig@reddit

It helps with insurance premiums having an older car in your collection.

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Key-Ad-1873@reddit

Because I was getting paid 12 bucks an hour. You wanna try affording a car, housing, food, utilities, and more on that in this market??????

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Jasoncav82@reddit

My girlfriend wanted a relatively cheap vehicle so she didn't have to make payments and could work on paying off other debts. We live in a rural area that sees lots of snow and we live on a dirt road so having something with more ground clearance than my daily was a good idea. She had the credit and income to get a $50k car but ended up with a 2005 Subaru Outback that we are slowly fixing everything on. It'll end up being a shared winter beater when we are done with it (she will end up getting a miata soon as a summer daily) but at the moment it's her daily and for the $2800 she spent on it we couldn't ask for more.

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TechnicalCloud@reddit

Was in between cars while I was waiting for my new one to arrive. Bought a beater to have in between and held onto it

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anthonyisrad@reddit

always better to get a good platform cheap and put work into it. sometimes they’re more reliable than new stuff if you know what you’re doing

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brnjenkn@reddit

I wasn't born rich?

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kenwoodifhecould@reddit

I did a terrible job of maintaining my $15k car (stretched out oil changes and let it run way too low too often), and turned it into a $1k car that needed a new engine. Got help paying it off, sold it to someone who wanted to do the engine swap, and bought a $1200 Dakota to daily drive for not quite a year. Learned to take better care of my cars!

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Plumber-Guy@reddit

I've bought 3 vehicles, 1 truck & 2 cars for $3500 or less. Truck $800 (private sale 8-9 years ago) plus $500 in parts for safety. Car #1 $2800 (private sale 6-7.5 years ago) & car #2 $3500 (dealership 4-5 years ago)

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EssayComfortable9499@reddit

I’d rather have 2-3 sub $5k vehicles, vs one that costs over $50k. But for me that would be older cars and ideally simpler cars. The newer models are typically not as easy to repair, and they all need repairs at some point. And it’s also kind of fun for me personally to roll up in a beater at our kids school where the norm is $100k SUVs. I can park it anywhere and my kids can go full Dukes of Hazzard to get in via the windows. lol, makes me laugh just thinking about it. Truly NFG. Now I do have a later model Cadillac that I was able to purchase from my BIL for a great price, and I prefer it on the long highway trips, but it’s been broken more than my 20+ year old pickup.

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MammothWrongdoer1242@reddit

My lease was up, and a buddy had a Ford ranger just sitting at his house. Bought it for $1700 and fixed her up a bit. Good little truck.

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Naytosan@reddit

Every car I've ever bought between 1999 and 2019 was <$3k. Why? Broke AF like everyone else. The first car I ever bought that was *over* $5k was my 2009 Audi S5 that 2 deer jumped out in front of after I had owned it for about 3 months.

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SpecialFX99@reddit

Unexpectedly had to buy a car when one was damaged beyond the point of being worth fixing, did the best we could with what we had to work with at the time. The other times I did that it was extra vehicles for fun/projects

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aroundincircles@reddit

I own a lot of sub $5000 vehicles. 1) 1989 Jeep XJ, bought for $2000. Have many thousands more of parts and upgrades into it. It’s not “done”. 2) my personal vehicle for 8 years was. 1998 Mazda B4000. I needed to move my family and it was cheaper to buy a $2500 salvage titled truck and a small trailer than rent uhauls. (We slowly moved into a storage unit, then to the new house). Planned to sell it after I was done, fell in love with it. Still have the truck. It had some mechanical issues that are probably not worth fixing, but I’m giving it to my son, if he wants to fix it up, he can have it. 3) ‘08 Saab 9-3 wagon. My wife’s favorite vehicle, and it was only worth about $5000. No point in paying more. 4) 01 Chevy blazer. My oldest is going to start learning to drive soon, and I wasn’t going to spend more than $3500 on a car for any kid to learn to drive in, and it’s both small and tall, so it’s easy to see out of and drive.

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sinkrate@reddit

Please consider letting your kid learn in the Saab instead, the old Blazer is a terrible choice for a new driver. "The fatal crash rate per mile driven for 16-19 year-olds is nearly 3 times the rate for drivers ages 20 and over. Risk is highest at ages 16-17." The Blazer has low crash test ratings, and a high center of gravity + no electronic stability control + inexperienced driver is a bad recipe.

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aroundincircles@reddit

We live in a rural little town. They couldn’t get to half their friends houses in the Saab due to the lack of… well roads, our own driveway is impassable in the Saab any time it rains.

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alehanro@reddit

I have never purchased *anything* that cost more than 5k. My current car I put 5k down for because the Covid bubble economy raised prices. And that was the most expensive thing I’ve ever purchased. When the market eventually stabilizes and I can afford a house again, that’ll be my new highest ever.

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slamaru@reddit

I’d rather have 100 $5000 cars than 1 $500k car ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I am fortunate and have worked very hard to have built a well fitted workshop at home and do all maintenance from brake jobs to bottom up rebuilds, body repairs, whatever. Currently going through the fleet swapping over wheels to summer mode, new fluids and general inspections to find anything that cropped up over the winter. I earn a comfortable living and spend a lot of time on the computer for work and enjoy hands on stuff when I’m not on the computer. I’m very passionate about the automotive aftermarket. I’ve built a number of show cars over the years and that’s what I really enjoy doing but the general maintenance (which I do *mostly* enjoy) helps to justify having built a nice home workshop.

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Carbon_Dealer@reddit

Bought a cheap daily driver because why take out a loan on a car i care nothing about? I’d rather save that money and put it towards a nicer car in the future. I never spend big money on daily drivers. Most car enthusiast don’t. It’s how they can afford their project cars or track cars.

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reesesbigcup@reddit

Went thru bankruptcy, cars with loans repo'd, home foreclosed. bought a 1000 dollar beater 95 olds, in the mid 2000s.

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External-Mushroom51@reddit

That sounds terrible not gunna lie, what caused you to get to that point?

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CivicIsMyCar@reddit

Unexpected medical emergency.

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fonsoc@reddit

Divorce?

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Due-Archer942@reddit

It just makes sense to. if it got stolen it’s not the end of the world, it’s the sort of car you can leave in a car park and people can ram into it with trolleys and open their doors on it and it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to wash it and polish it. Just because it was sub 5K doesn’t mean it’s a bad car. I’ve got a 2009 Ford focus I paid $4000 for, one owner from new. I’ve also got an old 1993 diesel Volkswagen golf. It does everything a modern Car does. I’ve got some classics in the garage but I wouldn’t dream of leaving them unattended in a car park or just parked outside getting covered in shit. Cheap cars rock.

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BikiniBottom77@reddit

It's a '99 Civic EK, that car will outlive the solar system

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levios3114@reddit

its my first car and im my country its pretty normal for a first car to only cost around €1000. and even then im significantly above that with a €3500 ford focus from 2004

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thePr0misedLAN@reddit

Because I was getting nostalgic for a car I had in high school and a nice mk2 golf was $4k to get back into.

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gt500rr@reddit

For my first car, because I wanted something my broke ass could afford (Ford XG Falcon Ute) and then my fleet of Land Rover SIIA 109" because I wanted to own easy classic cars to wrench on with really good parts availability. That also still can be used for practical purposes.

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Straight_up_rich@reddit

I got into a a dumb amount of debt renovating my house and had to sell my low mileage c6 corvette. Ended up with a 92 civic hatch, an 06 Prius and a 98 Chevy 1500. Together they all cost me 5k lol Civic was 2k but it didn’t run I got it fixed up. This is the “fun” car Prius was $700 I got that had a faulty abs module. Went to the junkyard and put another in for $100 my daily driver to work The truck was $1500 and it doesn’t go into 4wd I still haven’t gotten around to fixing but it still works and I use it as a workhorse for hauling materials or other cars haha

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Andreaspetersen12@reddit

i got my car for 450$, was a fully working Audi A2, can probably sell it for 2K which means ive been driving for free the last couple of years

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challengerrt@reddit

My daily driver is a 98 4Runner I bought back in 2013 for $3000. Driven it across country multiple times and it’s never really given me a problem. Why did I buy it? Needed something to drive around in where it could potentially snow

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HabibiLogistics@reddit

I'd been looking for a semi project, daily car for a few months, and settled that I was going to get a Honda del Sol. in February I came across the perfect one on fb marketplace, bought it for 3000. it's totally stock, and it's been a lovely car to work on and drive. convertibles ftw!!

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ReallySmallWeenus@reddit

Not having a car payment is rad.

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mickeyaaaa@reddit

OP why do you believe a $5k car has to be unreliable? I bought my 09 Explorer V8 a few years ago for under $5k. All i've had to do is regular maintenance - oil, brake pads, a worn sway bar. super minor stuff. its been very reliable and now approaching 300k kms. I use my vehicle to make money as a mobile tech, I charge mileage. the less $$ i have to spend on a vehicle the more $$ in my bank. its that simple. Only bad thing about these trucks is they rust out but I've been touching up as i go along.

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ThermalScrewed@reddit

Work beater. Someone hit it, paid for it, I keep driving: money glitch.

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elmilgilk@reddit

Financial reasons. Had only ~$9k from insurance payout for previous car which was totaled, managed to find a single owner Camry in my neighborhood with 186k miles for about $4000, put $800 or work into it, it’s run like a dream ever since. Plan on buying only used Toyotas until I can afford a used Lexus, then after that maybe a new Toyota, then if I get really successful I’d buy a new Lexus.

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Jazzkky@reddit

For 5k you can get a pretty decent ca already. Especially if it's compact car

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naughtykittyvoice@reddit

$5000? The most I've ever paid for a car is $3500. Cars are the worst investment ever, and I say that as someone who loves cars. The newest car I've ever owned was 7 years old when I bought it. I buy cars I like at the bottom of the depreciation curve, then I keep them for a long time. I do most of my own work and have more cars around than people to drive them, so there are enough running cars at any one time.

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nico_juro@reddit

I was 17, bought a Toyota Celica. It was cheap, looked good, and had Toyota badge for reliability. It's now sitting in my driveway at 231k miles. Engine has started making death rattles, gonna slap another 1zz in it and drive it until I crash it. (2zz not worth it, I also own an MR2 which will get a 2zz)

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1EightySevenkilla@reddit

I was driving minding my own business and a guy pulled into my lane sending my car Barrel rolling through an intersection I had to be cut out of it a bunch of broken bones brain bleed and spinal surgery lost my job my medical coverage my girlfriend etc etc. The money they gave me for my car wasn't even enough to repair mine let alone by another one, so I bought a 2004 Civic for $3,500 bucks five speed manual SI. I fucking love it.

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monsteraguy@reddit

Covid happened, I lost my job and was able to back out of an expensive “pay as you go” car lease. I live somewhere with good public transport, but you kind of still need to own a car. My dad gave me an old BMW he was basically going to scrap and I spent a couple grand fixing it up. 4 years later, I still have it and it’s probably worth about $12k now

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Calculodian@reddit

Well when i was a bit low on cash one time, my brother offered his VW Rabbit series 2 (the indestructable type) for 250 bucks. I knew it was okay, new tires and all. Just had a new job and needed to drive a long way everyday. Drove around in it for 2 years. Only option it had was a radio 🤣 I had fun with that car. Abused it but it didnt flinch. I had fun with that car! Sold it to a coworker for 500 while it was worth a little more the shape it was, but it would be his sons first car. And by the time i sold it i could affort the car i wanted anyway. I found out that same car is still driving around somewhere 20 years later.. Still registered

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relakas@reddit

I’m driving a 500$ shitbox cause I need money for my project car. It’s cheaper to buy a 300-500$ piece of junk a year rather than owning something more expencive that you also need to fix/take care of. If my shitbox dies, I just buy a new one🤷🏼‍♀️

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NoBrakes01@reddit

because I only had $5k and don't believe in taking out a loan for a car

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eric_ts@reddit

I used to live in the Midwest. Salt. I had a $400 Econoline that I named Rusty. It was great until I let Rusty sit for a week. Rusty expressed his anger by rusting nodules onto the throttle cable that stuck the motor on full tilt. I got my revenge by trading it in on a perfectly good Buick Century wagon which I kept for a few years with no problems.

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Lordrandall@reddit

Because it was the mid-90’s, and I needed a car that would make the drive to college. More recently, because our oldest needed a car, and we found what looked like a good deal. Turns out it has transmission issues, but still runs and drives.

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UrbanSuburbaKnight@reddit

My 1997 Honda accord (manual 2.2) was stolen. I only had it insured for 3300, and at that price it wasn't possible to get an even slightly fun car. I made the decision to spend the majority of the payout on tools and found a rusted out shitbox Subaru legacy manual 4wd for $420. Also, I'm an idiot.

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SnooPears7494@reddit

I have no choice. I am purchasing a <$5000 car right now. I had an accident 8 months ago that totaled my previous old car. It was the other drivers fault and my settlement gave me $5000. I have absolutely no other money to spend. My financial situation doesn't allow me to get anything better. I wish it was different, but that's all I have. Not $5100 or $5300.. just $5000 or less.

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Reddits_Worst_Night@reddit

A house cost $1.4 million. I sold my merc, downgraded to a Mazda 2 of the same age, used that money to pay off my student loans, and was able to buy a house. Now I'm saving for a better car.

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Cheap_Brilliant_5841@reddit

Because a 5K car can be just as good as a 25k one. My previous car was a Mitsubishi Colt we (wife and I) bought for 3k. Why? Because my own business failed and we were basically broke and couldn’t apply for a loan either. We drove that little black car for 5 years. Used it to move stuff, haul stuff, take the kids to events. Everything. Biggest repair? A new clutch, which was fitting for the mileage, at 750 euros. The only reason we bought a newer, bigger family MPV? My wife totaled the little Mits last year.

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creamasumyungguy@reddit

I bought something with high labor cost from a manufacturer with a less than stellar reputation in the US, but that is relatively easy to wrench on and has somewhat decent parts availability. I intentionally did this because 1) I'm broke and 2) this particular vehicle seems to be at the bottom of its depreciation and wither won't lose much more value or will start to gain it as it has a bit of a cult following that's growing thanks to YouTube. But what made me *have* to do this? Lost my (for me) well paying job and had to give up a car I was making payments on. Hard way to learn that lesson...

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Valade_Gang@reddit

I love cheap cars. They’re like disposable cameras. Also the funnest cars I’ve owned. Nothing like doing ebrake slides in a Saturn in a snowy parking lot.

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akamsteeg@reddit

My current one was €4K, bought it in 2015 and it's doing fine for almost nine years straight. Why would I spend a year's salary or more on a car if I can buy and maintain a car for less than €10K in total over the span of nine years? My most expensive car was €7K and drove it for six years and 240000 kilometres. Besides the normal wear & tear items and normal maintenance like oil changes it only needed a new aircon condensor. It still had the original unopened engine, original gearbox, original clutch and was only on it's second battery when it ceased to exists with 282000 km on the odo. So, cheaper cars are perfectly fine for me. And the money I save I can spend on more laps on the Nurburgring with my track tool (which I bought for €2K...). (Site note: Although it's slowly getting more common almost nobody finances cars here. It's all cash. And car prices are \_high\_ here. Our base model Mustang is a manual 5.0 V8 which starts at €131900. Our median yearly salary is €41500 before taxes.)

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wobbegong@reddit

I got mine for free. I got it because it was free. I didn’t have a car and I was getting very tired of getting wet on the motorbike every day.

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ZombiePope@reddit

I wanted a car I wouldn't care too much about to learn to drive manual on. I completely fucked that up on both points by buying my C43 AMG. I'm never selling that fucker.

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aprtur@reddit

For sub-$5k, that'd be my old Sentra. I bought it because it had obscenely low miles, was in good shape overall, and I was getting ready to leave dealer life for a longer commute, but didn't want to pile the miles on my RX-8. It was a fantastic car, and I loved owning it. The only reason I ended up getting rid of it was Nissan offering to buy it back due to a warranty issue, which coincided with me getting more anxious about driving such an old car daily, as my sister had passed in an accident shortly before they bought it back from me.

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basshed8@reddit

Needed a pick to start a landscaping business on no money. Had it since 2009 and I was stolen last week 😭

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Kingz-Ghostt@reddit

Broke high schooler that needed a first car, with no rich parents to buy one for me. So I saved up $1500 or so and bought my 1998 mustang for $1,000. Sold it after about 6 months for $1,500 and bought it back less than a month later for $1,000 again, made $500 which went back into the car for parts. Then second car I wasn’t really looking but seen on marketplace for $2,200 and lowballed for $1,600. Thought it was a long shot but he responded went the weekend after with $1,600 and my brother got it down and I bought a 2007 mustang for $1,400. Both needed work but were steals for what they are. And I’m for sure keeping the first one for as long as possible. Probably gonna sell the second one after I graduate soon and put the money into savings for college.

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Kingz-Ghostt@reddit

Broke high schooler that needed a first car, with no rich parents to buy one for me. So I saved up $1500 or so and bought my 1998 mustang for $1,000. Sold it after about 6 months for $1,500 and bought it back less than a month later for $1,000 again, made $500 which went back into the car for parts. Then second car I wasn’t really looking but seen on marketplace for $2,200 and lowballed for $1,600. Thought it was a long shot but he responded went the weekend after with $1,600 and my brother got it down and I bought a 2007 mustang for $1,400. Both needed work but were steals for what they are. And I’m for sure keeping the first one for as long as possible. Probably gonna sell the second one after I graduate soon and put the money into savings for college.

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iamblamb@reddit

My first car was one I bought off of someone’s overgrown front lawn for 250. I put about 600$ worth of parts into it. That kind of money was in my budget. Nobody else was helping me get my car, pay for gas, or keep it insured. Once I got a little older, I bought a Dodge neon that was in great shape for 4000. An absolute steal! A really bad driver did me a favor and totaled it so I bought a Monte Carlo for 6400 with the insurance money. And now that I’m even older and have a better job I buy better vehicles because my budget allows

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Balmerhippie@reddit

Looking for a pickup. Probably an f250 4wd.

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Zdos123@reddit

Cause £5k gets a lot of car in the UK, bought a 7 year old VW Up! On 40k miles for £4k, sold that to my parents a year later for the same price I bought it for and got a 2009 NC Miata facelift and it's been perfectly reliable, tidy and just all round perfect. Why spend more when I have a car I absolutely adore. And not to mention £5k can get you cool Citroens, amazing hot hatches, luxury barges, 4x4 monsters, etc.

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The_Crazy_Swede@reddit

I own two cars for less than $5k and it is both because I really like the cars I biught and because I don't want to loose big money on depreciation.

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snatch1e@reddit

Personally, I bought a cheap car because I needed a work vehicle for a small amount of money to get from point A to point B. In addition, my older child is learning to drive, so it's a perfect option.

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TheWeekenderKit@reddit

I bought a 1979 Datsun 280zx for $3,000 because I wanted a nice classic I could DD during High School (and to look cool).

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ChassisFlex@reddit

Had to? Love <$5k cars. I also have my very expensive cars. Cheap cars, you can park wherever you want without a care. Cheap race cars you can beat the ever loving piss out of and not GAF that you hit the wall or rolled it down a cliff. Out of the hundreds of cars I've owned, the majority were under $5k. I suppose it started as a necessity when young, but it's hard for me to justify a $40k+ depreciating asset nowadays. Have a 2014 Sonic RS I got for $3k, looks brand new, couldn't ask for a better car living downtown in a big city. Somebody hits it or door dings it? Who cares!

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Stren509@reddit

It was my first car and I had no money and thats the budget my parents gave me.

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RolandMT32@reddit

I had a car that was totaled from an accident, and I still had about $6,000 in car loan debt carried over from an earlier car I paid too much for. At the time (2006), I bought a used 1996 Geo Prism for about $2,000 with cash, which I drove while I paid off the debt. I paid it off fairly quickly and kept driving the Geo Prism for about 2 years and enjoyed not having a car payment before I bought my next car.

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DishOriginal4019@reddit

Because I cannot afford to by a more expensive car. And I don't care. 180k miles. 45mpg. Reliable. Enough for me.

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jeepnismo@reddit

I drive 70 miles round trip every work day. I’d rather have a car that’s reliable and mildly fuel efficient than a modern vehicle that’ll depreciate tens of thousands in a few years with all the miles I drive. I keep my expensive weekend car in the garage and bring it out for special occasions

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Umgungunlovu@reddit

Wrecked my 06 civic and had to replace something else that's a beater, carries more stuff and fits 1 extra passenger that is a 2000 Sienna.

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Pamela_Handerson@reddit

I wanted a fun beater off-roader that I could have a lot of fun with. Bought a 97 4Runner 4wd 5spd with 300k miles on it. Drove it for 60k miles over 8 years before the motor blew and probably spent a total of $4k over the 8 years in fixing stuff. I bought it cheap because I wanted something I wasn’t afraid to have fun in. I beat it up off-road on trails I had no business being on, learned a ton of fixing/maintenance, riveted bottle openers on both sides near the rear, couldn’t fit my cb in the dash so took my dremel to the dash and made it fit, bolted a cb antenna to the rear quarter panel, put a loud speaker under the hood, hand made a custom grill, took an angle grinder to the bumper to make it look “better”, sandy kids and dogs after the beach, fishing kayaks, muddy mountain bikes, learning to drift off road, teaching people to drive stick. All things which were amazingly fun, but I guarantee I wouldn’t have done 90% of that stuff if I bought something newer and more expensive.

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SeanGonzo@reddit

This but a 2000 RAV4 4WD 5spd for me. Haven’t messed with it like you have but I just throw everything in it and go do stuff.

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realheavymetalduck@reddit

My floor mat decided to relocate perfectly in-between the gas and brake. Never again having a driver's floor mat in my damn car

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mightandmagic88@reddit

5/6 cars that I've owned have been under 5k. That's just how we've always done it in my family, buy cheap cars and do any maintenance and most repairs ourselves, then drive it into the ground. And I've never like the idea of having a car payment or spending tens of thousands on a car

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Vitriolic_III@reddit

I rarely drive anywhere but had a country girl I was dating and for some reason I bought a new $50k truck in so I could get out to see here down 10 miles of dirt road in the middle of the winter. After that initial $5k sales tax, I was hit with a $1k personal property tax, which I knew I was going to have to pay every year. Decided screw that, and sold $50k truck with 3k miles for what I paid, and bought three 15 year old GMT800's (Yukon, 2500, Savanah) for $20k. Put the extra $30k back in the bank and never looked back. Property taxes now under $175 and insurance $1000 a year on all 3. Still driving all 3 of those GMT800's 6 years later.

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CantFindMyself440@reddit

Okay, almost every car I’ve owned has been sub 5k. Because life

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manyfresh729@reddit

Mostly financial reasons, college kid saving $. I had few grand saved and was gonna save for few more months to get the car i wanted for $10k but i found a nice deal for $2900 i couldn’t pass on. Especially in 5 degree NYC weather. The fact that it was easy to work on as a car guy and and that it had aftermarket parts that are easy to obtain helped. So now i am the happy 3rd owner of a satin silver 2004 Honda accord coupe i4 with 144k miles. Gonna put another $2k into making it my own. Don’t know about the engine though as i want to retain the reliability.

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pm-me-racecars@reddit

I'm really uncomfortable with debt. I've never had a car payment in my life. That also means that I've owned 2.5 cars worth more than $5000USD of the 15 or so that I've owned.

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Manitcor@reddit

fun. [https://2000challenge.com/](https://2000challenge.com/)

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Gloverboy6@reddit

Well, my wife and I were newlyweds and needed a car. It was a Chevy Cobalt, it was a bucke of bolts, but it got it from A to B

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External_Insect_548@reddit

i was 18, working only on the weekends at a golf course while in school and playing 2 sports so I was bringing in only like $160 weekly. I really wanted my own car since i’d been driving an electric ford focus that my parents loaned to me while in highschool that could only go 80 miles in any direction with a charge and maxed out at 80 mph due to fords “MyKey”. Ended up finding a 2002 Ford Ranger w 220,000 miles and about 1/2 of the paint left on it for $2700 but I loved it. I learned how to drive a manual in it and do work on it and took pride in it. Eventually sold it bc I had to move but I still miss that little truck and all it’s problems every single day.

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DeadlyClowns@reddit

First car in high school had to be cheap for obvious reasons… but even 2 years into a decent paying job the last car I bought was $3500. In theory I could buy me and my wife a nice car around $30-40k, but I don’t see a point right now. I like working on cars, I have too many vehicles already and I really want to save up for a better living situation. I probably won’t buy anything from the last decade until I have a kid or my latest shit ox dies on me.

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ShadowGLI@reddit

I bought a 2007 GTI with a blown clutch as I bought a 2006 GLI brand new and totaled it at 135k 10+ years ago. My commute was maybe 10 miles a day. We had a 2023 VW for my wife so I was happy with an 15+ year old car. It was also better than a 2020+ car in 8/10 ways. I would have loved CarPlay, but otherwise it was more nimble, better feedback, anything that was bad had already been fixed, etc. I also once let myself fall victim to lifestyle creep and thankfully I dumped $1200 in monthly car/insurance payments in like 2019. and when Covid happened we only had to pay for our housing and had 2 cars paid in cash. were able to get by on one salary when my wife lost her job. Now I make 6 figures and only have one small car payment and a ton of excess cash flow for savings, events, etc. If you consider a $500 car payment, also requires full coverage say $150/mo conservatively. That’s $8,000 a year, after taxes, that means that far is costing you roughly 10,000/year before taxes. That car costs you $5/hr. Imagine what a $5/hr raise would feel like for you. That’s what dumping your car payment would do for you. Buy a $5,000 car and suddenly it paid for itself in 8 months and every month you drive it, that’s money in the bank. You could go on a very nice vacation for the $3,000 savings if you insisted on blowing it.

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aliniazi@reddit

First car. I wanted something cheap, manual, and fun. I found a mint 99 NB1 Miata for $3400. That thing taught me how to drive and eventually got me into notorsports through autocross and a couple of track days. I ended up engine swapping with a VVT motor from the NB2, custom Speeduino ECU and I learned how to tune it on the street. It took a very long time but eventually, after lots of trial and error, dialed in the tune perfectly. With a lightweight flywheel and the tune (with supporting mods), the car absolutely screamed and made all of the right noises and feels. I don't have it anymore but I will never forget it. I definitely spent 3x what I paid for the car in mods and parts. Zero regrets.

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Outrageous_Bed4548@reddit

Bought a $500 cobalt from an alcoholic and have put 22,000 miles on it and counting

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Skodakenner@reddit

For me it was that my parents said they will give me 2000 euros for my first car so thats why i bought a car that cost that much

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datsboi@reddit

I thrive for cheap old cars charm.

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gunsandsilver@reddit

About 15 years ago the trans went out in my 2000 Jeep XJ. That was my DD and I needed a car for work immediately. I found a baby blue ‘91 Lincoln Town Car with peeling clear coat and bubbling tint on Craigslist and bought it for $1000 the next day. I drove “Abe” around while I installed a suspension lift and had the transmission repaired on the Jeep. I had NO IDEA a car could be that comfortable. The Town Car had factory air bag rear suspension and felt like you were floating on a cloud. Power steering of the gods, you could turn the wheel with your pinky. Quiet and smooth V8. I regret selling it once the Jeep was repaired. I sold it for $1200 to a couple of teens that were going to lower it and put on Daytons lol.

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QuailBeginning3202@reddit

Didn't have to. I could make payments like everyone else. I choose to pay cash for cars. All of them need to be fixed eventually. I dislike the disposable world we live in. Fix it.

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whynotyeetith@reddit

Financial reasons, bought my 07 expo and still have her going strong

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cpufreak101@reddit

The truck I have RN was $4000 when I got it last year. I've wanted a GMT400 for a while and had cash saved up when my then current car got totalled. Checking Facebook marketplace it popped up for $4000 and was in overall great shape so I rushed down and gave the man a check. A year later I've put nearly 20,000 miles on it and now starting to outgrow the capabilities of a half ton

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bearded_dragon_34@reddit

The GMT400s have aged *so* well. They definitely belong on GM’s Best Hits list.

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cpufreak101@reddit

Mines a '94 and I'm finding myself driving it more than my actual 2023 hatchback I bought to be my daily lmao. It has its issues but it still does what I need it to.

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dam_sharks_mother@reddit

I had owned a serious of nice cars (FD RX7, Supra TT, Evo 8) at the expense of getting myself wildly into debt and being a slave to car payments. I went to go get a store card to buy a computer desk and get denied. I was humiliated. This was 2007. I sold my Evo, relieved myself of $500 payments, and bought a cash car. A 1996 Saturn SL for $600. Trunk would not stay shut without a bungie cord. Car would not start without me physically connecting two wires down by my left foot. Engine would overheat if I stopped and idled for more than 5 minutes. But that purple piece of shit got 42mpg, had air conditioning, and gave me financial freedom for nearly a year before the starter died and I had to abandon it on the side of the road.

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TRaceR_MB@reddit

wanted a project, dumped too much money into the old one, got another 5k car, such is the way of the broken e46 bmw

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Digital_Beagle@reddit

Well I'm 24 and never spent over $3,500 for a vehicle. Most I've spent was on a 2001 Ram 1500 with 37'' tires. Had a lift, various other upgrades. It was a sweet ride, and I spent $3,200. Started having a lot of problems with it, and I couldn't keep up with the maintenance so sold it and got a 2010 Crown Victoria Interceptor for $2,800 with 72,000 miles. I've been driving it for 5 years now, and when I look at the money I've put into it in terms of maintenance and registration, it has been so damn cheap to drive. And reliable. Couldn't be happier. Just renewed my tags for 5 more years and it cost me $160. So we'll see if I can make it to the 10 year mark! I am young so I'm not sure if you are looking for a response from someone who is in a more financially stable situation, but just wanted to share my story.

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probablyhrenrai@reddit

Nothing "happened"; it's just bang-for-buck. Spending a quarter the price of a decent new car on a decent old car is worth it to me. For your average person, paying that 4x premium of new might be worth the peace-of-mind of avoiding the questions/problems/maintenance/repairs associated with new cars, but it seemed worth it to me and so far it's been paying off very nicely. Mid 2020, decent compacts were 20k+; my Pilot, all-in, is 7k. (not 5k I suppose, but I think it fits the spirit of the question).

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youaretherevolution@reddit

Because I wanted to pay cash for a reliable car, not worry about putting mileage on it, and pay less in insurance. Your question is inherently condescending. A better question would be: why would anyone ever pay more than $5,000? Cars lose value immediately and are a terrible investment. I like parts that aren't marked up, computers that don't require special tools, lots of similar cars on the market so parts and repairs are always available.

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t_a_6847646847646476@reddit

I was a fresh out of college and needed a reliable car to get me to and from my new job, but only had a budget of $6,000 CAD. Found nothing good at within my budget locally. Ended up importing a common and relatively undesirable JDM car because I heard it was cheaper to import certain models at the time. I won the bid at $2,000 CAD, and the rest of my budget covered shipping from Japan and everything else I had to do to get it on the road in Canada. Two years later it’s still serving me very well.

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GanacheOtherwise1846@reddit

I usually buy “broken” cars that just need a quick fix cause then you can put more money into upgrades

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Cars_Music_GoodTimes@reddit

For me, it was a cheap winter car which could be “sacrificed” to the salty roads in a northern climate to allow my nice car to be stored from Thanksgiving to Easter. Easy to repair and affordable parts are key. I do as much of my own work as possible.

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Gigahurt77@reddit

I was able to get a mkv gti for 1800. Always wanted one so I got it. It was a basket case but when I heard it start I knew I could get it back on the road. I’m happy with it.

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Ih8Hondas@reddit

I was a teenager. I was a teenager. I was in college. I was in college. None of those scenarios tend to lend themselves to having a lot of money. Current vehicle was $5500. Really splurged on this one.

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LexKing89@reddit

Nothing really happened other than I wanted my own car instead of driving my mom’s old car around. I wasn’t opposed to spending more but I was making like $8 an hour back then and it took forever to save up.coincidentally the car I bought was $5k and a color I wanted. Everything after that just happened to be cars I got at a good price. Many of the cars I liked just happened to cost $5k or less too.

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Mgc_rabbit_Hat@reddit

I was under the age of 25 & unwilling to finance a vehicle

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ConcentratedAtmo@reddit

Bought a Land Rover because old rangers and Tacoma's with way more mileage were going for double what I paid. Yeah, it leaks from a bunch of places, but it's been pretty ok so far. Just changed the valve cover gaskets and power steering lines/pump and it's much better now. IMO you have to go into it with the assumption that you'll be driving it frequently and you know how to wrench on a car.

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Deathcon-H@reddit

A mix of the cars i like are old and i dont want a payment/cant afford one. Ill buy something old and tinker with it to make it fun

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Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit

Because it's in the family, I genuinely like it, and the things it does is not something that really exists anymore. The newer model (aka what everyone in the US thinks of) is flatly worse in many areas IMO, and the areas where it's better are either not big enough for me to care about or solved by a set of good tyres. The closest modern equivalent is a Fit/Jazz hybrid and that's a different driving experience. I have more than enough money for a newer car, I just prefer mine. If I had to buy another daily and wasn't allowed to just purchase another 2, I'd probably buy an Autozam Revue/Mazda 121, and they're available on FB Marketplace for about 2K USD. If I had 30k AUD for a Swift Sport I might get one of those but other than that I'd probably just buy a lil 121

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ElCoolAero@reddit

**The Great Recession.** I was unemployed for seven months and needed a new car after my 1993 Corolla was totaled after I was T-boned. Insurance paid out enough to allow to buy a 1994 Camry with 217k miles on it. It wasn't anything to look at - in fact, it was ugly - but it was always willing to go.

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dnamar@reddit

Good/bad story... A few years back I bought the cheapest BMW X1 in the city from my mechanic. Sort of an impulse thing...huge mistake. That car failed dangerously in the middle of heavy freeway traffic: complete engine meltdown. Afterwards, I found out that BMWs are notorious for failing. To make good, my mechanic sold me a loaded 2006 Honda Accord for $4500. It was low mileage too. Best deal ever. It drives nice in the snow. It hauls my mountain bike. It hauls drywall and plywood on the roof rack. It never needs major repairs.

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MadMan2250@reddit

I wanted the cheapest car I could find so I could learn stick.

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olov244@reddit

I drove a sportscar, wanted a cheaper less nice car for a commuter to put miles on, got a volvo 240 manual for $1000, drove it for years till the electronics got wonky and it wasn't reliable. wanted a turbo project car, got a turbo volvo for $400, still have it. got a pickup truck for work, $2500, still have it. later wanted another cheap commuter car, got a $500 car off craigslist, still have it, parked it because the rear main was pouring out oil, then stole the head off it for my current daily - will eventually get it back on the road. found another volvo super cheap so I snagged it, $200 with 'broken transmission.' added fluid when I got it home, shifted in all gears, trans pan leaked, fixed the leak, been driving it for years at 15psi and having a blast my $10k lexus rx350 is way more unreliable. overheating, sensors, codes, etc. wish I didn't listen to people online and just got an American car with a longitudinal engine. I was thinking about getting a new car but even with $10k down anything that I wanted was over 1k a month and I just can't see it. I'd rather buy 10 cheap cars I can have fun with

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Marchiavelli@reddit

My coworker sold me his clean title, unmodified NA MX-5 Miata for $2k because he just wanted it to go to someone who would love it the way he did.

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SirFiggleTits@reddit

Needed to keep tile business going, $800 beaters was one house payment, kept me going between till reliable ride. Learned everything about mechanic work on them because of said choice, was probably my best choice ever running my tile business on $800 beaters. Plus I could enter them filthy and not care plus dirt from construction zones

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ramanw150@reddit

I'm poor

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the-lobotomite@reddit

Got both my vehicles for 5k (NZD) and I bought them because they did 90% of the job a 50k vehicle does. My Ute has a big enough tray for my purposes and gets me around cheap and my bmw is fun enough I struggle to see what a more expensive one would do for me.

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skybarnum@reddit

I just a cheap bastard.

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krombopulousnathan@reddit

I thought it would be funny to buy a $500 Buick Roadmaster wagon (and it was)

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jrp1918@reddit

I also bought a $500 Roadmaster Wagon because I thought it would be a funny extra car. It ended up being my daily for 5 years lol. Best car I've ever owned.

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freetoseeu@reddit

No choice. Bought a Ford Tempo for $100 and drove it for a year. Probably best ROI of anything I’ve ever purchased.

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JaKr8@reddit (OP)

We actually had a Ford Tempo for free from my in-laws back in the mid-90s as well. I think maybe they didn't like me at the time:-) it was the V6 with the three-speed automatic- it was awful but it was free and another year and a half we didn't have to have a car payment. We traded it when it started to profusely leak oil and the transmission was slipping. By that point we had saved enough money to put down over 50% on our first house ( which we subsequently paid off in 4 years before we had kids).

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The_Carl_G@reddit

Increased rental costs in the city didn’t leave room for a monthly car payment. I was also single and only a block away from a local Walmart (amongst other convenient city stuff), so having a cheap A to B beater to keep costs down had its perks.

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BlinderBurnerAccount@reddit

Cheap daily driver was the reason. Bought the following as cheap dailys til i got bored of em. ‘93 Honda Civic LX Sedan ‘94 Acura Integra LS Sedan ‘99 Honda CR-V They were great daily drivers for me.

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springpig2020@reddit

I bought a 1997 Impreza for 4000 dollars in 222 as a project car to impress someone. Just sold it in march and I miss it terribly.

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jimbofranks@reddit

Because I don’t give a fuck what other people think.

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FirehawkLS1@reddit

I have only purchased 4 cars in past 25 years that were more than 5k. 2 were financed, other 2 I paid cash after living frugally. I haven't financed a car since I was 25 and I'll be 44 soon. Just like you said, IDGAF competing with others for shiniest new toy. I like what I like and I save a lot of money in doing so, and my little 6k Trans Am that I purchased 7.5 years ago I get more people talking to me in random places than more expensive cars I've bought. Not that I care if they were to do that, but it's icing on cake for a car that I built up by myself that surprises some of the more expensive cars around me (I'm talking 60k to 80k cars in the area) when they look at it and probably think "that's a broke ass persons muscle car". It's fun sometimes to hurt their inflated egos.

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armchairracer@reddit

I hate car payments. I find owning a "nice" car stressful, if someone dings my door in a parking lot I care a lot less in my shit box vs a $30k new car. I don't like handing my car over to a mechanic, would rather own something that I feel comfortable working on myself. I currently own 4 cars and none of them cost more than $5k.

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Outlaw6985@reddit

brought at 04 elantra for 600 bucks, had it for 6 months, got hit by a truck and had to get a car the same day, brought a 02 bmw 325xi

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elevencharles@reddit

I bought a 2008 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor for $3,700 because I just sold a motorcycle and I wanted something cheap to mess around with. I’ve probably put another $5,000 into it in parts as things wear out, but I drive it daily and it’s the most pleasant car I’ve ever driven. It currently has around 200k miles on it and I plan on replacing the engine/transmission when they give out. I like owning a paid off car that I can pretty much count on being able to keep on the road by replacing parts as they wear out.

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Beach_Bum_273@reddit

I wrecked my primary newspaper delivery vehicle and bought an $800 Geo Prizm 5sp that burned a quart of oil per 100-150 miles. Never again.

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Buildinggam@reddit

I wanted something reliable, cheap, and fun to drive. Found a clean title Honda del sol. After some upgrades and maintenance I'm pacing BMWs in the mountains with a 85hp car.

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lol_camis@reddit

I really don't see the value in having an expensive car. I mean ya, obviously I would rather drive something nice and new. But we're talking about tens of thousands of dollars. The desire isn't even close to being worth that much for me. I drove a 1992 civic until last year and the only reason I replaced it is because I wanted something safer. So now I drive a 2006 civic and it's like I'm driving a space ship in comparison.

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theseriouschicken@reddit

Years past I use to always spend about £3-4K, I found you could have a bit of fun, then in 6-12 months, clean it up and usually get your money back. Of course some cars needed maintenance and some I ended up loosing a bit but sometimes a l made a bit. All in all it was a blast and better than a more expensive car depreciating. For me anyway.

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wtfandy@reddit

This was the exact way I approached it!

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sitcom_enthusiast@reddit

I bought a cheap 80s Japanese five speed sedan four years ago for under $5k . I wanted something semi reliable that I could drive a stick. I sold it a month or two ago for less than $5k. The folks interested in buying <$5k cars are a lot to deal with.

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a_bad_m3chanic@reddit

Haven’t bought yet but looking for something in that price range. Currently own a 2017 Kia Soul that’s at the dealership getting repaired under warranty but the warranty window is almost up so trying to get rid of it and get something more reliable before it breaks down again. Also not in the best place to be making payments right now so cash car it is!

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MisterSquidInc@reddit

Only one of the roughly a dozen cars (and bikes) I own cost more than 5k USD - my Evo, and even that was only just more. Spend much more than that and the value proposition drops off pretty quickly.

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xXxDickBonerz69xXx@reddit

Well back the long long ago of 2010 $4900 would buy you a fully reliable Honda Civic that would serve years of daily driving duty. Like legitimately its so wild to me that $5000 is the new $1500 🤢🤢

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68supreme@reddit

I've owned 75 vehicles, currently have a dozen, most expensive was a 96 grand cherokee for 5k, ran it a year, it was way smaller than I thought those were. Course I was coming from a 87 caprice wagon so everything was smaller.

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DrivingBusiness@reddit

Gave up high payments and forced myself to spend a couple years honing my maintenance skills.

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CardiacInfarto@reddit

My dad bought a 2001 chevy silverado in 2004. In 2016 when I graduated high-school he gifted me a 1999 chevy silverado. I ended learning how to do mechanic work for both of us. When I retired my 99 silverado with 500k miles I decided to buy a 2002 chevy 1500 for $3500 simply because of how familiar the truck is to me and my confidence in replacing every part in the truck. Not to mention it feels great knowing that I can total this type of truck 10 times and the only inconvenience will be the time spent looking for another one

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FairFaxEddy@reddit

I went to Camden for school back when it was top 3 in murder rates 5 years running. I lived on campus and felt weird parking a new 3 series there so I set 5k as a budget and try to find the best car I could find - which was actually a ton of fun. It came down to an old Jag and a 1997 Lincoln Towncar with 72k miles on it - went with the Lincoln and it still one of my favorite cars I owned.

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ElCiclope1@reddit

This is the single bougiest question I've ever seen. Ever.

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localhost8100@reddit

Broke college student. Couldn't afford shit. Bought $2k camry from alumni. It was money pit. Sold it for 300. Bought $3200 camry. Spent 1.4k in repairs. Used it good for 3 years. S9ld it for 2.6k as I was moving countries. Gone are those days to find these gems. Same cars are going for 5k 6k now.

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georgepearl_04@reddit

I like odd shit

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Downtheharbour@reddit

I love junk, or what others consider junk, just bought a 2007 f150 for $500, was very well maintained just needed some love and a few parts, all in im prolly into it for around 1500 and a couple days of parts changing, plugs being the hardest, damn ford 5.4L 3 valves. I haven’t purchased a lawn mower in 30yrs, I go to the dump, find one with the chord wrapped around the handle and bring it home. Less than an hour later it’s Ryte as rain.

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Red_it_stupid_af@reddit

Every single base I got stationed at, I'd buy a car from someone leaving, usually less than $1k. I'd fix up and clean it up. I'd drive it while stationed there. Then I'd sell it for $2.5 - $3 k. Generally, they needed minor repairs.

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heatherdazy@reddit

I found a car I liked and it happened to be well under $5k. This seemed like a reasonable amount to me, so I bought it and I love it. Driving my Saab 900 is often the most fun part of my day. Big contrast to when I was 19 and bought a brand new Corolla I hated and made expensive monthly payments because “Toyotas are the responsible choice”. I never want another car payment or another car the doesn’t make me grin while driving it.

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No_Golf7124@reddit

It was my first car and i needed something cheap, reliable and easy to fix so i picked up a 2011 accord base with around 230k miles for 3500$

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PleasantActuator6976@reddit

After two planetary wars and a research expedition to Mars deleted my essence, I found myself deep in the heart of an atomic cluster surrounded by neurtonic vibrations and only one choice. I had no other option.

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uchigaytana@reddit

Half of the people I know who own sub-$5k cars, bought them because that was the car they wanted. Before Covid, lots of tuner cars were incredibly cheap; you could get a Mk4 Golf for around $4k if you were willing to fix a couple of things on it. An RX8 was around $3k if you got lucky. I even know someone who got an S2000 for around $6k from someone who just wanted it out of their yard, and now it runs perfectly.

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ftez@reddit

Nothing "happened" per se. It was my first car, and it was what I could afford in cash at the time, a 2002 2 door rav 4 with 150k miles on the clock. ($5,500AUD). Had it looked over by a mechanic and it was in good working order. Car hasn't skipped a beat and I've had it for over 5 years now. Hasn't required anything more than routine maintenance. Even now that I have the money to buy a much newer car, I just don't see the reason why. I'd argue that most people require a lot less car than they think they do. The amount of people going into debt simply to keep up with the Jones's is alarming.

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Ninapants97@reddit

My previous car was totaled, and I needed something to get myself to work still. I bought a clapped out 2001 Avalon, which surprisingly ran perfectly fine for $2,500. The only thing I did was replace the brakes and an oil change before selling it to a co-worker. My current vehicle is 2019 SE Fiesta, 18k miles, bought at $9,500. I pay $175 a month for it.

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risingphoenix73@reddit

Well i bought my 06 tl aspec 6 speed for 800 bucks from my friend because he overheated it and swapped the motor because i wanted to. Lol. Im in ny and that car had zero rust so it was fun fixing going through it and restoring it knowing i’d have it for a looong time. Also my wife’s 2012 si i bought for just a hair over 5,000 dollars because thats what we wanted and it happened to pop up for insanely cheap so why would i want to buy a more expensive one? I’d rather buy something on the low end expecting to fix stuff than buy something on the high end and get a nasty surprise anyway.

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spribyl@reddit

Just did in the UK 4750 pounds, Ill let you know

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pcardinal42@reddit

It was 2021 and I was really tired of making $500 car payments and $350 a month in gas all just to go back and forth to work. Sold it to a dealership for more than what I owed and used the money to buy a 2005 Civic that got 35 mpg. I know see cars as just a mode of transport and nothing else. I have so much better things to spend money on

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slimskeletor@reddit

my sub $5k car list currently is a 02 mazda protege 5spd I bought 2mo ago for $1200 runs, drives and shifts great!! Great on gas but it's a beater for me. I have a comfy daily but enjoy the idea of having an extra functional vehicle so I'm not inconvenienced too much if my daily has a failure. My other is a 94 ej civic I purchased in April of 2021 for $1900 with the sole intention of k swapping it. Throwing a k20a2 with a tsx 6spd I'm almost finished, just a few more things....I enjoy tinkering and doing my own work.

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PerryTheRacistPanda@reddit

I am a car enthusiast so it allows me to do 2 things 1. buy a $5000 car 2. AND, this is the important part, get away with it $5000 cars are like BMW reliability without the BMW performance if you dont know what you're doing

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JesseWest@reddit

I needed a reliable vehicle that could handle snow, heavy rain and mud. Thats when i found out about 3rd gen 4Runners and its become one of my favorite vehicles to this day. Such an amazing truck

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MadeMeStopLurking@reddit

I paid 4500 in 2018 for a 2007 G35x with 88k Not because i was broke but because it booked out at 9k. Traded it in 5 years later for a 2016 Camry with 13k miles. Got 3500 on trade. $200 per year for a fast sedan isn't bad. I regret my decision so far.

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Diavoletto21@reddit

Because modern cars are a massive waste of money. I'm not one of these absolute idiots who buy a car as a status symbol to impress people I don't care about. Got my 2008 Honda Civic Type s for £700 and its fine. Why waste money on needless shit, honestly, the reason why the car industry is so fucking shit these days is because of the PCP model. I could give a TED talk on the shortcomings of the PCP model.

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adkichar55@reddit

My family was deeply poor. I grew up thinking if you paid more than $2k for a vehicle, you were just bad at haggling.

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DoubleUTeeEfff@reddit

Had/have a 2022 Jeep Gladiator and the fiancé had a 2020 Honda Accord. We moved for me to take a “promotion” that was over promised and under delivered. Left that job after a few months and went and got my CDL and was truck driving. We needed money for an insurance claim on our house back home so we sold her car and she started driving the Jeep since I was never home driving over the road. We then moved back and I got back into the same field I was in prior. Taxes officially let me know I made $20k less last year when I moved. She now drives the Jeep and I have a 2000 Buick LeSabre that I paid $1100 for with 110k on it and no ac currently.

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Crash__Pandacoot@reddit

I enjoy owning cars that don’t break me. I know people who have brand new cars & they sit in the garage 90% of the time because they’re too worried to drive them because they couldn’t afford to fix/replace them if something happened. I drive my cars & enjoy them & when they need repairs, I fix them if it makes sense to. I’ve saved tons of money over never having a car payment even if you factor in all the parts I’ve replaced.

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RowJoe100@reddit

I had a bunch as a kid I paid $500 for. They all needed some sort of work but if they ran I bought them. Basically for financial reasons but learned a lot from that process. Although I’m still shit at doing work on cars 😂

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jred321@reddit

Needed a "bridge" car. I had a car ordered that was going to be another few months to get here. And my car at the time was a supercharged JK wrangler 2 door manual that I thought was going to take a while to sell. So I posted it and someone wanted it fairly quickly. Bought an old Legacy wagon, drove it for a few months and sold it to a family member for what I bought it for.

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IMI4tth3w@reddit

Here’s a sellers perspective: I had a 1994 Honda civic hatchback since 2009 and recently sold it for $2.1k. I originally bought it for $400, fixed a few things and put about 50k miles on it from 2009 to 2014. In 2014 I pulled the engine and started restoring the car for no reason other than I wanted to and I no longer needed the vehicle for daily driving. 10 years later, lots of work, but still never got it running, it was time to move on. Buyer got a great deal as the car was zero rust and kept in a garage for the last 10 years of its life. Need to reach out and see where he’s at on it.

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sidewinderaw11@reddit

I was 19!

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ItsGcKobe@reddit

Peugeot 306 Cabrio. I bought it to learn how to drive. The reason I bought such a cheap car was because of the damage I could do to it without crying myself to sleep. I usually park the car in our very narrow garage. I often hit things when I first started out because I wasn‘t as skilled as today. I‘d rather damage such a cheap car than some 50k SUV or something.

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sippycupjoe@reddit

Not to put my miles on my primary, considerable more expensive vehicle. For work only. It will help recuperate my high interest loss by retaining the condition of the vehicle during its purchase. If I can buy a 2k beater, and put 120k miles on it in four years. My truck will hardly depreciate. If I put that on my truck , it would degrade the value significantly more than 2k-4k, including repairs etc.

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jeebz69@reddit

I once bought a <$1k busted '99 Town Car w/270k on it while my main car was in the shop. Replaced tires, plugs, & took it to 340k. People would joke til I broke down math on a bev-nap. I miss my boat couch

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harajukukei@reddit

My RX7 10th AE was $4k. BRG NA Miata was $2500. Zenki S14 was $4500. Fun cars used to be affordable.

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Fantastic-Loss-5223@reddit

Blew the motor in my WRX, needed a car to get to work. Bought an old Forester for 2750 and I'm just getting around to working on the WRX. I hate debt, I refuse to be in debt unless I have no other option. So I bought a cheap car. Still runs great, definitely lucked out on mine.

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PurpuraLuna@reddit

I wanted a Miata, it was $4k, that's it

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Hotrodsclassics@reddit

I guess my question would be why do you care what someone else pays for a car?? Currently I own 12 vehicles 13 if you included my Harley..... and I owe no one.... all paid for free and clear. Ya there not new most are classic's from 1950 to 2003 and to be honest some are worth more that most houses but anyway.... and to be honest I don't want any of the new vehicles out Currently.... there all over packed with a bunch of bullshit that no one needs but think they want... most people couldn't even drive some of my vehicles because they'd actually have to drive the car instead of having the car drive them..... so why is it you care what someone else pays for there car again???

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Do_it_in_a_Datsun@reddit

I paid $40k for IVF for my wife instead of buying a new truck. I’ll take my $150 340k Toyota and run it into the ground a 1000 times over if it means we can parents.

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HangoverGrenade@reddit

I only drive <$5000 cars. I could probably afford a new car with some budgeting. But as soon as I look at the payments on even a $26,000 car…. Nope. I just buy a $3000 car, drive it until it dies or is too expensive to fix, then get another $3000 car. Current car is a 1998 BMW 318i. Previous car was a 2001 BMW 325i. I get cars of this era because they are easy to fix and relatively modern.

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floppyfolds@reddit

I was in college and I wanted an E46. They’re cheap cars. I thought it was going to be a financial disaster, but five years later it’s still running great, and I bought a second one! Many of my friends went out and blew large sums right after school on used Toyotas, but my E46(s) are still trucking along.

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Trollygag@reddit

I have 5 cars. One of them was a \[$3500 1996 K1500 Stepside Z71\](https://i.imgur.com/6933xPV.jpg). I needed a truck to do truck things - honeydo stuff hauling trash and brush that would be reliable and that I could beat up without feeling too bad about it. I've put a fair bit of investment into maintenance and fixing it so it runs right. It's been an awesome tool. Not a do-everything vehicle, though, when it gets maybe 7-9 MPG average.

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canolioil@reddit

graduated highschool w no money, only had 5k to work with. I bought my first car, a manual 2005 civic ex coupe for 3100 only to find out it was missing a spare, Jack, and that the guy who sold it to me cleared the codes. Not too happy, but she was an easy fix and is still a great car !

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cdawg1102@reddit

I was a broke teen and I scored a smoking deal on an evo, I’d be an idiot to not jump on it

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CJPrinter@reddit

We bought our kid a 2005 Impala as her first car. Paid 1,500 for it, she drove it for 10 years, and sold it for $1,000. The only mechanical issues it ever had was a fuel pressure regulator, a heater hose, and a blend door actuator. The thing had 260,000 on it when we bought it, 330,000 when she sold it, and it still ran and drove great. I joke, the only problem with mid-2000 Chevy’s is the body’s rust out before their hearts stop. There are plenty of fantastic cheap vehicles out there. Sure, they don’t have radar cruise, lane keep, automatic breaking, etc…but they’re just as good at functionally getting you from A to B as a new one.

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RecommendationUsed31@reddit

2000 camry with 150k miles. One and done

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162630594@reddit

The cars I like happen to cost less than $5k, so that's what I am drawn to. My 97 LHS was $4300, and my 03 PT cruiser was $2000. My Belvedere is the exception as it cost $10k. I could definitely sell all 3 of my cars to buy 1 good newer car. But I don't like being in debt, I like my cars to be more old school, and I want to have cars that each serve different purposes. If I bought 1 newer car, I would be missing out on a certain aspect of cars that I enjoy. The LHS is my summer daily driver. It's a comfortable highway cruiser and a forgotten luxury car. The PT Cruiser is my winter daily to keep salt off my mint condition LHS. It has tons of interior space for hauling crap, and I just think they look cool. My Belvedere is my vintage weekend toy/project. I just love how basic and simplistic it is with a carburetor, manual steering, brakes, and transmission. It's driving feel is something no modern car can replicate. I also don't like how computerized modern cars are. I don't like the idea of my gas pedal, steering wheel, or gear selector not being physically connected to anything. I still use CDs, and have no use for android auto. I like having something unique you don't see every day. It's nice to have a backup car for when the other one eventually is down for repairs. My job requires a good driving record, and I live in the flat boring midwest. So I have no interest in something fast or sporty as I won't be able to enjoy it.

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well-ok-then@reddit

Totaled my vette and broke my foot. Needed something with an automatic to get back and forth to work and wanted it to be cheap while I picked out another car I liked.

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Reinboordt@reddit

Car broke down and I needed something new that same day for college/ work the next day. Found a $1200 submarine ford Taurus in perfect condition, ran it for years but it eventually sat for a year and suspension ended up collapsing at the back and a hole was forming in the floor. It would cost too much to fix so i scrapped it. Was my daily driver for roughly 4-5 years.

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Glass_Ad1098@reddit

I got my ex a $3,000 car. At the time we lived in a very walkable area and he worked walking distance from our place. He absolutely hated driving and avoided it whenever possible. He had a very old car that quit running and actually didn't want to replace it at all, but occasionally he would need to drive somewhere. I would let him use my car but on 2 occasions we both needed to use the car to go different places and I didn't like being inconvenienced so I bought him an old Pontiac for $3,000. It was perfect for the 1-2 times a month he drove somewhere. When we broke up I let him keep it, no idea if he still has it, that was about 5 years ago.

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RainCity253@reddit

When I went to prison the feds confiscated my car. When I got home I got a temp job and payed $4999 at a car lot for a 2005 Hyundai Elantra manual as it’s all I could afford. Taught myself stick just so I could get to work. Great car, only has 65k miles.

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ichug_nyquil@reddit

Was making payments on a brand new Camry XSE during my 3 year tour in Germany. Goals changed and I’m looking at buying a house when I get back to the states. I sold the Camry to have an optimal debt-to-income ratio to reduce my future mortgage interest rate. Picked up an ‘08 Hyundai Getz for $1000 to last me for the next 8 months before I move.

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AresXX22@reddit

It was a steal and exactly how much I've had saved for that occasion.

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bigboog1@reddit

I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on a car I only use to drive to work and back. The requirements were raidio and air conditioning. It's been running great, the only thing I have done besides oil changes is a set of tires and the alternator took a dump, which murdered the battery but that was under warranty.

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shabangbamboom@reddit

Because a Subaru Baja is the greatest vehicle ever built. Don’t need anything else

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Accomplished-Sea1828@reddit

Why make it seem like that’s a bad thing? My favorite car I bought recently is a 1998 explorer 4 door that I take off roading and camping. Paid $2700. If I fuck it up in the woods I’m not going to be upset about it. It’s not even insured, beyond state minimums of course. If in 2-3 years I want to sell it I could probably get $2700 for it and buy another fun toy. Counter this to buying a new vehicle that’ll depreciate 5-10% by driving it off the lot.

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gewehr7@reddit

Until I was around 23, all my cars were under $5k. I was a poor student until I graduated.

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KeyofB@reddit

I make more than $450k annually, I purchased a 2009 Volvo V70 for $3k because people in Boston drive like psychopaths and I don’t want to die in an auto accident.

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Successful-Growth827@reddit

I wanted a 4x4 beater for winter so I didn't have to drive my sports car through the snow and ice, and so I could get around when the snow was over 1 foot deep. Definitely didn't want to take on another car payment, especially on a car I was going to beat on and possibly get wrecked by some other driver losing control because they didn't prep their car for winter.

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i_hateredditards@reddit

Let's see I was 16 and I was in highschool. I worked part time and made $11/hr so I bought what I could afford: a 1986 Pontiac Fiero. The 4cyl not the V6. It cost me $1900. It ran and drove about 20 percent of the time that I owned it. Loved that car.

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ItsTheCougs@reddit

I’ve never paid more than $3800 for a car and that was my 1973 Camaro in 2016, running and driving and in pretty good shape other than some rust on the lower quarters. My daily for the last 5 years has been a 91 Stealth that I paid $1500 for in GREAT shape. Also had a 92 Cummins dually I paid $3000 for, a 94 GMC dually 6.5 that I paid $1500 for, a 97 Grand Prix GT I paid $2800, 89 Bonneville SSE was my first car in 2014 in near perfect shape that I paid $750 for, had a 77 Toyota pickup for a while I got for free, had a 90 Chevy dually gasser I paid $700 for, and just recently bought my wife an 07 Dodge Magnum for $3000. The only one that needed work to be safely driven was the Yota, and it only needed a fuel pump.

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Valeen@reddit

Cause it's a gd car. Shit is crazy lately

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pbgod@reddit

>I am not looking to be condescending or argumentative >What happened that you had to buy a <$5k car Your question is phrased in a condescending manner. As if you would only buy a $5,000 car if you HAD to, like your financial situation wouldn't support anything else... but.. Driving to work isn't fun, it's a utility. Driving a fun car every day as a utility ruins it. So I buy decent cars broken, my mk4 Jetta was $1800 6 years ago, needed a clutch and windshield. My B7 A4 was $700 2 years ago, broke a timing chain, needed a cam. My B8 Allroad was $3500 6 months ago, chain stretched, jumped time, bent valves. E36 was $400, ran but didn't drive, questionable interior. I've had 10 others that were similar situations, mk5 GTI, E30, E46, etc. All those cars I owned have been wins, I've never lost a dime on a car.... until recently; the F150 I have now is my first ever car payment and will be my first ever loss. It costs me very little to drive those cars. I don't care about putting miles on them, I don't lose sleep over minor damage, etc. Not spending $3-500/month from my early 20's to recently allowed me to use that money for toys and hobbies like the '69 Mustang I bought when I was 26, the whiskey collection that is worth more than most of the cars, the wine cooler full of cigars, etc

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m0dern_baseBall@reddit

It was my first car and this was pre COVID before the used market prices went up. 2011 base trim lancer for $3800

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slwrthnu_again@reddit

I don’t want a car payment and 90s Japanese cars are the best. Also I haven’t bought a car since covid fucked prices. I’ve owned like 20ish cars in my life and only a couple were over 5k.

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KieselguhrKid13@reddit

We already had a car we'd bought new that was fully paid off. It was primarily my wife's car, and I needed one of my own for a new job. Didn't want a really high car payment and felt that ~$5k was a reasonable amount for a car that was still decent and reliable (knowing that a repair or two in the first year was possible). Plus, I had a *very* specific car at the top of my list that was in that price range anyway. Ended up getting lucky and actually finding one (an '08 Mazda 3) for under $5k. I still daily drive her and I freaking love the car. The paint's starting to wear and I've had some maintenance, but nothing crazy given her age, and she still drives really well.

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SubieDom@reddit

I used to buy non-running VW bugs for a few hundred as a high schooler, fix them up in a weekend to running, patch over rust with bedliner and 3m tape, then sell for a couple grand. Repeat and repeat and repeat. Can’t say I’ve ever bought a car for under 5k for anything other than making cash as a kid.

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T0lly@reddit

Because there are plenty of "good enough" cars that fit my needs in that price range. Like my $2500 Miata and my $3500 Cayenne.

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Rob_on_the_job@reddit

I was 18.

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Ok-Ruin6242@reddit

I'm a mechanic and I honestly just prefer older cars. Cheaper, parts are cheaper, (mostly) easier to work on, and vibey. I have a 1992 Nissan Pathfinder ($4000), a 1992 BMW 325i ($1300 when I bought it, but they are worth much more now), a 1984 BMW 633CSi ($3500), and a 2001 Chevy Astro Van ($2000)

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Funny_looking_horse@reddit

My first car had three simple requirements to meet: 1. Be reliable 2. Be cheap in terms of initial cost and running cost 3. Be simple enough for me to learn about cars Some of you may disagree but I chose the Toyota Aygo (AB20). I could have gone for Yaris but I chose Aygo because I couldn't find any reasonably priced/used Yaris near me. My other candidates were VW Polo, Mitsubishi Colt, VW UP / Škoda Citigo, Dacia Sandero or Opel Corsa. I'm glad I chose the Aygo because it turns out that that car is built like LEGO. And I like LEGO and especially the fact that I have to make those quality of life improvements on my own. Also my own tire rotation, oil change, some light electrical work. That car taught me a lot. The initial price was 3.300€ and now I've already spent 5.100€ in total on that car including insurance and petrol in those 4 months I've owned it for. Keep in mind that Austrian insurance is one of the worst (most expensive) I've ever seen. My second car is Opel Astra F (1.7 TDS). I have yet to pass the technical inspection but once that's done I'll register it and drive it occasionally for long trips and big hauls. I'll have to do an oil change for sure and I'm not sure yet if it needs anything else or not. But so far my Opel was only 700€ investment and I consider it to be my project car. But it looks solid. It only needs a few loving touches here and there and I'm looking forward to driving it soon.

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phxbimmer@reddit

I’m poor with terrible credit so $1300 was about what I could scrounge up for my car. It gets me to and from work (40 miles each way) so I can’t complain much. It’s reasonably fun to drive since it has a manual transmission, along with being easy to work on. For other people, they have a car payment on some daily driver and can only buy a “fun” car in cash rather than having two car payments.

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badadvicegoodintent@reddit

I love cheap beaters. I may be addicted to them actually. There is something so freeing about not caring if you get a door ding or are stuck behind a dump truck. I buy good deals that come along and usually fix them enough so they’re reliable and then sell them. I get to experience a lot of different vehicles that way and it’s fun to me. I could sell all my vehicles, my ATV’s, my sxs, my tractors, my trailers, and my boat. Then buy a new lambo in cash. But that isn’t what revs my engine so to speak.

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Bonerchill@reddit

16-20 years ago, the cars I like were $5k or less. S13 240SX, Corolla GT-S, E30 318is or 325i/iS, E36 take your pick, Miata, Mazdaspeed Protege, various Civics, etc. Now, a good 240SX is $12k, a good Corolla GT-S is $12k, a good E30 is $12k, a good E36 M3 is $20k, etc. Most of the $5k cars now are carbage. Modern vehicles lacking enthusiasm or feel, with turbocharged engines and ridiculous complications.

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HedonisticFrog@reddit

A 20-40 year old S class still drives like an S class. Why would I spend $85k+ more than I have to when I do all my repairs myself anyways?

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Working-Badger-211@reddit

I make 150k a year but still drive a $5000 car because I'm trying to buy a house so the last thing I want is debt. I'm not going to loose many thousands on depreciation and if I need to replace it, it's going to cost a fortnights pay. I don't really care to have something I drive daily that I'm worried about getting damaged.

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AnotherMisanthropist@reddit

Had a daily and a weekend car. Daily's engine shit the bucket because I didn't take care of it. It was getting later into summer and there was no way I was going to drive a muscle car in the winter when we get snow. Found my current daily for $4k. Could've likely paid less but it was actually cared for. I didn't *have* to buy my current project car but I found it for $2k, it's easy to work on and pretty solid sans rust.

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Awkward-Mood-8325@reddit

If i ran my 4runner into a brick wall tomorrow i could go buy another one and not feel bad. It has scratches, mild rust, and isnt perfect. It means i can enjoy using it.

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Outrageous_Ad_6122@reddit

I got an old 3k car because my 2014 mazda 3 blew a rod out the oil pan. Now I've fallen in live with old cars because I can repair almost everything myself. Actually sparked my interest in mechanics, which is my carrier now. I have gotten quite a distaste for new cars, though, because every year they are intentionally made them to have to spend a fortune on repairs at a shop. My old car is so easy to figure out problems and diagnoses. Quick answer: Yes, it was financial reasons, but now it's practical AND financial reasons

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Paladinraye@reddit

Trans went out on our second vehicle and my trucks 11 mpg was starting to hit the wallet for my lengthy commute. Found an 07 accord for $3500, replaced the rear brakes, bad head unit and she’s been golden so far

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SecretlyMartyMcFly@reddit

I was 16 and paid $3k for an older Mustang, drove it through college doing a couple grand of upgrades slowly and graduated at 22 making only $65k so I couldn’t justify much more car anyway. Didn’t replace it till I broke $100k and had some net worth build at 24 and could justify a car I actually wanted more than the mustang.

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angelaistheboss@reddit

Life.

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VtecGoBrrBrr@reddit

My Dad bought a $~2500 01 Highlander in 2018 with 230k miles because at that time, it was the only option that fitted my family's budget. It gave us a good run of 4 years before repairs became not worth it anymore.

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theboyqueen@reddit

Because I'm always going to buy the cheapest car that serves whatever function is supposed to serve. An 06 Prius and an 05 Sienna cover all the bases. Both are unkillable, but if they were to die I wouldn't care.

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imothers@reddit

Used to be because I didn't have much money, and as University student didn't want loan payments. I learned to fix my own cars, and got to like it. Then I bought cheap cars because I could, and maintained / repaired them myself. I have never had a lot of disposable income to spend on cars, and I get as much enjoyment out of old cheap ones as I do from newer cars, so I don't see the point of spending big $ for a new car that will just depreciate. Now that there are almost no new standard shift cars available in my market (Canada) I have even less interest in new cars - I'd rather have an older stick shift hatchback with some "personality".

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dc992cpt@reddit

My car got stolen, didn’t get anything from insurance company for it and had to buy something to get from point A to point B

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dingusduglas@reddit

...what? Why did someone buy a cheap car? Because it's what they could afford. What a stupid fucking question.

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RT460@reddit

bought a $2000 car. Didn't want a car payment. Saving 5k month feels better than having a $1000 car payment and saving only 4k

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SnarkyDriver@reddit

For a long time, $1000 was a decent used car. Then the price went up now 5k is the old 500 car.

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ItsJustAwso@reddit

ree cars I’ve bought with my own money were sub 5k out of sheer cheapness (and wanting a good deal) - but they’ve all ended up taking a lil more (sometimes a lot more) of my money afterwards lol. It’s been a fun journey! 1. 3k CAD [1990 Miata](https://imgur.com/a/VQEoDhy): bought as my first manual and fun car out of college and the Miata was the cheapest thing around really at the time. Car had 150k miles (230k kms in Canadá), generally good condition, and minimal rust. Had to spend 2k fixing parking brakes to safety. Was really fun and totally reliable for the year or so I had it until I had to move out of country. 2. $2200ish [2004 RX-8](https://i.imgur.com/RzN4hQL.jpeg): bought as a fun car during covid. This was my friends dads car he owned since new with 80k miles and original engine. It was in good condition cosmetically and mechanically but needed some overdue maintenance as wasn’t driven much in recent years. I’ve since put 20k miles on the car spent way too much modifying it across all aspects. Generally reliable otherwise, and even decent on gas before I put in a shorter final drive. Great car and they don’t make rotaries anymore that’s for sure! 3. $2100ish [2012 Fiat 500](https://imgur.com/a/7pMMJhM): bought to replace the RX-8 as a daily / commuter since the Mazda was getting too damaged from the rough California roads. Has 97k miles and in really nice condition cosmetically. Had to spend ~500 in parts plus DIY work to catch up on maintenance, fix some oil leaks, and fix a worn throw out bearing (clutch job yay). It’s good on gas and surprisingly fun. Putting some Abarth suspension and light engine mods in to make this a Abarth-lite.

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DangerousAd1731@reddit

I'm wfh so don't need an expensive car.

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Bodhrans-Not-Bombs@reddit

I almost think it works the opposite way, if you're an enthusiast it only makes more sense to put more money into something you know isn't going to be used every day to commute, but you can specialize it for more fun. At least, that's how I'm approaching my next 4x4.

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jaaaaagggggg@reddit

Had a pending job loss coming and wanted to put some extra funds in the bank, sold my other car for about $13k and bought a car for $3k. Drove that $3k car for 2 years and it needed <$1000 in repairs/maintenance through that time, sold it for $2,200 - cheapest cost to own of any car I’ve ever had!

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Wannab3ST@reddit

Young and broke!

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

[removed]

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AutoModerator@reddit

Your comment has been automatically removed because you posted a shortened or redirected (usually google) URL. Post a direct link to your source, not search results, AMP, or MSN.com. [Please see the rules in the sidebar, or by clicking here.](http://www.reddit.com/r/cars/wiki/rules) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/cars) if you have any questions or concerns.*

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jwfacts@reddit

To learn to drive in. That way it didn’t matter if it got a bit beat up. I’m looking for one now for my son on his Learners. I will also use the car to go to the race track with my friend. Since I can’t insure it for racing, it needs to be cheap enough not to worry about damaging.

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FirehawkLS1@reddit

For me I just wanted a cheap daily for work. Body rust wasn't a concern, but wanted at least part time awd and if someone totals it I'm not attached to it. I could afford a new car I just don't want one. And I'm fine wrenching on my own stuff.

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Vapor4@reddit

I'm counting it as 4999. Well, I'd love a Cayenne/Macan. I make enough to afford one. But why? When Crayola has been so good to me and I'm getting insane value out of it?

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Majestic_Jackass@reddit

I’ve owned new cars and shitboxes. I’m handy enough that I can do basic maintenance on a car. If I can rock a 2000 dollar car, (bought in 2015), and spend an average of 400 bucks a year to keep it moving, why not? I’m only carrying liability insurance on it so if it gets totaled I eat the cost, but I’ve had the car for almost 9 years and it looks like shit but it runs.

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JurboVolvo@reddit

I’ve never paid more than $1500 for a car my whole life but I’m a mechanic. But yeah fixer uppers are now 5k+ out of nowhere. Covid I think forced the prices up because of limited supply but that should have been corrected by now. Dealers and used car sellers are posting cars at inflated prices anyways. It’s almost a better deal to buy a new car at 0% interest.

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Minimum-Performer715@reddit

Got totaled during this absolutely ridiculous year. I said fuck a car payment. Could I realistically afford $600 + bucks between a note and full coverage sure. But $67 liability sounds a whole lot cooler. When this bad boy dies on me I’ll hopefully have enough savings. To just pay cash, fuck financing, fuck banks and this whole system. Our economy is too unstable to make any commitments you don’t have to (housing).

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Wellidrivea190e@reddit

All of my cars have been below £5k Ford Fiesta £500 1999 E39 528i £3000 2002 E39 530i Sport £3300 2002 E46 330ci Sport Coupe £2400 1990 W201 190e £2000 2011 Volvo V60 D5 £4600 All my favourite cars were great for the money. All are probably worth less now, and there are still great examples of these cars out there for buttons.

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toothlessboot@reddit

Most vehicles I buy are less than 5k. Biggest reason is I'm a dreamer. I always think man I would love to have xxxxx or yyyyyy. But I don't wanna spend 10k on xxxxx or 15k on yyyyyy. So I find the cheapest, highest milage, and usually pretty clapped out version of the car. After I buy that one if I still like it I will decided if building that one or replacing with a nicer one is what I want. Most times building wins out because I've never found that unicorn built how I want it. I've owned all sorts of vehicles that I thought I really wanted and after a month or two decided that I wasn't really happy with x, y, and / or, z. So many cars that I've dreamed about owning turned out to have things I couldn't live with or really change.

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le_b0mb@reddit

Best condition one I could find for my budget lmao. $5000 CAD so ~$3750. Thinking I may splurge so I can get a better daily.

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Toastyy1990@reddit

I’ve owned about 20 cars in my life and only one has cost me over $1200. That one was my 07 civic that was $3k. They’ve all been great vehicles with the exception of two of them. I just like to drive different stuff a lot so I sell and buy something else once in awhile. Maybe some day I’ll spend more on one. But until then… why should I?

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3gendersfordchevyram@reddit

My monthly mortgage payment is the same amount I spent on my car. I just wanted something cheap reliable and decent condition without having a payment so I got an old Toyota.

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Crazyirishwrencher@reddit

Don't want another car payment.

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doomsdaymelody@reddit

I purchased a $7000 car during peak covid pricing, so sort of the same thing. I'm handy with a wrench and generally as long as the engine feels normal most of the work you have to do to these cheap cars is replacing motor/trans mounts, suspension, and brakes. So for $800-$1000 on top of what you bought the car for and a weekend or two worth of wrenching you can have a car that, for the most part, drives like it did when it left the factory. The general downside here is tires, if they don't need replacing I can guarantee you that someone put the cheapest tires they could source on the thing and it will ride like garbage because of that.

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SchruteFarmsBeetDown@reddit

I needed a winter car so my ND could stay in the garage. I found a 2005 Mazda 6 lift back with 95k miles. It’s been rock solid reliable for two year! And very handy!

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lee--carvallo@reddit

My tastes aren't expensive, plus car payments suck

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ottergang_ky@reddit

I wanted something to do fun stuff with like drift dirt and gravel roads, jump, climb random hills etc

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p3dal@reddit

10 years ago you could get a Miata for $3k without any haggling or negotiation. That's why I bought a <$5k car. I wanted cheap fun for the price of a motorcycle, which, back then you could also find for $3k pretty easily.

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UsernameReddit58@reddit

I've never owned a >5k car. I could cite financial status, my need for simple reliable transportation, or registration, insurance, and gas costs. But honestly, my dad's multicolor rusted out '76 Scout II just did irreversible damage to what I think is a good car.

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Shitboxfan69@reddit

Because reliability issues are overblown on old cars if you take care of them. I bought an 01 Integra for $2500 7 years ago. Didn't take the best care of it when I was younger, and it would break down. For the past 3 years, its been dead reliable. If stuff starts seeming like an issue, I solve it quick. Just gotta learn to listen to your cars. Its a 280,000 miles right now, and I would not hesitate at all driving anywhere. Same can't be said for a lot of $5k cars out there. I also have a 93 F150 with the 300 in it. Paid $1500 for it with 230k miles. Its such a simple truck, there really isn't a lot to go wrong. Would trust it going anywhere as well, except I can think of better ways to spend hundreds of dollars than driving it out of state. I've had it close to a year now, only did an oil change and put a horn relay in it. Old cars will talk to you when they start breaking down, majority of people don't listen/don't want to be bothered. Imo spending more than $4k, at that point you're just paying for more comfort.

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durrtyurr@reddit

I bought an NB Miata in Splash Green Mica for $2500 roughly 5 years ago, it was too good of a deal to pass up. Came with three sets of wheels and tires. I ended up tripling up on it after a year of ownership.

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Key-Delivery808@reddit

First car and for financial reasons. 2006 Pontiac G6. It was pretty good except for the exhaust leak and oil leak so I couldn’t park it in the driveway. I did some basic maintenance on it to get it in a little better shape but overall, not bad at all.

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Ok_Day_5356@reddit

Back in the day, parents didn't buy their kids car. I did what any boy would do, wash dishes, buck hay. I think I purchased my first car for 800.00 it has a bumper stick that was very appropriate for that vehicle. " This is not abandoned vehicle"

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Life-Vermicelli8859@reddit

Because you can get a reliable car under 5k, and I only need it to take me from point A to point B, I don’t care about what others think

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Life-Vermicelli8859@reddit

Everyone likes new cars, but we all have higher priorities in our lives I guess

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golfzerodelta@reddit

Nothing “happened”. Bought my ‘01 4Runner for $5500 cash because I could afford it and wanted to learn how to do the maintenance myself. I’ve only put about $3800 into it over the last 10 years including tires, timing belt, valve cover gasket, and other upgrades. Still runs like a champ - about to turn over 300k and just towed a U-Haul last week. Bought my ‘92 Miata for just over $3000 because it was a car I always wanted. It was a blast to drive and needed minimal work to keep it running well. Only sold it because I was moving way back when and logistically 2 cars was difficult to make work. Both were cheap to insure, cheap to maintain, and owned outright. Way nicer than having a loan hanging over my head and was nice to turn a wrench on them without having to work too hard.

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BiohazardIntegra@reddit

Because the Acura Integra is the best car ever made. And the OBD1 RS is also the best spec outside of the Type-R so the decision was out of my hands, really. Oh and it was given to me for free, so that kinda helped the whole thing along.

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Master-Implement-247@reddit

I’ve bought many used cars/trucks throughout the years for under $5k that I’ve used as daily drivers, but did a large inspection first (also $5k in 2005 was much different than $5k today.) I’ve also bought several <$5k vehicles the last few years that I just use as toys. I like the variety of having several vehicles (have a Honda Del Sol and Pontiac Firebird T/A) with different engine options, open rooftops, and manual transmissions… but they are not daily drivers. They just offer fun driving experiences. There are still good daily drivers out there for under $5k but the amount of effort to find them has steadily increased since the shut downs and inflation of the last few years.

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Halofieldfan@reddit

I’m looking to get rid of my lease I’ve got so I can some more money. Plus I don’t really wanna have a car payment if I can avoid it. Picked up a $1600 genesis coupe just to have something to drive.

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VincentVanH0@reddit

Depends when we're talking about. 5k used to get you an actually decent used car without a lot of compromises.

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hot-rod-lincoln@reddit

I wanted another car for autocross after I sold my 2021 GTI. $4k was my limit, I didn’t want to invest more than that for a car I was gonna beat on. Found my 2002 GTI for $2,500, put a couple hundred in for repairs, and I’m having a ball!

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ricardoac69@reddit

Mostly because they have been good deals. I bought a 99 accord 4 door several years back for $1500 and it drove great. Kept it for a few months before a family member needed a vehicle and sold it to them for $2500. Then my 98 F150 was from another family member, it has/had some issues and I paid $2000 for a running 4wd truck last year.

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GtrplayerII@reddit

Financial. Wife was going back to work after Mat leave. Needed a car to get to and from work. Public transport was not an option. So I bought a 2k 20 year old car. Bonus is, now it's a 40 year old classic, project car that I've always wanted...

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dudemancool1904@reddit

Motor gave way in my last car, decided to fix it and sell it during the pandemic at the peak of its value, coincidentally the new car I really wanted was hyper inflated and interest rates were/are crazy so I decided to pick up a ‘97 explorer V8 AWD for $2500. Super reliable, built like a tank, parts are cheap and plentiful, can fix almost anything myself, cheap on insurance. Allows me to take my time and find the car I really want instead of settling.

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FirstTarget8418@reddit

I have absolutely no interest in paying more than 4-5k for a daily driver. I've put obscene amounts of money in my builds, but the daily, nope.

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FirstTarget8418@reddit

My 2500 dollar beater has been one of the most reliable cars i've ever had. I've been to a fucking warzone with it. And it never let me down.

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Own_Hat2959@reddit

I was young, in college, and didn't have a lot of money. I have decent mechanical skills, even back then, so I would drive 1-2000 thousand dollar cars. Up until recently I drove a 1200 dollar car(out the door price) I bought from copart, it did a great job of being cheap transportation. More recently, I decided I no longer wanted to drive vehicles like that, because of comfort and safety. I wanted something that is not fussy, everything works, is comfortable, and is safer in an accident. I value my health and my family's health and safety too much in my older age, I have money, and it is important that my daily driver provides us with good accident protection and safety, and the best way to do that is to drive a newer car, irrespective of everything else.

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SteamyAL@reddit

I’ve had 3 cars under $5k A. At the time (pre Covid) you could get a car that cheap that worked, just generally undesirable stuff (1999 GMC suburban from family total gas guzzler, 2005 Honda civic mechanic special that my neighbor fixed, and a 2007 Mazda 3 from a dude who needed $ from having kids.) every one lasted me at least 75K miles before having actual issues beyond maintenance & id say that’s a win. B. I didn’t have any money I worked on and off at a pizza store and a vans mall store for like 7 years being stupid wanting part time work instead of full time, so I needed something to put miles on and not care about because delivery absolutely eats your car. Sorry Uber eats and door dash drivers, pizza drivers, and any delivery drivers that use your own car, that pay will never amount to what maintenance and mileage does to your car. That is a bullsh*t job. Just personal experience. C. I was going to college on and off, depending where I went (I went to like 6 different schools, never graduated, but really tried) I drove up to 4.5 hours every weekend to see my friends. I needed something I could put miles on, not care about. None of them were flashy, this was purely I’m willing to drive to see my people and be happy. D. I literally couldn’t afford something nice. I would have loved to get something with heated/cooled leather seats, anything that wasn’t more than 10 years old, but reality and what’s smart vs what you want is almost never close to what’s actually realistic. I have a nice car now, but I’ll never forget any of those cars I had before because they did the exact same thing for a lot cheaper without being luxury’s, but being able to drive anywhere is a luxury in itself.

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notadoktor@reddit

Don’t need comprehensive or collision insurance. I don’t have to worry about what happens to it. I’ve been in two not-at-fault accidents since January. Total payout has been $3,700 for two vehicles I paid a total of $7,000 for. Damage isn’t really that bad and now it’s money in my pocket.

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PotatoDrives@reddit

All of my cars except for one were under $5000 USD. That includes the Miata, F-150 and Corolla I currently own. My first few cars were just after I finished college, so I was more focused on buying a house than having a nice car. They served their purpose. Then once I had a house, I saved up and bought a "nice" G37. I liked it for awhile, but after about a year I missed how cheap my beaters were. Trying to keep my daily looking minty fresh was more work than I was interested in and a beat up luxury car is not a good look IMO. So I came across a $2500 Corolla and made the switch. It's a downgrade in almost every way, but I prefer it. Now I just can't wrap my head around spending $50k on a depreciating asset.

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ravengenesis1@reddit

First car, learning manual, first project car, track car, pick a part car to feed to another project car. Family and in laws and friends all bought $5kish cars for all the reasons listed above. My wife refuses to let me ride in anything cheap because I represent her… so I ride in a $5k motorcycle instead lol.

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ZZZ-Top@reddit

Fuel pump went out on my blazer and dropped it off at a shop. On the walk to the bus stop I saw a blue Chevy corsica for sale, I bought a 800$ car to go 11 blocks home.

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PlayWithMeRiven@reddit

Cause I’m poor with more important priorities than having a nice ride.

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BaileyM124@reddit

Because it was my first ever car and there’s no real reason to go beyond 4 digits on your first car

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coyote500@reddit

About 15 years ago I had a repo and needed wheels to get to work. I bought a 1992 maxima SE with an odometer that stopped working at 280k miles for $1500. Drove it for about 6 months until I bought a 1995 BMW 525i with 140k miles for like $2500. Great car. Have come a long way in my life and career since then, but sometimes I miss driving those old simple cars

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EndPsychological890@reddit

My current vehicle was 6400 but frankly I overpaid for it. It was worth more like 4500. 96 Dodge Dakota 318 AT 4X4. I'm a premium European new car mechanic. I don't want anything even remotely like the pieces of disposable gimmicky garbage I keep running. With the amount of shit that breaks on these I wouldn't be surprised if they make up the different in fuel economy with ICE/older cars in just building and shipping shitty quality parts across the globe to keep them running.

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silcerchord@reddit

I needed a first car and my uncle had a really nice top trim 05 crv with all the options that he didn't need anymore

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Logaline@reddit

I bought a manual 2008 Honda Fit for $3,300. It made the 5 hour drive back home with no mechanical issues, and I’ve since put about $3k into it (suspension, tires, motor mounts, maintenance, CarPlay head unit, etc) and now it’s a really dependable fun daily. I also only drive about 30-40 miles a week, and park outside, so a $20,000 car would be wasteful and I’d be worried about it constantly.

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Dendad124@reddit

Because cars were cheap

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Shmokesshweed@reddit

I was poor.

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SaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaB@reddit

Saw a screaming deal on fb marketplace for a car I wanted for awhile

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PGleo86@reddit

Bought my SVX last year for $4k. Always wanted one but until now was never really in a position where I could have 2 cars. Now I have 2 and I'm considering selling the Legacy because I really just don't want to drive it if I could drive the SVX instead; I'd rather put that money into the SVX and making it as nice as possible. If anything, I feel fortunate that I could buy my literal dream car for sub-$5k, because I know most people aren't that lucky.

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_AcidCatz_@reddit

Had no money -> needed money - got a job -> needed to get to job -> hope whatever I bought would last until I could afford a more reliable vehicle. The little beast lasted me 5 years and paid for itself 10X over. It wasn't comfortable and it would not have saved my life in a collision lol, but it got me to work and occasionally on some highway adventures.

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Newdabrig@reddit

1. I like old cars I dont want anything new with shitty touch screens all over the place 2. My insurance is so high getting full coverage on something i need to make payments for would cripple me more than the car payment would 3. Bad money saving skills lol

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run_uz@reddit

What i wanted wasn't expensive

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Pacifist_Socialist@reddit

It was 2003 and I had< $5k

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skyrkt@reddit

Mainly because I was / am still broke, but, found a steal of a deal and decided to daily drive it. Back in 2019 I bought a 1990 NA6 Miata for $500 (older lady wanted it gone, it sat for a few years but was otherwise fine). I put a few hundred into basic maintenance, did the Loctite crank fix and daily drove it around for a year. Sold it for $3000. I’ll never find that good of a deal again. That car was clean.

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JaKr8@reddit (OP)

I've done it once, when I first got out of school in the mid 90s, I was able to get for free, a 1986 crx si that had been in a moderate accident. The person wanted it out of the driveway so I took it. Total costs were $300 for the Hundred Mile tow back to my house, $700 to straighten out the bent frame and I managed to pound out the fender enough that I could remount it back onto the straightened body, and did a little Bondo job on the cracked front bumper. So for a grand I had a car that lasted me for 3 years and for the 130,000 mi I put on it. (Yes I was commuting 40,000 miles a year at that point). I had to wear a suit and the car had no AC so it was a little bit warm sometimes in the summer. But I saved a boatload of money for those 3 years and had a fun time with the car. My neighbor was a retired Honda mechanic and charged me his cost for parts and $15 an hour for any maintenance I had done on it. So I think I dropped a total of about $300 on it in those three years. I also probably spent $40 or $50 on cleaning agents to clean out the mold that had accumulated inside the car for the year plus it had sat unused. But I had no regrets on that one, other than I traded it in on a different vehicle 3 years later. I wish I still had it.

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garbagesp00ns@reddit

When I was young and broke, all my cars were Sub $5K cars.

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dylanr23@reddit

No money and in desperate need of transportation

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Fcckwawa@reddit

I like cheap shit boxes and cars that are simple to work on. most are not 5k any more though. I could buy a new if I wanted to, nothing to do with money, more so the fact I hate all the damn nanny features that are mandatory to get the few options I want, I also could care less about them being a status symbol. some cars I've owned for more then 25 years now.

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Heavy_Gap_5047@reddit

D - All of the above. I don't understand the point of this question.

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TaisakuRei@reddit

i'd rather own a car than loan a car, my first car was a 1989 saab 900 for $400, 5 speed manual, that was awesome when it ran, it had some electric problems after a year so i sold it for $200 then a 2009 honda civic coupe ex that i bought for $600, that was my daily driver for about 2 years until i under steered in the rain and hit a curb, broke the control arm and sold it for $500. then i got a free 1999 dodge dakota from my cousin, if i had to guess, it would probably only sell for about $800, it's a real piece of shit, 5 speed manual and rwd though, so i had some fun with it, it's rotting in the yard right now, won't go into gear. then my mom gave me her 1998 honda crv, which i've been driving this last year, it's a nice car, my brother put it into a ditch so it's a bit fucked, needed a new fuel tank and had a leak in the cooling system, right now it's in the shop getting a new timing chain. the two i bought were just because i didn't have a job at the time, they were cheapest available options, and they worked long enough for me to make a bit more money.

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rudbri93@reddit

'cause I was broke! lol. every vehicle Ive owned in my 34 years has been under 5k, the highest being my '99 yukon at 3 whole thousand doll hairs. It was only very recently that I decided to get something new.

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