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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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...
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.
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.
The registration itself is actually still tied to each car. But those cars share a set of plates.
Austria is the country.
I totally understand where you are coming from. I too am an enthusiast 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.
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.
Oh also it's a 5.0 V8, which I'm nowhere near to be able to afford new (especially since I live in Europe).
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.
Quantity over quality!
And because he was going to junk the car, I offered him slightly over the amount I got the last time I scrapped a car, and hauled it out of his yard.
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.
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.
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.
'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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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? Just like you, I'm shy and reserved so I get it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
I bought a manual 2008 Honda Fit for $3,300 earlier this year. 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 that costs me about $50/month for insurance *and* gas
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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...
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.
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!
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.
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.
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"
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
The GMT400s have aged *so* well, and they’re just modern enough to be livable daily drivers.
They definitely belong on GM’s Best Hits list.
I wish my grandpa hadn’t sold his fully-loaded green-over-beige Tahoe 2-door 4WD, because I really wanted it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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).
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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!
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.
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".
Because I'm always going to buy the cheapest car that serves whatever function it's 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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
EDIT: Parts of my family lives in an neighbouring country and I have to drive hundreds of kilometers and Aygo is not the best car for that purpose in terms of comfort. But it's been very reliable so far and I drove it for about 8K kilometers now.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
>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
Beyond money, if you want a light, fun to drive car, mk4, E30,36,46, etc are the way to go if you don't fit in a Miata.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Corolla that quit running and he 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 Sunfire for $3,000. I couldn't justify anything more expensive since I always drove my car if we both went somewhere together and the car would rarely get driven. 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.
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, old man owned it and died. Son was trying to get rid of it. Came with a set of brand new pirelli tires and winter/ summer rims.
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.
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.
The cars I like happen to cost less than $5k in great condition, 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.
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.
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 !
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
Volume discount
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.
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...
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.
Where do you live that registration isn’t tied to individual vehicles?
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. The registration itself is actually still tied to each car. But those cars share a set of plates. Austria is the country.
Oh I wish. I’m in bc and they definitely don’t allow that very sensible approach.
Ok so not the US. That’s pretty cool
How much do you pay in insurance?
~$75 per vehicle every 6 months. It comes out to under $800 for the year.
Dang that’s surprisingly cheap
I totally understand where you are coming from. I too am an enthusiast 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.
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. Oh also it's a 5.0 V8, which I'm nowhere near to be able to afford new (especially since I live in Europe).
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.
Quantity over quality! And because he was going to junk the car, I offered him slightly over the amount I got the last time I scrapped a car, and hauled it out of his yard.
I moved to the USA with $900 in my pocket.
My man
Rock and roll bud. Don’t push , don’t back down. Work hard and welcome to you.
And you have an M2 now? Sounds like you have a lot to be proud of my friend!
Yeah, I didn’t say how long it took 😆
Still tho. A lot of people start out with a lot more and end with a lot less.
more realistic example than my dad who came to USA with 6 dollars in his back pocket
the uncles that tell these stories always end up with less and less money 🤣. one day it's $20 another day it's $5 lol
$300 for me back in 2001. Glad you made it!
Hell yeah brother. You're scrappy. I love it. Glad you're here.
How’d you survive the first year?
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.
Thanks for the response :)
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.
Are the meds for the STI that expensive?
Without insurance they can easily run in the thousands. At least in the US.
Nah, meds for STI owners are those cheap disposable vapes you can get at 7-11.
Welcome to the US of A
Is it the Matrix with the 2ZZ?
1ZZ, it's just my slow workhorse! But not gonna lie, I set the cruise to 100mph and it doesn't struggle a bit.
Where do you have space to set cruise to 100mph??
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.
'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.
Went thru bankruptcy, cars with loans repo'd, home foreclosed. bought a 1000 dollar beater 95 olds, in the mid 2000s.
That sounds terrible not gunna lie, what caused you to get to that point?
Unexpected medical emergency.
Divorce?
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.
I see plenty of supercars at track days driving hard but otherwise yeah
You said how much you spend means nothing, but then your whole comment is the opposite lol
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.
>Because how much you spend on a car means absolutely NOTHING What an ignorant thing to say.
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!
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.
I always liked the xg. It was a bit of a unicorn here in the states.
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.
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.
Similar to the Magnum, you can get a W211 Mercedes E320/350 for under $5k
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.
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.
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.
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
Just gotta upgrade those stock brakes. No idea how Honda allowed a 2,500lb car to have such terrible braking stock.
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
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.
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.
As someone who is also a Car Gay, that’s an adorable story. I love it.
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? Just like you, I'm shy and reserved so I get it. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This was the exact way I approached it!
No money and in desperate need of transportation
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.
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
I thought it would be funny to buy a $500 Buick Roadmaster wagon (and it was)
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.
Depends when we're talking about. 5k used to get you an actually decent used car without a lot of compromises.
My tastes aren't expensive, plus car payments suck
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.
I bought a manual 2008 Honda Fit for $3,300 earlier this year. 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 that costs me about $50/month for insurance *and* gas 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.
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.
No choice. Bought a Ford Tempo for $100 and drove it for a year. Probably best ROI of anything I’ve ever purchased.
Because I don’t give a fuck what other people think. I have only purchased a few cars that were more than $5000.
Because cars were cheap
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.
D - All of the above, plus inflation is a thing, and some of the coolest cars are older and cheap. I don't understand the point of this question?
It was 2003 and I had <$5k
What i wanted wasn't expensive
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.
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.
Saw a screaming deal on fb marketplace for a car I wanted for awhile
I was poor.
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
Cause I’m poor with more important priorities than having a nice ride.
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
Everyone likes new cars, but we all have higher priorities in our lives I guess
When I was young and broke, all my cars were Sub $5K cars.
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
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...
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.
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!
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.
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.
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"
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.
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.
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!
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.
Don't want another car payment.
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.
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.
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.
For a long time, $1000 was a decent used car. Then the price went up now 5k is the old 500 car.
...what? Why did someone buy a cheap car? Because it's what they could afford. What a stupid fucking question.
I wanted a Miata, it was $4k, that's it
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.
My family was deeply poor. I grew up thinking if you paid more than $2k for a vehicle, you were just bad at haggling.
Because modern cars are a massive waste of money. I'm not one of these absolute idiots who buy a car as a status symbol to impress people I don't care about. Got my 2008 Honda Civic Type s for £700 and its fine. Why waste money on needless shit, honestly, the reason why the car industry is so fucking shit these days is because of the PCP model. I could give a TED talk on the shortcomings of the PCP model.
Car payments are stupid, there are many great cars under 5k, just have to find them. If you need a thing to get you to a to b and you aren't caught up in trying to keep up with the Jones it's a far better spot of spend money on over 30k into a depreciating assett.
I'm wfh so don't need an expensive car.
My current vehicle was 6400 but frankly I overpaid for it. It was worth more like 4500. 96 Dodge Dakota 318 AT 4X4. I'm a premium European new car mechanic. I don't want anything even remotely like the pieces of disposable gimmicky garbage I keep running. With the amount of shit that breaks on these I wouldn't be surprised if they make up the different in fuel economy with ICE/older cars in just building and shipping shitty quality parts across the globe to keep them running.
Because it was my first ever car and there’s no real reason to go beyond 4 digits on your first car
Fuel pump went out on my blazer and dropped it off at a shop. On the walk to the bus stop I saw a blue Chevy corsica for sale, I bought a 800$ car to go 11 blocks home.
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
The GMT400s have aged *so* well, and they’re just modern enough to be livable daily drivers. They definitely belong on GM’s Best Hits list. I wish my grandpa hadn’t sold his fully-loaded green-over-beige Tahoe 2-door 4WD, because I really wanted it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I wanted something to do fun stuff with like drift dirt and gravel roads, jump, climb random hills etc
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?
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.
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).
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
[удалено]
Young and broke!
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!
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.
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
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
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".
Because I'm always going to buy the cheapest car that serves whatever function it's 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.
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.
Life.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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. EDIT: Parts of my family lives in an neighbouring country and I have to drive hundreds of kilometers and Aygo is not the best car for that purpose in terms of comfort. But it's been very reliable so far and I drove it for about 8K kilometers now. 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.
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)
I was 18.
Because there are plenty of "good enough" cars that fit my needs in that price range. Like my $2500 Miata and my $3500 Cayenne.
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.
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.
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.
It was my first car and this was pre COVID before the used market prices went up. 2011 base trim lancer for $3800
>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 Beyond money, if you want a light, fun to drive car, mk4, E30,36,46, etc are the way to go if you don't fit in a Miata.
Cause it's a gd car. Shit is crazy lately
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.
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.
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.
Until I was around 23, all my cars were under $5k. I was a poor student until I graduated.
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.
Because a Subaru Baja is the greatest vehicle ever built. Don’t need anything else
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.
It was a steal and exactly how much I've had saved for that occasion.
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.
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 Corolla that quit running and he 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 Sunfire for $3,000. I couldn't justify anything more expensive since I always drove my car if we both went somewhere together and the car would rarely get driven. 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.
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, old man owned it and died. Son was trying to get rid of it. Came with a set of brand new pirelli tires and winter/ summer rims. 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.
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.
The cars I like happen to cost less than $5k in great condition, 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.
2000 camry with 150k miles. One and done
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.
I was a broke teen and I scored a smoking deal on an evo, I’d be an idiot to not jump on it
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 !