[dfwgator]

Seriously, why anyone who works over the age of 30 has to make car payments is beyond me. Of course we also don’t change our cars every three years, I still drive a 2003 Honda.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

By far the easiest way to sock away a LOT of savings is to buy a USED car (15k to 20k miles, maybe 25k) every 10 to 12 years. Pay attention to reports and buy a highly reliable vehicle. Avoid expensive, flashy vehicles and just stick with pedestrian transportation.

[Trump Girl Kit Cat]

My first brand new car I purchased was in 2005 that car payment was for 5 years and I swore that I would NEVER get under another car payment again!! I still have that 2005 SUV it only has 93,000 miles and I have taken very good care of it!! I live in CA. though so don’t have the winter elements of salt on the roads ect. I think cars last a whole lot longer when not in severe weather elements!!

[Gene Eric]

>> I still drive a 2003 Honda.

Cool. I’d be too if my ride wasn’t destroyed while it was parked.

[genghis]

Almost no one with a car payment is rich.

[PUGACHEV]

One of the skills I learned in youth was how to pick and repair a good used car, the 20th Century equivalent of knowing how to buy a good horse. Then, in a stroke of good luck, I happened to buy a Kawasaki ‘81 GPz 1100 motorcycle. It was one of the first fuel injected vehicles one could own, and it taught me the fundamentals of Electronic Fuel Control, which is commonplace today. I learned what various sensors do, how to test them, and how to replace them. Once you get a grip on that, repairing and restoring used vehicles becomes even easier than before. I’ve never needed or been tempted to buy a new car since, and own perfectly functioning 2002 and 2004 Hondas.

Sadly, all this will change with electric vehicles. Basically, you’ll only be buying a battery with a fixed and obvious value. There will no longer be any good used car deals.

[caltaxed]

Honda has plenty of aftermarket parts and will run forever. Basic fun transportation gets you from point a to point b for a very reasonable price.

The closest thing to perfection is an internal combustion Honda or Toyota built in Japan.

[entropy12]

2011 Chevy HHR. Still running on original battery.

[KingLudd]

” ... anyone who works over the age of 30 has to make car payments is beyond me.”

You make payments only if you can get the loan free of interest. That’s called free money. Free money is smart money. I bought a new Ford in 2015 interest free for 72 months. What I didn’t spend on buying the car outright with cash went into investments and the profits pretty much paid for the car. Anyone over 30 should be strategizing with their money like this.

[Pollard]

I made payments once. It was a buy here pay here lot. It was the only vehicle I’ve ever sent to a repair shop. Obscure wiring issue in the computer data lines. Had to run out and grab a real cheapo car to get by. Brought our first born home from the hospital in a New Yorker that had no reverse. Once I got the Cherokee out of the shop, I gave it back to the dealer and paid cash for a Honda Accord.

[Travis McGee]

Amen. I’ve never bought a car on time payments.

My 2007 Explorer runs great. So does our 2008 Acura.

Going into debt to “keep up with the Jones” always seemed stupid to me.

[cyclotic]

None of my kids has ever borrowed for a car. When my son went to buy a newer one after college, he told the dealer it would be cash. They weren’t sure how to deal with it.

[Larry Lucido]

I could have written that article in one sentence. “A flood of repossessed cars are on the way.”

I guess when you get paid by the word, you have to use a lot of words.

[panzerkamphwageneinz]

05 GMC Envoy for me...

[Georgia Girl 2]

I’m still driving my 2006 Honda CRV. Never have any trouble with it. Mr. GG2 is still in his 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 with the Cummins engine.

[Sans-Culotte]

I’ve been driving the same truck since 2001 (it was new then).