With the $554 average new car payment in the original post, you can afford that $10k new-to-you used car outright in cash every 18 months.
Average price of a used car in the US, right now, is $29,000. Which means that for a $554 payment, itâs going to be 5.4 years rather than 1.5. From there, you need to figure out how many miles you put on a car in a year, make some rough guesses about how many miles the average car has left before the cost to repair exceeds the cost of replacing, etc. Obvs. a high mileage used car is going to require significantly more maintenance than a new car will (âŚin most cases, as long as you arenât buying a new Land Rover or Jaguar), so youâll need to figure that in as well. Youâll probably want good insurance, even if youâre only required to carry minimal liability insurance, because any accident could be catastrophic for your finances if you canât afford to repair your car.
Itâs a bit of a death spiral; wages are still too low, car prices are too high.
Sure, but in 2023, someone could already be selling a 2022 as used. That $29k number is going to be skewed by those who sell younger cars. You can still find used cars much cheaper than this.
For that $554 payment, you would need $6648 in additional yearly maintenance costs on an older vehicle to compare. Thatâs like a new engine or transmission, every year!
Anecdotally, I drive a 32-year-old car that I purchased, coincidentally, for $3200 around 7 years ago. I havenât spent even close to $6648 in maintenance that entire time (probably not even another $3200).
To my original claim - finding something thatâs reasonable mileage, and in good mechanical condition, for under $10k, is quite a challenge at this point. I sold a 2008 Honda Civic Si with >200,000 miles last year that was not running, had rust, and generally needed a fair amount of work, and had an asking price of $4k. I got fifty offers in under 12 hours. It was crazy.
