I was just reminiscing about how you could roll the dice on a $500 beater that would run for a couple months or a couple years but when it did die there was always another 50 ‘86 Buicks to be bought for cheap. Just take the tags off wherever you broke down and grab a newspaper to check the classifieds while you wait for a ride, lol.
Buying a 1500 dollar car used to be something that would still last you a few years. Now you can only find something like that at auction and it will need at least another 1500 to make it drivable again. With all the fees and work you put into it, you'll still end up spending 4-5k, in total. Of course it's all dependent on how mechanically inclined you are and how much of the work you can do yourself.
I bought an 86 F-150 years ago for 500 bucks, 181k on the odometer...drove it for two weeks, loaned it to my dad, who wrecked it. Bought another F-150 three days later, I think that one was an 87...drove that for years.
Used to be so easy to grab a used POS and just get back to work.
I should have worded it better. Not a brand new car, but almost as much as what that 2015 civic cost brand new. A really well maintained 2015 Civic will cost you 13k-17k, depending mileage. A brand new one was 18k in 2015. Yes you can find used for cheaper than 13k, but they'll also have lots of miles on them and you'll have to dump money into it to keep it going. Of course it's still financially better to buy a used car. Nobody is arguing that point. My point is that the used car market is crazy.
Ok I’m glad we found some common ground. Yea, I agree the used market is crazy. I’m curious if it’ll keep getting worse as newer cars continue to become harder to service outside of a dealership maintenance shop
Well, since brand new now they are much more expensive then they were even 10 years ago, it feels like it will only get worse. And the worst part is, they are much more difficult to work on yoursel.
I bought a 2015 Honda Accord EX-L with like 37k miles for ~$25k or something in 2017. It only has 85k miles on it since I barely drove for 5 years living in Portland. I'm seeing ones with 120k+ miles on AutoTrader for $13k-14k.
FWIW, $18,000 in 2015 is worth about $25.5k today. Now, the 40% depreciation in value over 10 years is still impressively small for an automobile, but when you start talking about more than a decade, especially a high inflation decade like this one, I think it's important to take into account.
I just but an '18 for $9500, has 105k miles on it. New it was 20k, adjusted for inflation that would be 24k (it has bluetooth).
Granted, my buddy bought a 98 civic in 2002 for like $2000 so you aren't wrong about the used market being over priced, but its not nearly as bad as your statement.
Nope, my Brand new Honda Accord 2025 costed me $30k USD not including the minor fees to get it on the road legally
Edit: I can find a 2015 civic for $10k used and running
Eve got some that will high jack the radio using the signal antenna after you plug it in and set the adapter to the radio channel it will play your bluetooth
I’m pretty sure it all started because Apple switched to their USB-C cord and got rid of the aux cord which basically cascade all the vehicle companies to get rid of the aux jacks
I have a 2014 Honda Civic with Bluetooth. It’s great. I will drive it until the wheels fall off, I have an accident where it’s totaled, or the maintenance costs get too high.
But 2015-2018 is a good cutoff range, I was recently looking for a car for my wife and wound up with a 2015 Honda Pilot. We’re pretty happy with it, it’s solid without a bunch of unnecessary bullshit that’ll malfunction in a few years.
I’m driving a 2010 seat ibiza. it’s a manual with no bluetooth, no backup camera or sensors but at least it can 1. drive forward and 2. drive backward. That’s all I need
I prefer to put my own aftermarket head unit & speakers in rather than some BS name brand speaker system built into modern cars.
I have a 2013 Mazda wagon, but I have wireless Android Auto (or Apple Carplay if I wanted). I have AC at the turn of a dial, heated seats that I don't need to pay a subscription for & a backup camera that works perfectly fine. I would like to upgrade to a newer car at some point, but they way the industry has gone, I think I'd be paying more for an overall worse driving experience.
Or get a 2018 and you'll have a backup camera also(if you care about that). Since that's the year it became legally required on all cars sold in the US
Yeah plenty had it before then, but 2018 and on literally every single car was required to have them. So regardless of trim or model they all have them after then.
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u/VirginiaLuthier 9h ago
Jeeze. Go find a 2015 Honda Civic. They are practically immortal....ah, darn -but no Bluetooth