this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2026
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I've been driving for 9 years and one car was totaled in an accident otherwise I'd still have it.
So if we got technical and I count the insurance payout that reimbursed the first car I've spent 4,000 on purchasing cars. Second car was cheaper than the insurance payout.
My current car is from 2007, I've had it for 6 years. So far it's only had 1 major repair that costed about 1,000. Otherwise just the normal maintenance at appropriate intervals. It's sub-compact so the tires are small and quite cheap and it holds less oil than a standard sedan. When I do the oil changes myself this also saves me some money.
I expect the car to last at least 1-2 more years at least. At that point I either have to start pouring money into it or buy another.
Edit: Fixed a math error. Thanks /u/HubertManne@piefed.social
Yeah, that sounds 'bout right: short enough that you can still have an artificially-rosy impression based on luck that nothing major has broken yet, especially since the collision replacement reset the clock. For all you know, that car might've been destined to blow its engine the day after it was totaled.
I've been driving for over two decades, and even owning almost entirely old cars (with only one exception, and that was one I didn't pay for), I've spent much more than $9K on them. And that's despite both doing most of my own maintenance and being willing to just accept flaws that other people would pay to fix or scrap the car over.
I'm not saying it's a bad strategy, for those who must own a car. I'm just saying that even the optimal strategy still adds up eventually.
I 100% know that would not have have happened. I'm not a mechanic, but I know enough to assure you that is not the case.
Even still if it did die the next day that would be back to the 9k.
And I wouldn't call it pure luck, I did a ton of research and shopped around for a couple weeks before I found something acceptable. It's held up as expected
I would also swear up and down that each of my old cars was reliable, until suddenly it was not.
I say that not to scare or discourage anybody from owning an old car instead of a new one, but just to have realistic expectations. And maybe encourage people to have a good roadside assistance policy.
The car that got totaled was in great condition and had absolutely no issues.
The car I'm driving today sure that one could go tomorrow or in a couple of years.
Cars definitely give you signs they are getting ready to give out. You just have to recognize them. Sometimes they are subtle and it can definitely be a waiting game, but once the signs appear it can be tomorrow or 2 years.
I haven't owned many cars personally, but my family has only ever driven clunkers. You learn the signs and which ones are worth the gamble to ignore.
wait so you paid x for car1 and got a y payout and paid z for the second car and your saying x+z-y is -$1000 because that is what im reading. Are you sure you did not come out 1k ahead on car one and then car2 cost that and more?
The payout on car 1 was 5k and the cost of car 2 was 4k.
The economy was doing weird shit to the used car market when I got the first car and it held it's value quite well.
I don't remember the exact numbers anymore and I know I'm rounding so maybe it's closer to -800, but I do remember coming out nicely ahead with the insurance payout.
Either way car 2 was cheaper.
so you paid 200 for car 1 and it ran for years with no maintenance?
Ah wait, I see my math error now big time. God I'm tired. So 4k on cars as first car was fully paid off by insurance.
Thank you for pointing that out I'll fix my numbers
yeah sorry I replied fast to the last one but that makes more sense now.
ok I don't understand your negative numbers here. you paid 5000 and the insurance gave you 5000 back and then you paid 4000. So you paid 4000 in car buying. then you spent another grand in repairs. so cars have cost you 5k not counting gas and insurance and such. Don't get me wrong that is really cheap but its just confusing when you list negative numbers suggesting you have gotten more than you have paid for cars in your lifetime.