only in America would having a reliable vehicle that serves for a long time be considered a bad thing.

Shocker, when new car prices are no longer in the price range of the average American people stop buying them 😱

Back in 2006, I had a car that had a 8 year old car with 100K miles on it and needed a new transmission. I had it repaired. At that time it was $2000 and the repairman was surprised I went thru with the rebuild. He said I should just get a new car, I told him this was paid off and one shot at $2000 is a lot cheaper than a down-payment and 3 years of payments on a new car.

They glazed over how important it is that vehicles today (and even past the late 90's) are built with far better reliability than they used to be. I know they said it is not uncommon to hit 160k-200k. but i dont think they gave the build quality any credit for this. If cars arent breaking, of course people will stretch them further.

As long as a vehicle is serving you reliably, safely and comfortably, WHY go into debt over a new one???

The reason why a lot of people are not buying cars is because going to the car dealer is one of the worst things the average person has to deal with in their life.

My 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am has 348k+ miles on the original engine. The rest of the car has been restored except for the engine. My Firebird currently holds the record as the highest mileage Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with numbers matching, and quite possibly the highest mileage non-restored Pontiac 400 engine (13 million cars were sold with this engine), which was last documented at the 27th Annual Trans Am Nationals back in 2012. My father won an award for this weird record, and the placard hasn't left the car in over 10 years. For those wondering, we've documented every single maintenance record and the binder is about 6 inches thick, it includes every single receipt, invoice, and so on.

I bought my first new car in 2018 with negative equity. Kind of a bad situation. During the car shortage I turned it in to a dealer who paid off what I owed. I was free and clear, so I bought a house and a 2005 Cadillac with 40,000 documented miles for 8,000.00. Couldn’t be happier.

Stuffing cars with the latest technology is a big part of the problem. I don't want to pay an extra $3k for a GPS navigation system that costs the car manufacturer $50, and will fail after 5 years.

I feel like 2000s, 2010s cars reached a point of safety and enjoyment that you don't need to get a new car unless you want a bunch of unnecessary features

Another reason why I want to delay any need to purchase a new vehicle for as long as possible - just not wanting to deal with dealership BS. I hate car dealerships and their shady sales people so much, just about every person I know who's bought a new car recently has been screwed over with some BS hidden fees or unnecessary insurance/warranty.

Another thing about getting cars to last is to take care of little problems before they become big ones.

The liberation of driving your car without another payment is very alluring. As much as I want to upgrade to a more comfortable, modern car with automatic cruise control, it's still not as comfortable as not having a monthly payment again.

"With the rising costs of housing, healthcare, and education, while wages stagnate, why aren't people using their ever-scarcer disposable income on replacing cars that don't need to be replaced?"

My 98' corolla is still kicking. love that car. Take care of her oil changes and tire, she'll never let you down... Unlike my previous car, a Pontiac van. Expensive to fix that carp and it still left me on the side of the road twice.

2008 Volvo V50 2.0D

The magic name, TOYOTA.

You gotta love how out of touch high level managers are with reality. People cant afford new cars that cost 40k, it really is that simple.

When I was a kid in the 90s my parents would get a “new” vehicle every 5-7 years. After about 2008, however, they were only able to afford used cars. I have only purchased used cars because I have never been able to afford a new car…unless I were to sacrifice rent, utilities, or food. 😄 I bought a 2017 Accord last year when it was years old, because a) I was reluctant to spend more $ on a newer Accord, and b) until Honda makes a more aesthetically attractive Accord, I think I’ll stick with the better looking option. 😂

I own a 97 ford ranger it has 294k miles and still runing strong 💪