My car is a 2009. It still works because I took care of it. I'm not replacing it because it still works. The fact that cars are necessary but a terrible investment should always be front of mind. Would you rather drive new fancy cars or retire 10 years earlier? It's a choice.
My last car I drove 15 years and put 340,000 miles on it. Buy a car brand new and you know the service history. Make a conservative choice in model. Maintain it well. It will last you 15 years.
Using a 30 year career as an example, assuming the car notes were 60 months each, that is 20 years of your working career with no car payment. The average car payment is $550. That's $132,000 extra in your pocket. Invest that throughout, and you're close to a 7 fig retirement.
This is one example how working middle class retires well. Make better decisions, don't blame society, government, or your neighbor.
So this is where giant transfers of wealth (such as 2008) become frustrating. I made solid financial decisions and had a plan. However I was a contractor, and because of careless banking policies I lost everything, and it took me 10 years to recover.
I changed careers, decided to never be self employed again, and now punch a clock. I'll be lucky to retire at 65 with enough to survive when I had a solid plan that would have me retiring next year with close to a million bucks. Shit happens I suppose.
My grandfather: "It's cheaper to repair than it is to replace." While not true with everything these days, if you take care of your car and are handy enough for minor repairs and maintenance it can still be true with your car. Knowing a trustworthy mechanic is a huge plus.
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