Beaters does not save you money
I've already done the calculations. Driving a cheap old car does not save you any money vs buying a new entry model car.
**EDIT*
In depth break down of my calculations.
First, lets establish some basics.
-older cars only last 200k. I've already spoken to an engineer about this. This is because the engine will burn oil due to usage. So even though you can still drive it, the car is not truly road worthy. Cars made in 2015 and up can get 300k, with perfect maintenance.
-The used price of cars keeps dropping until they float around 4-8k, once it has more than 100k miles for most makes.
So lets say you needed a beater. You go on craigslist and find a 2005 Honda with 150k miles for 5k.
You buy it.
A couple of things we know about this Honda.
-it can fail within the next 100 miles, or it can fail within the next 50k miles(200k).
-the cost to fix worn out systems that enables the car to run safely and reliably, can vary from a couple of hundred, to a couple of thousands.
-used transmission $300 + labor
-used engine $300 + labor
-drive train components $200 + labor
-ignition components $200 + labor
-belts and pulleys $150 + labor
-cooling system $150 + labor
-tires - $500
-batteries $100
-brake components $100-$500 + knowledge and labor
-suspension components - $500 + labor
-headlights $150
-steering components $100 - $300 + labor
-AC system - $150 + labor
-fuel systems $100 -$300 + labor
-exhaust components $150 - $300 + labor
-faded paint/ NA
-worn interior parts/ NA
-mechanic tools $200 - $1500
Adding all of that together with the average between variable cost of parts, it comes out to $4000 without labor. $100 - $4k is what you are looking at to shell out over 50k miles. Thats not bad for 50k miles of driving. Total end cost for 50k miles is [b]$5k + ($100-$4k)[/b]
With labor, it is $4000 in parts plus twice the amount, since labor is always 2x more than the cost of the parts. But we will take the average of the labor cost + parts, which will bring the cost to around [b]$5k + $6k= $11k[/b]. That is how much you are expecting to pay over the course of the 50k miles of this Honda if you have no mechanic skills.
Now, lets say you bought an entry level, or cheapest car that is offered by Chevy, which is the spark that goes for 14k. You can put 100k miles on this thing no problem. Remember, anything made past 2015 can get 300k with good maintenance. That is a fact. So you've used about 1/3 of the life of the engine. But lets say you sell it for half of what you bought it for. If the car was 14k, that means you spent 7k for 100k worth of RELIABLE mileage.
So if you spend just 2 grands more, you'll get double the amount of mileage over the beater. Here's something even better to consider, remember that I said used cars prices hover at 4-8k at 100k miles and over? Well if you drive the car for another 50k, which brings the car to 150k, you can still sell it for 4-7k. That means, you will have spent around 6k for 150k worth of RELIABLE mileage, vs cost of a used beater.
Basically, you are setting aside around $7000 because of the buy in price of the new car but you get this money back after a couple of years. With a beater, you don't have to set aside this cash up front. However, over the course of the beater, you lose money as you drive everyday because systems that makes the car run, fails.
Another great thing is, cars like the spark, there's always going to be people that sell it with low mileage like around 50k. You can pick them up used and save alot with having to shell out alot upfront.
So its very easy to think that beeturs save you money as you can see. As a matter of fact, chits cunningly deceptive. And you've have never catch it without the TuNa's sharp eye. But:
I rest my case. Thank you and good night.