Take good care of your cars and run them until they can’t run anymore.
I had a Chrysler Lebaron convertible that I traded in for $500 on my Scion in 2006. The car needed a new roof, a new transmission, water pump, the front end could not be aligned because it was too worn and the car had 150k miles on it.
Our 2001 Chrysler 300m that we bought new has 180k on it. The AC is out and needs a part that is very expensive to replace. We reduced our insurance to the minimum, FOUR DAYS BEFORE A DEER RAN INTO THE SIDE OF IT AND WIPED OUT EVERY BODY PANEL. The check engine light is on because the transmission is in need of repair. The one year old front tires are in need of replacement because it won’t take an alignment.
We’ll be trading it in for $500 or so on probably a Kia Rio or Ford Focus. New. And we will repeat the cycle.
The AC and reliability is a big deal where we live.
“We’ll be trading it in for $500 or so on probably a Kia Rio or Ford Focus”
And when a deer hits that?