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Between my wife and I and our oldest daughter we spent over $4k on maintenance in just the last month.
gotta cut down on the pedis, bud. sometimes you just gotta live with normal people funky toenails
Me in my $1300 lancer wagon 2007 laughing in duct tape and safety hazards
Well, my 2002 Golf mk4 1.9 TDI only needed a rear axle replacement, some not really necessary stuff (rust) and oil changes.
What are people doing with their cars?
I think its more what are they not doing. I bought this car in a meh condition and have only done the bare minimum to keep it alive and passning inspection.
What did you expect for buying a fucking BMW.
Laughs in doesn’t own a car
Owning a car is such a con. Between car payments, the price of fuel, insurance, upkeep, parking charges, I’m glad I live in a city with good public transit. I feel bad for people who have to rely on a car.
Cool. Not everyone gets to live in such a city. And those of us who live public transits cities city, want to leave it sometimes. That requires a car.
And most cities with public transit are unaffordable for middle class people. They are fantastic if you make well over 100K a year, but if you make 40-60K, forget it.
If you live in a good city and leave for travel you can still rent a car.
You’d be homebound or relying on ubers if you lived where I am.
I’m glad that I don’t. Where I live a car is a luxury and not a necessity.
Right? I saw the comment above and was like, “OK?”
You don’t have busses?
No. Also you can’t walk or cycle. I mean, on a really rare occasion I see someone try but there’s a really strong chance you’ll get hit and die. You never see them try a second time. The last time I was walking 2km up the road because I had dropped my car off at the tire shop, four people offered me a ride to get me off the side of the road.
buses don’t go anywhere useful. they also are dont’ show up, and even the high frequency buses, are never on time.
they are not useful or reliable.
But I don’t and I can’t even really afford a car the way I set my life up
I am going to laugh if OP didn’t pick a BMW for a reason and it was just the first car image to come up when they made the meme.
Yeah, I drive a Mazda.
Stop measuring your self-worth by the car you drive -> Buy ancient Toyota or Honda -> Save $800/mo in car payment, $300/mo full-coverage insurance -> Pay for the occasional repairs -> Profit.
Or, keep paying out the nose for a status symbol that you use for an hour or two a day to be seen by strangers who will think you’re an asshole who can’t drive or park regardless of how shiny the badge is on your hood.
reliable used cars cost nearly as much as new ones these days.
Reliable cars have existed for quite some time. Some of them are older and need some of the parts replaced, but they are no less reliable.
But, If by reliable you mean ‘cars I can drive for years with only simple maintenance’ then yes, you’re right. Only new-ish cars will have that property.
However, if you have to spend $5000 to repair a $5000 used car which costs you $0/mo + $80/mo in insurance you will save far more money in the long-term than paying a $5000 down payment and then $700-800/mo + $200-250/mo in comprehensive insurance for the next 72 months.
It is a lot easier and less hassle to simply sign a contract and pay $950/mo, but it is far more expensive in the long-term.
Like the guy in the 100k BMW is gonna stop to think about depreciating assets… C’MON!
Like the guy in the 500k BMW is gonna stop to think about depreciating assets… C’MON!
A fool and his money…
You knew what you were getting into when you bought a Bimmer instead of a Honda.
Please, they’re super reliable cars! I haven’t needed to fill the blinker fluid on mine even once since getting it
If you’re neglecting blinker fluid, you’re sitting on a ticking time bomb. PLEASE take it to the most-expensive import specialist mechanic ASAP, for your own safety!
Sorry, best I can do is collect crates of boxes of parts, and claim I’m learning German
It’s an e46, it doesn’t cost shit to keep running provided you don’t take it to a shop to get work done on it. Unless of course you get an M3, in which case the exact amount to keep it running is “way too much”.
My 98 bmw with 210k miles when I sold it was the most dead reliable car I’ve ever owned! Bmw i6 engines are legendary, as long as you get the ones that still have a steel cable from the throttle peddle to the throttle valve. Once u got a potentiometer with 6 wires that go to the ECU which then suggests what the electronic throttle body does, is where the reliability sort of ended LOL.
I know it’s not that crazy but these moments always amaze me:
Never in my life had I heard BMW’s being called bimmers/beemers,
And this is the second time I see it today.Its not uncommon in America
Its also not uncommon outside of America
I forget the rule or why, but if memory serves Beemer is car, Bimmer is bike.
Or the reverse. I don’t know why.
BMW - well there’s your problem!
In France, every BMW driver is a massive asshole that cannot drive properly. I should make statistics about this.
That seems universal.
Don’t. Otherwise people here gonna label u as a racist lol. /j
It’s not all that different in Germany.
Nor in the US. Though the bar is lower here, admittedly.
There is no border for that issue, it’s universal, the only reason anyone would buy a BMW in the first place is because they’re already a stupid asshole.
It’s like the square and quadrilateral thing. Not every stupid asshole has a BMW, but everyone who has a BMW is a stupid asshole.
Bavarian Money Wasters
Toyota aygo from '03 FTW
It’s not that I love my bike. It’s that I love the hundreds of unplayed indie games I bought on Steam more than I would love a car.
Ooohhhh e46 estate 😍
Long live the long roof!
It means you cannot afford that car and should either get an appropriate one or none.
Depreciation is the biggest loss for newish cars, but maintaince, fuel, tires, insurance costs come up quickly, often averaging 5-7K/year.
In much of America, not having a car means not being able to get to work or buy food.
If you can’t afford a car, you might be able to afford operating costs for a used japanese motorcycle.
As a European with very decent public transit and bicycle options, I feel like an idiot for getting a Mazda 3 half a year ago. I really should have tried to make do with a nice cargo bike. Could’ve been hundred of Euros going into my ETF instead of payments, insurance and so on.
Oh well, at least I don’t anticipate a lot of trouble from my Mazda.
I’m a retired Brit living in the middle of the Welsh Marches, 10 miles from the nearest town. There is no public transport. Having a car is vital out here and I dread the day my 13-year-old Tiguan gives up the ghost.
Simply buy a 20 year old honda.
I drive an 18 year old Honda with 250k km on the clock right now and it’s been sunshine and rainbows for the last 20K atleast
Similar distance from town but in Australia. My 2002 Verada and 1996 Magna just keep on going. Look after them and they’ll usually look after you. Not sure how much built in obsolescence might be in a Tiguan though. Might be old enough to be predictable.
Well if it’s one of the direct injected petrol models, it’s prone to carbon buildup on the valves, which can be cleaned preemptively - if the buildup gets too bad, it can wreck the valves IIRC. If it’s a DSG rather than a conventional automatic or manual, those can be problematic depending on the exact version. Expect a couple grand to fix if it goes wrong. Any chain-driven VAG engine usually doesn’t have a very long lifetime on the chain and they’re a pain to replace.
I wish you luck with the Tiguan, but honestly if I was a Brit living in the countryside, I’d rather be driving a Land Rover. Not that I expect it to be less problematic than VW, I just think they’re cooler and it’s the one country where LR enthusiasts and independent workshops are plentiful.
As somebody who primarily works on land rovers, LOL. They are certainly designed to keep us in business !
Oh there’s a good reason I said “not that I expect it to be less problematic” lol
I just have bad experience with VAG cars and know many others who do too. I consider it to be about as horrible to own as JLR, without the cool factor.
Yea some are worse than others too! I don’t love the Ford era stuff. I like the L332 with the bmw V8 believe it or not, and love me a 300tdi cuz despite always leaking oil and having something fucked up they are simple machines that just keep kicking. As long as you know what your getting into! The range rover super charged V8 is a riot too as long as it don’t break while you own it LOL
Diesel or petrol? Skyactive diesel engines w/turbo needs one long drive a week to burn the particle filter if you do many short drives
Thanks for the tip! It’s a 2.5L naturally aspirated petrol engine, which hopefully should be rather reliable.
I can afford my car, it’d cost me 5-7k a year if I had to rebuild the transmission every year. Mostly I get by on <3k a year all in since it’s depreciated and my insurance is like 20 EUR a month and I do my own repairs. This with a notorious German money pit that will be celebrating its 20th next year.
However
I’d still take the motorcycle if I could. Seems way more fun. But now I’ve got a 2 year old so that plan’s on pause for several years. I had a nice older Ducati Monster picked out before I got coaxed into this, which I was fully expecting to not be very sensible lol
Biggest car costs are insurance, taxes and big repairs as you said. In lots of countries those costs can go down if you choose the right car. Other option of not owning a car, while varying in difficulty, include car pooling, taking the bus or other kinds of public transportation, moving near place of work or at least moving near public transportation lines.
Anyone who is broke because of their car obviously doesn’t have better options.
Just buy a house near your very stable and well-paying job, duh!
I know people that spend the entirety of what would be their disposable income in a car they barely use. Which still beats the idiots bankrupting themselves to go on 1 hour traffic jams to avoid a 15 minute train ride. Don’t underestimate car brains.
Two important things:
- In case of justified need, can a person afford their car or is a downgrade or change to a more affordable car the right move.
- The car might be just an option and one can go with owning one.
7’000 per year for a car? How much are you driving? The average is “only” 14’000 miles per year (median much lower). At 5$/gallon and 25 MPG that are fuel cost of 2’800 $. The rest combined should be below the fuel cost.
Eh? My Honda Civic just had to have its struts replaced, and that was a $1000 expense which was difficult to cope with and would have been impossible were I not working three different jobs. If I wanted working AC, which I have never had in the vehicle, I’d need to spend like ~2k every year because the model has a defective condenser (and in Trump’s America, warranties are suggestions)
At some point you have to recognize that many Americans cannot afford any vehicle. Unfortunately the U.S. is not designed for people who don’t have vehicles.
While my car was in the shop yesterday, I looked at my options for getting to work, which is about seven miles from my house. There was a bus route, which would have taken at least a full hour compared to my usual 15 minute drive, and there was Uber/lyft, which would have cost me about a third of the money I’d make at work.
If god forbid, something happened to my car, I’d have to take a loan out for something I could not afford, because I have to be able to get to work to survive and pay for the damn car!
How are you even working three jobs?
Really it’s like 3.5 with the side gigs too.
I’d probably be ripping my hair out and back inpatient if it weren’t for one job ending in a couple of weeks and another slowing down substantially around the same time.
I don’t sleep much until I get sick and have to take off from one of the jobs for a “catch up” day. I drink three or four Red Bulls a day, plus some Diet Coke to top off.
I was hoping to have enough to move states by the end of the summer, but it turns out I’ll probably still not have enough. Very difficult to rebuild when you get divorced from a vindictive billionaire.
That sounds rough. Respect for keeping things moving, especially with three jobs. Seriously impressive dedication. If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of work are you doing to make this setup possible.
