As a teen, I always wondered what sort of car I would wind up with. I definitely did not predict that I would be driving around an early 90s Honda with over two hundred thousand miles on it. There is no other way to look at it. I drive a beater.
Yes, a beater is what I have. It works most of the time, but I never know when something is going to break. I blow coolant hoses left and right, requiring seemingly simple yet annoying repairs to get working again. My car rattles, leaks, and generally behaves poorly.
Why do I love it so much then? Because it is extremely cheap! The way I look at it, the purpose of owning a car is for transportation. This car gets me around wherever I need to go. It has even survived a couple long distance road trips. In short, it does everything I need in a car.
At almost no cost to me, my vehicle fills all my transportation needs. I paid under $2000 for the car 6 years ago, which is very little. Even factoring in the repairs I’ve had to do, its still amazingly cheap.
Of course, there is more to owning a car than just the cost of the car and repairs. You also have insurance to deal with. In my case, insurance is very cheap. I have the minimum amount of insurance required by law, which is quite inexpensive overall. This saves me even more money month after month.
Compare this to a new car. A newer car would cost me in payments, higher insurance, and more. While I would probably spend less in repairs, I still save a lot of money over time by keeping the clunker.
Of course, this isn’t going to work for everyone. I even wish for a better car at times, but when I think how much freedom I have in my finances because of the clunker, I smile a bit to myself and continue driving. Think about it, and you might just free up a lot of cash each month.
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