Hey, I know that you're into cars and I'm a college student (music student, specifically) who really needs to get a car at some point in the next couple years, do you have any recommendations?
Very exciting ask, ok so-
I have no car payment, its 100% mine, my car never breaks down, I don't need to do emissions testing or inspections, and my insurance is 77$ a month.
If you want this, you will need to get an old car. It seems counterintuitive but, let me explain.
Old car benefits at the DMV
If you're in the US, historic tags are awesome. You're exempt from emissions testing and sometimes inspections too. This is just because if we held old vehicles to modern safety standards we'd be taking millions of perfectly functional cars that people need off the road. (let alone classic/antique cars that people preserve out of passion). You'll also likely get cheaper insurance.
What decade is the best for functionality and availability? (It's the 1990s)
I drive a 90s car. I don't think I'll ever not drive a 90s car. Reason being;
That was objectively when build-quality peaked in the automotive industry.
These cars are MUCH cheaper to repair than newer vehicles that are needlessly complex
They are dirt cheap. I bought mine for 1,000$ in cash
They aren't difficult to find at all, old civics and camrys are practically immortal with proper preventative maintenence. (Oil changes, making sure fluids are good, changing brake pads, etc)
Durability pros and cons of pre-computer cars
Yes, technology has advanced, safety features have improved. Old cars are more unsafe in an accident. But new cars are just plain old less durable, more expensive, and literally designed to fail after warranty. Including in dangerous catastrophic failure. They are made to be disposable so everyone has to buy a new car after 5-10 years, instead of keeping the same one for decades like people used to. These new vehicles have transmissions that are impossible to repair, batteries that require taking half the car apart to replace, engines that physically cannot be rebuilt, computer systems that get knecapped by their own updates, etc.
A big reason this happened after the 90s was because the late 90s/00s was when computer simulated stress-testing was developed. So auto manufacturers could start cutting corners and making high-stress parts from weaker, cheaper, worse materials. So long as it fails outside of warranty, the company takes no financial penalties. Where as in decades past, they just made shit that wouldn't break instead of specifically engineering it to break at a time when it wouldn't cost the manufacturers money.
But what about the repairs?
But then, you're probably thinking of how cars that are up to 35 years old are probably in pretty bad shape. And you're right.
If you want all the goodness of an old car, you WILL need to learn about how your car works.
You don't necessarily need to work on it yourself, but you will need to learn about its problems and what they mean. You will need to be aware of its problems, which it WILL have.
You should probably expect to pay about double the price you paid for the vehicle in initial repairs. My biggest recommendation is to never buy a car with a bad engine, suspension, or transmission. And never buy a car with damage to its frame, structural rust is a lost cause if you want to keep this thing long-term.
Get preemptive repairs, restore the thing over the course of years, as you can afford them. I get one per six months usually. It's not new issues showing up, it's all issues I've known about it since purchasing.
Specific model recommendations (90s and early 00s models specifically)
This isn't for everyone, I'm aware of that. It *is* easier to get and keep a new car, but it will break. They are made to break. You can't avoid it when the machine was made under the age of planned obsolescence.
The truth is, you'll always have a shitty car. You just get to choose the reason why it's shitty;
it's 30+ years old and well-used.
Or it was built with the intention to fail and its primary purpose was to generate profit.
Whichever you choose is your prerogative. But I guarantee you the first option can be extremely rewarding. There's something beautiful in keeping the past alive in the form of preserving its technology. I don't intend to get a new car unless I literally need to. I will keep my beautiful '94 crustang as long as it lives.
