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Comment by NDizzle | Hacker News Reader

Why more people don't keep their cars long term has always been a mystery to me. Sure, I had plenty of them in my 20s when I was young without a bunch (3) of responsibilities roaming the earth. But currently, counting my oldest kid's (19) car, we have 4. I don't worry about any of them. 2008 Land Cruiser and RAV4, 175k on one, 185k on the other. Both bought used. 2013 Sienna, bought new (with a huge discount) - 161k. 2022 RAV4 Prime, 55k, bought new. Zero car payments, zero upcoming 20k battery replacements in my future. I'll sell the Prime in probably 2-3 years for $30k (thanks, Toyota resale value) and get another reliable wife-mobile.

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As someone who has never bought a new car, I don't understand why people buy new cars.

If you want a new car, many 3-year-old lease returns are so clean they often provide an indistinguishable experience.

and EVs have even bigger discounts.

I wonder where you live though (not exactly, just: how is the climate, how are the winters?, what do you do that they are not generally rusting through after 10y?)

-- signed, some continental European without a garage

Next to a house, a car is one of the biggest status symbols you can grab. Those people aren't buying Ford F350's because they need significant pickup and towing ability. It's the last bit of personal expression they have in life.

Now that said: I own a 2008 car with 180k miles, bought used over a decase ago. and I'm really hoping I can ride it out another 2 years. I wanted to go FEV a while back, but then the market got rough.

>It's the last bit of personal expression they have in life.

Little of column A, little of column "jerks on the internet have these people convinced that using a vehicle anywhere near it's rated capacities let alone beyond them is guaranteed to end in a fiery crash" so they say "oh we might pop out a 2nd kid, better go with the CRV over the HRV" as if the latter can't do both fine.

HN is very much complicit in this pushing of social norms in a direction where people feel like they're slumming it or behaving irresponsibly putting two adults and 3-kids in a 5-seater or towing something recreational with a half ton.

I'll admit pickup trucks are a bit of anlow hanging fruit, but the behavior isn't unique to that kind of car. Sports car to live out childhood dreams, luxury brand to keep up with the Jones', simply seeing a new car and falling for the "0% APR" and all those other "deals".its all the same mentality being exploited.

I don't really get the Overcompensation thing. Engineers are usually conservative when giving those ratings. I wouldn't necessarily push 4k lbs on a 3k rating load, but I wouldn't be surprised if true max load was in the range of 4.5k lbs.

> It's the last bit of personal expression they have in life.

No it isn't, they chose to make their consumer choices into an identity that needs "expressing." It's just a car. I don't begrudge their choice to want the car they want, I dislike the implication that they're somehow forced into buying it.

I should preface that with "it feels like" the last bit of expression. A house is out of reach, community is siloing off, hobbies become more solitary.

"Its just a car" to them in the same way "it's just a streamer" to someone developing a parasocial relationship. If only it was that easy to snap them out of it.

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