Growing up, I always heard my parents and their friends complain that nothing was made the way they used to be when they were young. I always doubted the truth of that, but never had a way to prove it; until I thought of something. Back in the day, if you had a car that you could run for 100,000 miles, that was considered a supreme achievement. By the time the car did a that kind of mileage, it would be practically scrap metal. Going along in this day and age with that in mind as a standard for car reliability though would be an expensive and unfortunate mistake. A modern car today can easily go twice as long with regular maintenance, and could do even better than that. People using the old frame of reference quickly give up a 100,000 mile car at a low price and trade it in for new car. And that puts you, someone in the market for a great bargain in a used car, in a great place to be in. You know something the sellers don't. You could expect great value when you go to buy a used car - $5000, and if you aren't a cross-country travelling salesman or anything, you could probably keep it forever.
Certainly, a pre-owned car is nowhere near as exciting to own - you can't park it in the driveway and have your neighbors look approvingly over, and you can't go out for a celebratory drive immersed in that new car smell. What you will get in return for giving that up for the first three months the car stays new though can be pretty great too. For little more than the down payment you would put down on a new car, about $5000, a good find would last you far longer than many human organs last. If buying a used car won't help you keep up with the Joneses, it'll certainly help you keep down with Adamses - proving oneself frugal certainly has its cachet today in any social circle.
Let's add up what you save when you choose to buy a used car instead of a new one. In the US, your average midsize sedan sells for about $30,000 new, and it is financed for about five years at about $400 monthly. If you actually spent only $5000 on a car and socked away that $400 every month for those five years, you would have about $25,000 at the end, with interest. In addition to that, you would save about $2500 on sales tax (as opposed to $500 when you buy a used car), you save about $300 on registration, you would save about $500 a year on insurance, and what it does for your peace of mind not trying to protect the finish every time you park it on the street is something you can't put a price on.
When you make your decision and go out to buy that $5000 car, make sure first that you know a good mechanic who can help you maintain a used car for a good long while. Without a trusty mechanic at your side, this might be a troublesome experience. Since you don't have the manufacturer's warranty when you buy a used car, you want to go to an inexpensive mechanic, not the dealership workshop; and you would do well to know something about car repair yourself. And once you've found the perfect well-maintained used car, you need to make sure you have the time and patience to maintain it. When you actually go out shopping, try to look beyond the Accords and the Camrys. Think about finding a Mazda 626 from 10 to 12 years ago, a Mazda Miata that is reliable, and easy to maintain, or a 10-year-old Taurus or Impala.. And while you're out there, make sure that you don't buy a car like the Dodge Intrepid that even the used car dealers are wary of.
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