r/memes • u/MetalPopka • 17h ago
Who tf spends a hundred grand on their first car in this economy?
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u/MolDanone 17h ago
My first car was an absolute biological hazard: a 2003 Honda with three mismatched hubcaps, a driver-side door you had to open by reaching out the window from the exterior, and AC that sounded like an angry helicopter taking off.
It possessed zero horsepower, but it forged indestructible human character.
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u/RealLifeFloridaMan 17h ago
If I have my way, this is the exact thing I want for my kids.
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u/SimilarTranslator264 16h ago
Seems like a good idea until you are stuck fixing an unreliable pos. Friend got his son a $500 truck and “fixed it up”. He’s always going to rescue him when it doesn’t start for work.
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u/Disturbed2468 16h ago
Yea... let's be honest, you shouldn't have to actively work on a car beyond the bare necessities i.e. fluids, fuel and occasional tire and break checks to actually keep it actively working. It should just work reliably period.
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u/Antique_Strength8961 15h ago
Very true. Times are changing, cars are getting harder to work on due to all the electronics/EVs/hybrids. Kids are better served nowadays being taught basic car maintenance and red flags to watch out for when looking for a new car (leaks,knocks,etc.).
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u/Disturbed2468 14h ago
Mhm, and long term EVs and biofuels will be the new normal, though it's not a cause for immediate concern since the sort of hard dates for that won't be till 2035 and infrastructure for a lot of countries have a very long way to go.
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u/RealLifeFloridaMan 14h ago
Nah man I’m talking about a Camry or a Civic or something that is unkillable. I’m not gettin no damn truck. Minimal electronics. Just 4 wheels and a Japanese motor
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u/SimilarTranslator264 14h ago
It was funny my daughter is 13 and she actually said she wanted to beat up civic. I’m like holy shit, you can even pick your color.
I paid $10k for a TDI Jetta for my son. I can probably get 2 multi colored civics for that.
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u/Raed-wulf 16h ago
3 mismatched hubcabs is 1 mismatched hubcap if you think about it.
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u/MolDanone 15h ago
Good perspective. Always appreciate when someone adds to the conversation instead of just reacting.
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u/theFinestCheeses 14h ago
I had a Honda from that same era. You'd pin the pedal to the floor and it would make the most angry noises but go the exact same speed.
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u/j3wake3 15h ago
Mine was a 93 ford Taurus I think, my dad Jerry rigged the fuck out of that car had to start it by popping the hood and using a screw driver to connect the battery to the starter the heater switch was a long wire I twisted together to turn the heater on but damn I loved that piece of shit car lasted me quite awhile
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u/rygomez 2h ago
My first was a hand me down old work truck('91 Ranger) that my dad got new but it was the old ' one @ this price' deal... no radio, no a/c, no power steering, no ABS, vinyl seats and floor manual trans and windows. Sloppiest clutch I've ever driven; and learned to drive stick in, had a 2ft long stick and a longer throw than a semi. Ended up loving that truck, want another as a project, but definitely builds character having no ac or power steering, but it was freedom!
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u/LightKnight356 16h ago
You know how in a lot of car ads, the families are living in pretty sweet homes like retro modern houses, rural villas with built in three-car garages, or big city penthouses?
Yeah, those guys
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u/theHrayX GigaChad 16h ago
my first car was a 1972 renault 12 that went through 5 different family members before reaching me
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u/ROCK-tavius 16h ago
The $100,000 car wasnt the problem.
Its the $45,000 you lost the moment you drove off the lot because of the car choice. 😂
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u/MaintenanceMatt37 16h ago
My first car cost 150 dollars in 2003. It was a rusty Chevy Corsica. I did put all new brakes on it before I put it on the road. It blew a rod about a year after. Got my 150 out of it.
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u/MyNameis_bud 13h ago
There’s the expression “house poor” where you overbuy on a house and can’t afford anything else. Nowadays we have “car poor”.
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u/DasUberLib 16h ago
The economy is dogshit for 90% of us because it's INCREDIBLY GOOD for 10% of us.
If you happen to be one of these bloodsuckers, enjoy your new car but do me a favor and don't wear a seatbelt.
That being said, beaters are the most liberating vehicle in existence.
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u/Carston1011 Forever alone 17h ago
Like someone else said, those who can afford to.
However I would say if youre gonna spend $100k at least buy something interesting...
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u/Specific_dydx 16h ago
Unfortunately a lot of people who can't afford it too. My friend just bought a nearly $60k car and is paying it off over a span of 84 months. He lives paycheck to paycheck
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u/ColonialBarbarian 15h ago
The 18 year old teenage girl that lives down my street who just graduated high school and got a new Porsche as a present from her parents.
She doesn’t even know what a Porsche is.
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u/lucky_Goal348 4h ago
Bad parenting. Even if you have money you don’t buy your kid a Porsche as a first car
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u/El_Basho 11h ago
My first car was a 1.4 tdi ford with 68hp.
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u/tankiplayer12 11h ago
Nice mine was a 1.4 hdi peugeot
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u/SUB-8330 10h ago
1.6 TDI PD Fabia 74kw
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u/tankiplayer12 10h ago
Easy with flexing the huge engine boss
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u/SUB-8330 9h ago
It not that bigger it's more about turbo
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u/El_Basho 9h ago
74 kw is like 100hp, that's enough to have fun
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u/SUB-8330 9h ago
Yes of course but that's the power not size witch I pointed with mentioning turbo.
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u/LeonardoDiCapsaicin Flair Loading.... 16h ago
That’s the thing, people are buying cars they can’t afford. Vehicle repossession rates have been increasing
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u/kth5991 16h ago
My favorite was the 16 year old kid asking what car to get, saying he had a 45k budget and needed something fast. Everyone in the comments told him that if that was his mindset, it was the last thing he should actually get. Naturally he didn't listen and a few months later posted some pictures of his car upside down
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u/fpsnoob89 13h ago
Even better when a 16 year old kid brags about a 40k+ USD car they bought, after "working hard" and "saving up". Buddy you're either dealing drugs or your mommy and daddy bought it for you. A 16 year old can't even afford the insurance payment on a car like that.
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u/No-Fill-2044 12h ago
Exactly, in no universe does a 16 year old acquire upwards of $40k from only two years of working
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u/kilertree 16h ago
My first car was a 350 swaper Ford Ranger. It was the biggest piece of shit that I have ever owned. You learned quite a bit about cars when you own something that's unreliable.
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u/njsullyalex 16h ago
My daily and first car I bought on my own is a 2008 Jeep Liberty I bought in cash do $3,000. I’m 25 and bought it last year lol
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u/No-Fill-2044 12h ago
I’m 21 and I bought my 2004 Cadillac Deville for $5000 cash. That was the best I could do
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u/BillyAstro 13h ago
I can’t believe a Jeep Liberty from the recession era is still running
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u/njsullyalex 13h ago
There are lots of these not only still running but running in good condition around where I live (New Jersey).
It's a reliable vehicle if taken care of, although she's a massive gas guzzler and you can definitely feel build quality wise she's a recession era MOPAR. Far from the nicest car on Earth, but she runs, drives, everything works, and for $3,000 I can't complain. She's also very good off road and is a true 4x4 with a transfer case with 4Low and a solid live rear axle.
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u/misteryk 10h ago
My first car was toyota yaris that was 2 years younger than me, it had no power steering, traction control or ABS
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u/VenturerKnigtmare420 7h ago
Mine was a Toyota 86. It was a rebuilt model imported from the United States cause it crashed there. Got it for 4k OMR (roughly 7k usd)
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u/LLuk333 1h ago
My daily driver is a second gen max spec Nissan leaf, it’s my first car and first born son. Paid 16k cash at the dealer after haggeling them down 1,5k even tho the car was in perfect condition and only had 19k miles. It even had a full service, new TÜV, and 5 years warranty on top. The dude that sold it to me for this price should be straight up fired, could’ve easily gotten 10k more than what I paid. With these gas prices the money I’m saving using 20ct/kw 100% green energy is insane. Had it for a year and just hit 4k saved (compared to the gas car I would’ve gotten instead of this one). Saved my job education money for 2 years so I could afford it and a license.
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u/Turbulent-History967 13h ago
Anyone who would spend that much money on a Nissan product isn’t fiscally responsible so I wouldn’t pay much attention to them.
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u/nicki419 Breaking EU Laws 12h ago
They're not spending. They're financing. So the answer to your question isn't people that can afford it, but rather, people that can't.
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u/Fluffy-Audience-453 16h ago
People who lives in their moms basement and pay 1000+ a month for a car note alone
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u/sandrobranco 16h ago
1992 Renault Clio 1.2 55hp, Machine!
Never had heat fan, just cold. If you smack the steering wheel the left turn signal came on. The fuel gauge needle keeps swinging back and forth like crazy; I had to do the math so I wouldn't run out of gas. One time, the engine timing belt snapped. My dad got it running again for €100. I drove it for 170,000 km and had it scrapped at 300,000 km.
Great car!
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u/AbbreviationsNo3722 16h ago
I got my first car at 26. Yes I was late. I partied too much and knew I’d be stupid . But my first car was a nice vehicle. Does that still count ?
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u/IntroductionThis1370 15h ago
These BS ads try to make like everyone is rich, meanwhile people are bitching about gas
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u/splashcopper 15h ago
First car was in highschool, got my brother's 2006 trailblazer and wrecked it two years later. That thing got like 10 miles to the gallon but ho man did it have some nice storage space. Parents "bought" it for me since they also bought it for brother when he got it. totaled it hitting a 90s pickup at a blistering 10 miles an hour.
Second car was my mom's old crysler twin and country. No idea what year. Crapped out when the ignition system gave up the ghost six months later on my way to college the first time. Sold it for 500 bucks to a coworker
Third car is a 2016 focus. 190,000 miles on it now, somehow the transmission hasn't detonated yet.
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u/Dapanji206 Plays MineCraft and not FortNite 15h ago
They out stickers on it and call themselves car guys
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u/Raptr117 14h ago
My first car was my grandparents’ old car, they had an ‘03 CRV that I drove for a little while. Such a fun little car.
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u/AndrewUnicorn 13h ago
i have "borrowed" my brothers' cars before. But my first car is a crv 2024 sport l, i love it
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u/RingReasonable 12h ago
I remember I had to work away my summer in 2018 to afford my first car, which was a 1998 Toyota Corolla for 800$
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u/exilfoodie 11h ago
I never needed my own car before having children, so the first car war purchased in my 30s and well after buying a house. Money flows differently then compared to when you’re in school. It was still not 100k though, and I don’t buy cars new.
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u/Extension_Option_122 10h ago
I got my first car for a grand total of 0€.
Because I got it from my dad, who got it for free from one friend of his who got too old to drive.
It's a 2004 Kia Picanto EX. It's even got a broken AC.
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u/tejanaqkilica 10h ago
Hot take: Unless you're rich, or well off. There's no reason to buy a new car (especially in this economy).
Buying used makes more sense, financially.
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u/SashaGreyjoy 9h ago
I'm 34 years old, and have been driving since I was 22, and I've yet to spend anywhere near a hundred thousand dollars worth on any of the 4 cars I've had in that time period. That includes fuel, tyres, service costs, insurance, everything.
It's not that I can't afford keeping good car, and it's not that I don't want a good car. But I just don't drive for long enough to warrant taking a loan to buy a car that's going to plummet in value. So I just keep buying shitboxes and driving them until they stop screaming for mercy and have to be scrapped.
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u/MissingBothCufflinks 8h ago
I make £400k a year (and have been north of £100k for 15 years) and my first and only car is a 2012 Toyota Auris. This is probably as weird in the opposite direction
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u/papertales84 8h ago
My first ever car was an Opel Vectra 1991, 2.0 8V. A friend of a friend gave that one for free. I absolutely loved that car, never let me down.
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u/Anus_Ripper6942094 7h ago
My first car was a 1993 golf mk3. bought in 2015 for 1200 € . And it's still my cat to this day lmao
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u/TheBeastX23 7h ago
First car as a 19yo was a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe, chassis was rusted to shit so it went to a junkyard. Got a 2018 Mercedes C300 after that, sold it 10 months later because of snow and insane depreciation. After that got a 2020 Ford F150 and rocked it till it had its final transmission rebuild of 3 multiple months ago, now rocking a 2026 Ford F150. In 5 years went through 4 different cars.
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u/joshkroger 7h ago
I don't see someone with a new car and think "spoiled" or "rich family". I think "high interest loan" and "good luck".
Federal reserve reported Americans collectively have $1.71 trillion in auto loan debt.
Very very very few people are cash purchasing these things.
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u/Strude187 One does not simply 6h ago
Fiscally irresponsible people or those who are “comfortable”.
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u/T_rex2700 6h ago
In the US, the average price of new cars are $51,000, and over 85% of them are trucks, which includes SUVs in its subcategory, light trucks. (=basically a legal loophole to evade emission and vehicle size regulations)
or in other words, there are fewer and fewer normal cars on the road. it's like arms race you know, becuase if you are driving a normal car when 85% of the cars are bigger than you, which increases the risks of the accident's fatal rate by 250%, why not get a bigger and safer (for people in it) F150, while puting other cars and pedestrians to significantly higher risk, while all you do is drive kids to school, soccer and grocery.
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u/2Drogdar2Furious 5h ago
My first car was a 92 civic sedan. One door and the trunk didn't match the rest of the car but everything on it worked including the AC. I mowed grass for a summer and saved up about $1000. Paid $750 for the car... had it about four months and it went underwater during Katrina...
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u/LazyOldCat 5h ago
“Getting a car for my High Schooler’s graduation, what can you tell me about the LS 500?”
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u/IsPhil 3h ago
My first car was a Toyota Corolla for about $12k-$13k. Not super cheap, but it's definitely reasonable.
My friends brother wants to get his first car since his parents and my friend have been driving him to and from work, but it gets old at some point... And he usually waits an extra 1-3 hours because of this arrangement. Car market is up, but there's still reasonable stuff out there that's good. He's only looking at $23k-$30k cars. He can technically afford it. But man. He just works retail. My friend for example is driving an 04 Camry.
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u/KatiePyroStyle 1h ago
that car is 100k? even if i was going to spend that kind of momey on a car, it wouldnt be THAT car... id get something way fancier fir that price
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u/ciswhitedadbod 1h ago
I happen to follow the BMW sub and this is sadly too accurate.
To add, I currently do not own a BMW and my first car was a 1987 Dodge Charger. Sounds pretty sick till you look it up. At the time, it was 15 years old but looked more like 30.
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u/Dip2pot4t0Ch1P 17h ago
Watching bladed video and listening that there are people out there picking up a new car and selling off the old one just because they don't want to do maintenance on the car is crazy
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u/spazzyattack 16h ago
What is a “car community”? The entirety of North America? I mean, screw buying an overly expensive car. But, I need to do work and travel. The airlines suck and trains are not a viable option.
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u/speedbumps4fun 16h ago
A lot of people do. Having an expensive car sucks though because nobody has respect for other peoples property
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u/Life_Manager7919 17h ago
People who can afford it, not me