Your idea of a low/mid/high priced car?

[speeder]

Then get a really cheap 996 that already has the scratches and dings installed.

[gatotom]

In 1968 bought my first car, a chevy 1959 for 125.00. Drove it a yr while in college, it got hit in a parking lot, guy gave me 400.00 to fix it and at the end of the school yr traded it for a nice stereo set. I didn't fix it, that was a lot of beer money considering a glass of beer then was 5 cents.

Most expensive car was the 2013 Audi new, 39K. Now have 50k miles on it.


Myself, I have bought 2 new vehicles, my wife, I bought 4 new ones.


Damn, now I am getting depressed thinking how much money I have spent on transportation.

[Tervuren]

I know for me personally, there is a threshold where I would be less happy to own a car over a certain value, and it is likely dependent on my day to day unavoidable spending vs income vs long term savings.

I spent more than I would have liked when I got my 2009 Jaguar XK in October 2015. However, it DID take significant stress out from juggling issues with the 944 and trying to commute day to day

It also was far more comfortable in traffic, and the car was far more visible. People see and respect it instead of getting the motorcycle treatment in my 944. (We'll just change lanes without a blinker and run you off the road, seemingly every day.)

Now that the Jaguar has depreciated into the teens, I am much happier with it, and truly enjoy it. Before, it felt like a rental car, and not really mine. This rental feeling persisted for about two years despite being paid for up front. It did not seem like my car, and I did not feel like I owned it.

I do not spend more than half of what I have easily liquid and available.

If something catastrophic were to happen I have the peace of mind that I could go out and get a replacement immediately.

My first recommendation, make sure the seats and ergonomics fit you. This can make or break a happy long term experience, especially as a daily driver. You won't be able to figure this out online, a lot of people are just built different.

[Alan A]

Not sure where some of these numbers come from.
Price a new Ford.
That’s far from a nice car, but you’d be lucky to get out for less than 40k. You’ll pass out at the cost of a loaded truck.

[jyl]

For me:
Low = <$25,000
Mid = $25,000-$35,000
High = >$35,000

I have only bought two new cars. A 1986 Merkur XR4Ti (fun to drive, a lemon, donated to charity as soon as loan was paid off), and a 2006 Toyota Prius (amazing car, nearly 200K miles, utterly reliable, still gets 40 mpg in city and I can get 50 mpg highway if I try).

Every other car has been bought used.

We will be in the market for "new" cars next year. The wife wants another Prius, maybe a used Prius-V. I continue to stalk this little old lady with a perfect low-miles 1986 BMW 535i stick who just won't give up her license :-( I am also thinking of getting a used Nissan Leaf or BMW i3 for my wife to save the planet, but she thinks I should be the one to save the planet. I do not intend to pay over $15,000 per car. Used Leafs are <$7,000 and the BMW might be $5,000!

Funny thing about living in Portland, cars just don't matter so much. Most city streets are 20 or 30 mph speed limit, every turn is a boring urban 90 degree corner, typical car trip is 10 minutes, and there are black-garbed millenials stepping blindly into unlit streets everywhere so driving is pretty darn stressful. Plus the damn bicyclists - oh wait I'm one of those.