and until I bought our Honda Odyssey for ~7k a few years ago, the most I'd spent on a vehicle was 2500$.

Maybe the cultural difference is an aversion to debt. My parents never got a loan to buy a vehicle, and I haven't either.

If you were buying today would that be possible? I'm kind of looking for a used car and getting something under 15K seems very hard.

Of course new under 35K seems hard too.

> Of course new under 35K seems hard too.

You can buy a new base model budget sedan (think Kia Rio, Nissan Versa, etc.) for $20k, or slightly under if you can get a good deal. I myself bought a decent hybrid hatchback for under $30k earlier this year without shopping around too much. It gets over 50mph combined and is quiet and comfortable to drive.

Looks like I would have some options, yeah: https://omaha.craigslist.org/search/cta?auto_make_model=hond...

Those cars have 80,000 miles on them and they're 10 years old (or more). I'm sure a Honda is good for 100 - 150 miles. But C'mon- if you pay 8K for a Honda with 80,000 miles in 2 years you're going to be paying 2 or 3 grand every 6 mos. to keep it running. And that's assuming the original owner actually took care of them.

I bought our 2008 Odyssey 3.5 years ago at ~163,000 miles, and it's probably going to roll over 200,000 sometime this year. I'm hoping to get it most of the way to 300,000. Maintenance has been well under 1000$/year so far.

I had a similar experience with the 2001 Honda Accord that I drove for ~7 years before we got the Odyssey.

I bought a 2009 Focus with over 80k on the clock almost 4 years ago. I've done another 80k and spent nothing over and above regular maintenance and tyres. Off hand, I'd guess 2k max?

I would not have expected to be so fortunate with a Ford but with a Honda I would be, not least because Hondas in the UK are synonymous with senior, careful drivers who look after their cars. As a consequence, it's a much sought after brand in the pre-owned market.

You can’t take money with you when you die, so why not spend it on fun things?

Obviously you need to be able to “afford it”, but what that means depends a lot on subjective opinion and risk appetite.

For me, I have bought a handful of new and used vehicles in the last several years. Probably something like $300k total in 5 years? They are fun.

Bragging about spending less is no different than bragging about spending more.

When I die I want to leave my kids an advantageous amount of money.

Even if I didn't, vehicles are way down the list of sources of fun I would spend money on, especially if we're talking double-digit percentages of my budget.

Presumably these are a part of the cultural difference between me and people who spend so much on vehicles.

How much "fun" do you think the subjects of the article are getting from their vehicles?

The main difference, I guess, is that you can afford a better car but don't feel the need to display this? Your $8k vehicle does the job you need it to do and spending any more would be a waste of cash.

Someone struggling to afford a fancy car is prioritizing their perceived status over financial prudence.