To each his own.
 

All the talk about cars has brought back some great memories. I have had everything from a Renault to an MGTF, Corvette to an Odyssey. I have to say the Odyssey has been my favorite for the last 20 years. I am on my third one and since we do a lot of driving to visit family in 3 different states, it is the best. Plenty of power and cruises at 80 like a dream(Texas). Handy for hauling and best service of any vehicle I have owned. Never uses a drop of oil between oil changes and my dealer changes oil for free. He has lost a lot of money on me since I keep my cars for at least 8 years.

Anything with a title depreciates. I cannot speak for others but we purchase what we like and suits our needs. We do a bit of research about reliability, fuel economy, etc... We are spoiled and like bells and whistles. When my bride owned her business there were certain autos that wouldn't fit the bill. When you operate a cleaning service you can't show up in a Mercedes or a Caddy. I know we had customers quit when they saw our boat. "Oh my we are paying you too much"... My dear ole pappy said he never saw a brinks truck in the funeral procession. Retired my best half can drive what she wants...I encourage others to do the same. My buddy Joe has a vette. I don't want to even consider climbing down in and out of one. But he loves it more power to him. We are spending the kids inheritance the way we see fit. As soon as we sell the boat and no longer need my truck I'm going for a Dodge Demon!

My daughter bought the X7 BMW. What a great vehicle. So much fun to drive. Rides like a dream. Most comfortable seats ever. Liked it so much I just bought a 550i BMW. Best driving car ever.

Subaru is the best! woop de doo !

We bought a RAV4 5 years ago expecting our 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan to die. The left siding door wouldn't open, heated seats didn't heat, windshield washer wouldn't wash. Driver's seat ripped and patched with Duct tape. But the damn thing woudn't quit. Sold it at 240,000 miles for $1700 to CarMax before bringing our RAV4 and 1995 Miata here on the autotrain.

First car was a Red 1965 MGB. Fun to drive and all but a maintenance nightmare. Had to diddle with the distributor and balance the carburators constantly. Sold it at 25,000 miles to a red bearded hippie and the clutch was ready to go. He complained about it and I told him it's a sports car, fool. That's how these clutches are. Spun it out 3 times.

My 1995 Miata is a much better car, though it's beginnng to rust out.

Love the RAV4 hybrid. Continuously variable transmission is cool, and it gets 34 mpg. Stomp on the accelerator and the electric motors kick in with the gas engine and it really takes off.

Never will understand why US car makers can't make reliable cars. My Sienna was built in Tennessee.

Cars are like music, every one has different tastes. Choose what you can afford, what you like; most depreciate, and drive safely 😀

You talk in circles or you just plain don't know what you are talking about.

Very true. Especially Honda

I just don't know who has the time or patience to sit in a car dealer's waiting room for endless repairs. Any car I buy has to score high with Consumer Reports, J.D. Powers, Edmunds, etc. Many German cars have slipped badly for reliability.

This approach has paid off large. I change oil every 10,000 miles and have had to do little else with my cars.

I would add Subaru.

What is the point? As far as SUVs and high depreciation. Very simple buy it used and let the first owner pay the depreciation.

We drive far less than we used to. As happened in the many rises in gasoline prices over the years, I expect prices on gas guzzlers have dropped quite a bit and you can get a great deal on a used one.

Consumer Reports. Many years ago, I bought a Renault Alliance. It won car of the year in Consumers reports. The next year they caned it. Aside, the issue with the car was just the engine and the transmission. Fact, but teasing a bit. I bought mine with a bigger more reliable engine and a standard transmission. For me the car was great. It would deliver 40 mpg on the highway at 70 mph. I even towed a boat with mine. Chrysler took over Renault. I knew I was in trouble when all the repair guys wanted to look at my car. Perhaps, the only one they had ever seen that went over 100,000 miles.

Towing a heavy boat with a small car with a standard shift and front wheel drive going up a boat ramp. I've not driven a standard shift in years. I doubt I could do it today.

Never owned a foreign name brand car ALWAYS BUY AMERICAN

Depreciation
 

Most of you will probably not buy another car unless you're the type that likes to visit the grandchild once a month and drive a few thousand miles. Pretty much all cars depreciate 30 to 50% within 3 to 5 years. Not only that but you're paying about $3,000 I bet in state sales tax and probably $500 to $900 in a fake dealer fee so automatically you gave up $4,000 the minute you walked off the floor with the car. Yes some cars depreciate maybe 10% more than other cars but pretty much that's it, if financial matters do you more than whether you enjoy the car then you should take an Uber for the amount of Miles most people drive around here.

If you're a smart cookie, then you look around and buy a 2-3 year old car and save about 10 to 20 thousand dollars off the original list.
My last car I bought was 3 years old and yes $15,000 compared to the $30,000 list price with only 15,000 miles. Since my wife puts on maybe 4,000 miles a year this car will probably last her until the funeral or the state takes away her license.

My car I bought a Big 5 years ago the same way and it has a grand total of 48,000 Miles . I don't smoke but if it had ashtrays, I would not trade it in as well I've done to it is change your batteries and buy tires. It has depreciated a random amount of $1,200 per year. It saves me at least $3,000 in interest payments and alone. Yes I am matching to trade it in as there are some cars that have a few more safety features but I'm not doing as much driving as I used to either and it has airbags and abs and I have not won the lottery to buy a new car for $40 or $50,000 like some of you Richer seniors

MGB-I had a well used Triumph GT6. Basically a TR6 engine rammed into a Spitfire.
The whole front of the car would lift up making it easy to service. A needed feature as I don't think I ever drove more than 300 miles without a repair.

Up north, in the snow. I knocked the muffler off so many times that I left it off.