Originally Posted by
mrodgers
Even with rural, a brand new car doesn't make sense. Estimate $21k for a new car, $18k for a 2 year old car, and $11 on a 5 year old with equivalent say, 12k per year kind of mileage on them. My wife, and occasionally me, puts 25,000 miles on her car per year. I cut it off at 200,000 because that is the time when it seems I am underneath the car working on it more than driving it. That gives me figures for per year of $2625 for 8 years on the new car, $2571/year for 7 years on the 2 year old, and $1833/year for about 5.5 years on the 5 year old car. That doesn't include repairs because all cars would be driven through the same later mileage up to 200k. Still cheaper to buy the older used car.
I paid $0.75 a ride on the subway in Seoul. That got me anywhere in the whole city. When I lived in a rural town in Korea I paid the same for bus fair. It took a little longer than the subway and wasnt as comfortable but it worked just fine. I doubt I spent more than a few hundred dollars a year on transportation costs let alone the several hundred dollars a month it costs for basic transportation in the US.
Sure, buying a used car is significantly less expensive to own and operate than a new car. However, these prices are insane for what should be a fundamental human right, the freedom of movement. You could say that cars are not part of the freedom of movement, people can walk and ride their bikes etc... but only at the risk of being murdered by drivers with attention problems. Try walking across your town sometime end to end. My town doesnt even have sidewalks in most places. This limits movement except to those who own cars or are brave.
I dont think that cars are a right, at all. However, in a country where everything is predicated on the assumption of automobility, the right to have affordable cars available for sale becomes more legitimate.