The last time around I was shopping for a car, I was looking to do it proper. The actual amounts don’t matter, just the relative value, so I’ll keep it in my currency. I had bought two ancient Volvos and lived well (!) with them for 10000 and 8000 NOK respectively. Then I intended to grow up, bought a Citroën for 26000 that was a total failure, and I sold it again two weeks later for 42000. Since our first born was about to pop out, I reflexively bought a Volvo 240 again for 19000 or so which wasn’t a hit. Switched for a 15000 NOK Nissan Primera two years later. When that car failed tech inspection spectacularly (driving ban), it was time to invest – or so I thought.
We figured we can spend a nice and even 100000 NOK on a car. But what I was looking at…boy. Cars that were burning so much oil, their main use was for smoke screens. Unrepaired water leaks around windows. Massive rust patches that had been untreated for too long – mostly under the cars. Desperate owners with car loans worth 300k on an 80k car. All this crap just looked like the 20k cars I was used to, just that it was made a little later in the 2000’s. That was a huge revelation for me!
So I took a step back and figured I just choose exactly what fits us as a family in the moment, being less fixated on the price segment. Right after my wife rejected that choice of a Volvo 264 TE seven seater limousine, I started haggling for a 79k Honda that was mine for 55k+ new tires two months later.