CarSonics

As a teen, I always wondered what sort of car I would wind up with. I definitely did not predict that I would be driving around an early 90s Honda with over two hundred thousand miles on it. There is no other way to look at it. I drive a beater.

Yes, I certainly have a beater. It is fairly reliable, working most of the time, but issues to crop up from time to time. I blow coolant hoses left and right, requiring seemingly simple yet annoying repairs to get working again. As I drive, the whole car shakes, rattles, and leaks liquid randomly.

If this is the case, why I am so glad to own this car? The reason can be summed up in a word: cheap. This car gets me around everywhere I need for next to nothing. It’s even survived a few long road trips (though those were slightly scary experiences at times). To sum up, it works.

Yes, my car does everything it needs, at a very low cost to me. I paid $1500 in cash for the car back when I was 16, and have been driving it for 6 years now. Even factoring in the repairs I’ve had to do, its still amazingly cheap.

That’s not the whole picture, of course. I have to pay insurance, which in my case is extremely cheap. I have the minimum amount of insurance required by law, which is quite inexpensive overall. This saves me even more money month after month.

Compare this to a new car. A newer car would cost me in payments, higher insurance, and more. While I would probably spend less in repairs, I still save a lot of money over time by keeping the clunker.

Of course, this isn’t going to work for everyone. I even wish for a better car at times, but when I think how much freedom I have in my finances because of the clunker, I smile a bit to myself and continue driving. Think about it, and you might just free up a lot of cash each month.