“just buy a used car” they said.

so here’s what a used car looks like in 2026:
2015 Honda Civic — $14,000
2016 Toyota Camry — $16,000
2017 Ford F-150 — $28,000
these are used cars.
with 100k+ miles.
that need work.
a new car in 2010 cost $28,000.
the advice didn’t change.
the market did.
and now people are signing 7 year loans on used cars they didn’t want just to get to work.
“just buy used” was solid advice.
it died somewhere around 2021 and nobody updated the script.