alt Hacker NewsI don’t think you need to know a lot about cars to get good value out of them. I had an old ford ranger and all I did was get new tires when they tread wore off, get new brake pads when they started squeaking, and get the oil changed when the little sticker said to. I put 350k miles on that truck.
And if you are already living check to check, buying an old beater they you don’t know the condition of is more risky and harder to come up with the cash as things go wrong like the engine and the transmission.
It’s completely different than buying a slightly used car and keeping it forever where you know the wear and tear patterns on it and you know how you treat it.