[CiPHPerCoder]

1. The two-word phrase sensible car was not defined by the comment I replied to; it was left up to interpretation.

2. Even if I take your assumption as the other poster's definition of sensible and remove any car payment, gas + insurance + maintenance yields a 6 year cost above $12k. My point stands.

[the_gastropod]

> gas + insurance + maintenance yields a 6 year cost above $12k

This will depend on the individual circumstances. Liability insurance is significantly cheaper than full coverage. Average annual liability insurance is ~$552/year [1]. Driving the ridiculous 12k miles per year that average americans drive, a Prius would burn roughly 226 gallons of gas. At today's price of gas ($2.94), that's $664/yr. At 6 years insurance and gas will run you $7,296. I'm very skeptical of depreciation + maintenance blowing $4,704 over 6 years on a Prius...

[1] https://www.carinsurance.com/average-rates-by-age.aspx

[CiPHPerCoder]

Hahaha, $552/year for car insurance in Florida?

The high cost of car insurance, coupled with the low wages in this state, are a significant factor that kept a lot of my peers in poverty well out of high school. The usual story goes like this:

  - Reliant on a hand-me-down car to get to work.
  - Work barely pays for rent, car insurance, gas, and food.
  - Car needs maintenance but no money for that.

The end result is predictable: A lot of Floridians work for just enough money to be able to get to work, and as soon as this equilibrium is shattered, our lives fall apart.

Charitably, I think the lowest I've seen anyone's insurance payment in this state is $89/month, because they were over the age of 25 and their car fit the requirements for lower insurance rates nicely. They still had a car payment ($400/mo. IIRC) though.

[the_gastropod]

> the lowest I've seen anyone's insurance payment in this state is $89/month [...] They still had a car payment ($400/mo. IIRC) though.

Again: liability insurance is a different thing. When you don't own your car (aka when you take a car loan), you are required to have insurance that can cover the cost of the car. When you own your car, you only need to pay for liability insurance, which is much cheaper.

Your story is all too common in the U.S. It's expensive being poor here. The frugal solution is to have money to buy a car outright. It's tough getting out from under that dilemma.