I've never been able to afford a new car.
Of course, that didn't stop me from actually buying four of them over a lifetime.
The first two new cars we bought were repo'd in the Great BK 11 of 1991 (right after the Great Soft Economy of 1990).
The other two we actually managed to keep. One (a T&C van) was traded for a used version a few years in, and that used van (which we should have kept) was traded for a new Durango. We actually paid off the Durango, and still have it, nine years later.
We have sworn to each other that we will never buy another new car. More exactly, we have elected to never have another car payment. If I can pay cash for something, then I might consider "new," but not if there's a car payment.
I drilled that into the kids, and each of my kids have nonetheless bought one new car. Oldest daughter: bought, and paid off quickly, a new Saturn, back when those were still being made. Son: bought a new Subaru WRX, paid it off in about six months. Youngest daughter: bought a Honda Accord. She's currently coming to the realization that a "good job" with a good wage is not a long-term promise, while a purchase contract on a new car, on the other hand, IS a long-term promise. The job fell through when the company closed its local branch, and the economy where she is sucks more than most other places. She'll wind up giving the car back. And we'll wind up buying her a plane ticket.
Car payments are evil. Save up. Pay cash.
