If everyone had your wisdom, the world would probably be in a better place. A home is an investment. A car is not.
When I see that a good number of people have stopped buying Ford's high price vehicles, I don't feel bad for Ford at all. I think the automobile market is a bit out of whack, & I would like to see that trend reverse some (or at least level off).
"Average Age of Vehicles in the US Increases to 12.2 years, according to S&P Global Mobility. The average age of light vehicles in the US reached an all-time high in 2022 as the vehicle fleet climbed to 283M passenger cars and light trucks." May 23, 2022
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/average-ag...140500200.html
If you think about it, we (all Mirage/G4 owners) are driving cars that are younger than the national average. Canadian vehicles, however, may be a bit younger. I haven't seen current data, but I also haven't looked that hard.
If I had to replace both of my vehicles today, a used (under 60,000 miles) Mazda CX-30 or CX-5 (AWD/non-turbo) would be on my short shopping list. 2,662 appear (didn't sort out the turbo ones, however) within a 250 mile radius, & they start around $16,000 (depending on the year & mileage). I may be throwing in the manual towel next time I buy a vehicle, but I would lean toward a proven automatic transmission. I would also make an effort to find a private party vehicle where I can meet the owners first. As good as my new Mirage deal was, a private party purchase can be just as good or better. There are others who also take good care of their vehicles. It doesn't take long to figure that out either.
I could afford a vehicle payment, but I wouldn't enjoy throwing that much money at a new vehicle these days. I have too many other interests. I'd rather buy a new chainsaw, and they are a lot less $$$$.
I see myself going back to one vehicle, but I hope I don't have to go down that road for another 10 years or so. In the meantime, it's nice having two nice paid off vehicles.
Last thought (sorry I'm bored today/snow storm) - Sometimes you buy something & a year later you wish you had waited to buy something else instead. 5+ years later I have never had that feeling with my Mirage. If Honda had sold the Fit for $12,000 brand new the next year, I may have felt that way. Nothing has come along that I would feel better about today.
If anything, I really don't like anything new today. That includes the Mitsubishi dropping the manual option here this year. I'm not overly concerned, however. Now that I know how dependable they are, & I wouldn't fret over buying a used Mirage today.