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Thread: The Small Car Stereotype: You're poor, have bad credit, or in a bad place

  1. #31
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RhodySpaceStar View Post
    but when I see a family member who has almost $100k of vehicle loans parked in their driveway
    I see retards who probably drive halfway across town to save 10 cents on a gallon of gasoline, but think nothing of the $25,000 in depreciation they incurred in one year alone.


    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


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  3. #32
    Senior Member Dirk Diggler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by foama View Post
    In this part of the world, hardly nobody cares what car you have!
    To have an economical car that doesn't guzzle our planets recources away and thus puts out very little CO2, is regarded as normal behavior. Nobody wants to be considered as so selfish as to run a CO2 polluting gas guzzler, that ruins your reputation! With few exceptions, only poor people in this country have big, ugly overdimensioned gas guzzling monsters sitting outside. Nobody wants to be seen with such crude technological dinosaurs, hence its only the poor buying them because they're so cheap to get. Credit rating? Never heared of that expression in these parts. People here pay cash only! If they don't have the money, they simply will not buy anything. I don't have any credit rating at all, just like my neighbours, my friends or anyone else I know.
    Living within one's means is a very German sensibility it seems. Its probably why Germany is the economic powerhouse it is today.

  4. #33
    Senior Member Mitsuko's Avatar
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    That is total BS Sorry. I am ok financially, not rich but do ok. I have good credit. I got a Mirage, first a G4 now totaled and my new Hatchback because I live in the city, drive infrequently and love to get in spaces no one else can in parking lots.

  5. #34
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    I tend to think about everything logically (at least to me). This car is reliable, and functions well for cheap. That is what is important to me in almost all decisions. I try to get all my spending down to get the best deal.

    I have 2 lines of sprint unlimited for $7 a month (just the tax). I pay $39.99 a month for the slowest internet possible (300Mbps in my area). I pay $60 a month for fairly basic car insurance (most insurance is a huge scam but I will save that for another rant thread). I don't buy cable TV or pay for any subscriptions. I go to Walmart cuz it is the cheapest and I stay way away from the organic havens of Whole Foods and other 'smart' people traps. Some day I want to get a mobile home on my own little piece of land to stop paying all this rent money that is going out the window...

    Sure I could afford to get a Benz. A fancy house. I could get gigabit internet, two unlimited lines on Verizon, the fancy cable package and go to Whole foods. None of these things would make me any happier or change my lifestyle and by no means am I a minimalist. I go to tons of places, do tons of things, cook some amazing food, and watch my share of TV. I just do it without wasting money. All of these things have made me not care what people think about me. The typical way of thinking is what keeps people working till they are 70.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2019 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 38.8 mpg (US) ... 16.5 km/L ... 6.1 L/100 km ... 46.5 mpg (Imp)


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  7. #35
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mirageman38 View Post
    I tend to think about everything logically (at least to me). This car is reliable, and functions well for cheap. That is what is important to me in almost all decisions. I try to get all my spending down to get the best deal.
    This. It's not what you have. It's what you have that you can truly enjoy without losing sleep at night or wonder who you're going to pay for it.

    My Mirages are one of my pride and joys as for non-sentient items. H#ll, I have about $14k in two cars that will last, in all likelihood, until I'm dead. My house is a little big for just me at about 2800 sq. ft but when I bought it was because of the area and the features of the place, not the size. I don't get two people living in a 5000 sq. ft house unless the aim is to avoid each other.

    I have a sailboat, 46 ft, and a single engine aircraft and a part ownership of a small twin engine jet. It's because I don't own a collection of Rolexes, or drive a Range Rover, or belong to the country club that I can afford and really enjoy these things.

    I have experienced two near death scares this year alone. Those showed me what's really important about living and not having to worry 24/7 about paying for things because you've foolishly, and intentionally, overextended yourself. If I died tomorrow everything in my life will be converted to cash and passed on to my daughter.

    It's been said the smartest guy in the room dies owing millions and led an extra large life but I can't do that. I like to sleep at night and enjoy myself during the day.
    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


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  9. #36
    Senior Member MacClyver's Avatar
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    Good blog post, Subcompact Culture!

    Quote Originally Posted by foama
    People here pay cash only! If they don't have the money, they simply will not buy anything.
    That should be such common sense, and is a base truth to me. Guess that's my 3/8th of german ancestry talking . If you can't buy with cash it is simply not yet affordable.

    If you buy a car on loan, spend more than necessary on gas and voluntarily take a huge hit of depreciation every few years... You're then struggling to get by with a good amount of money, and are a servant to the bank: well you're in a worse place than you need to be.

    The Mirage is a pinnacle of cars produced in the 2010's. Having the audacity not to have 150 hp should be seen as a feature. In a time where having junk features come standard is seen as improvement, giving options everyone else throws out the window makes the Mirage stand out. Don't want an OnStar type system: we can do that. Don't want a turbo shoved down your throat: no problem. Need a car you can back into someone that's about to shoot you: guess what, that techno-omission might just let you save your life. Also the front of 14-15 at least has one of the more unique looks in a time where all manufacturers strive to produce homogeneity in design and styling.[IMG]https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*uEe9rvbQB8XM6uYWT_6vng.jpeg[/IMG]

    What's the point of 300 hp when 55 can get you to 100 mph. Only just, but that's seriously speeding just about anywhere. "The designer knows they have achieved perfection not when there's nothing left to add, but nothing left to take away."

    The Suzuki designers responsible for the Metro may have come closer to perfection than anyone, but I'll give Mitsubishi's Mirage design team credit for coming closer than anyone has this century.


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  11. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cobrajet View Post
    I have long believed that most 'car guys' simply can't wrap their minds around the idea that there are people in this world who just don't care very much about cars.

    I know lots of these people. All they want a car to do is not cost too much, get decent mileage, and not break down.
    Most car guys also can't comprehend the idea of a daily, and for that I will never understand. My dad taught me long ago that your DD is an appliance. Make sure its robust and up to the task, and maintain it properly. There are just certain cars that fit this depending on your needs... Camry, Crown Vic, etc... but there is the utilitarian in me that wants that appliance to function as efficiently as possible. The Mirage hits every single mark. I will go to my grave saying that its the most important car of the 2010s... and that most people have no clue. But the car guys of anyone should GET IT... I just don't understand... why would you beat on and ruin a "dream car" or even just a "want car" when there are cars that are born for this task... just makes no sense.
    Resident Tire Engineer

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 44.4 mpg (US) ... 18.9 km/L ... 5.3 L/100 km ... 53.3 mpg (Imp)


  12. #38
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    Driving cheap basic vehicles helped contribute to my two daughters being at home with their mom (she resigned from teaching to be an at home mom when our oldest was born). Their mom read a lot to them. My oldest daughter knew her alphabet forward & backwards @ 18 months old. She would seriously correct her older cousins if they got it wrong. I don't remember either daughter ever getting an A- in school, & they both graduated valedictorians of their respective division II high school classes. By the way - some may say my daughters are smart. I'm proud of them, because they are kind, caring souls. I would love them just the same regardless of all this!

    For good or bad, I taught school, coached 3 sports, & somehow earned two master degrees during the years of owning a cheap car like a 1990 Ford Festiva. It hauled me to work during the school year, and graduate classes a distance away during the summer months. While hauling a whitetail buck across Wisconsin once, the tiny roof of that car caved in on me. I just shoved it back up when I got home. No harm done! It really was a tough a little car.

    I also worked for the Wisconsin DNR (lower Wisconsin Riverway crew) some summers back then, too! Even though we lived on my one income, we had zero car payments to make, no student loans to repay, & we had 20% saved up for a down payment on our first house. Spending money on expensive vehicles would have seemed foolish then, & I still feel that way now! As Scotty Kilmer would say, most cars are "endless money pits"!!!!

    I feel the world would be a better place if more people drove a Mirage, but I may be guilty of "preaching to the choir" now!
    Last edited by Mark; 10-22-2019 at 05:01 AM.

  13. #39
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    I have a feeling that many lurkers here, those on the fence about buying a Mirage, are reading our comments and thinking to themselves, "maybe these guys are onto something." Who really wants to shell out hundreds of clams every month to pay for a deeply underwater car. Like many others, I paid cash for my new Mirage and while I might have been upside down the first year, I'm certainly not in my second and subsequent years.
    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


  14. #40
    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MacClyver View Post
    Also the front of 14-15 at least has one of the more unique looks in a time where all manufacturers strive to produce homogeneity in design and styling.[IMG]https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*uEe9rvbQB8XM6uYWT_6vng.jpeg[/IMG]
    Hey MacClyver that SUV comparison picture wasn't showing up for me. Hopefully it works here:



    Quote Originally Posted by MacClyver View Post
    Need a car you can back into someone that's about to shoot you: guess what, that techno-omission might just let you save your life.
    ?????

    Too many action thriller movies?


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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