I don't know. My oldest paid 6k for an 07 Corolla S with manual trans and 125k. It was a trade in at a dealership and in great shape. Seeing it will go at least 300k or more, he will have years to drive it and it looked like new. Yep, we had to go through a lot of trash to find it but they are out there..

My 4runner, 150k, 9$ and going UP in value since I bought it

This is true for virtually every pre-2000 vehicle, and some that are newer than that. 10 years ago, it was true for every 1990 vehicle, etc. That's how it has worked forever.

I dunno man. In the early 2000's, I had NO problems finding parts for my 70's and 60's cars I was rolling back then. The local parts place even used to have those parts IN STOCK.

In 2005, I built up a 1987 Turbo Lebaron Coupe. I don't think RockAuto was a thing back then, so I got 99% of my parts locally. Nothing was hard to find, nothing was terribly expensive, either. But today, I'm having a heck of a time finding pieces for my Daytona. Local places LIST the parts, but nowhere is there any stock.

Heck, in 1999, we needed a coil for a 1939 Ford 8N tractor.... Our Local NAPA was more than happy to sell us one. They had 5 IN STOCK and wanted to unload them.

But there has been a BIG movement for local places to not carry backstock anymore. It's considered "overhead" and overhead costs stores money. It's no cost to them to have something trucked in, because they pass that cost along to the consumer.

My niece is going through this now, looking in the 3_5K range. Does anyone know of any reputable dealers in Central Indiana (Muncie/Anderson etc) they can try? Don't really want her messing with the sketchy Craiglst stuff.

YES

from linked article
1. 2021 Tesla Model S Performance all-wheel drive with 19-inch wheels: 387 miles

2. 2021 Tesla Model X Long Range Plus RWD: 371 miles

3. 2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD: 353 miles

4. 2021 Tesla Model Y Long Range RWD: 326 miles

5. 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E RWD California Route 1: 305 miles

there are several still in testing stages that are supposed to get 400+.
the VW ID.4 just completed the Norra 1000 off road challenge on the first try. only 63 of 89 gas powered cars completed it.

https://www.cars.com/articles/electric-vehicles-with-the-longest-range-422227/

keep a open mind regarding EV cars. as technology advances they will get better, the more cars on the road = more charging stations so long range won't be as important. the critics conveniently forget gas powered cars were total junk in the early years .it took a while before they really started to be something.
there are several places where EV cars are easily economically viable now like large cities or delivery cars with set routes.

i have no plans on buying or driving one in my future plans. i have no problem with their development.

According to one survey, in California, 20% of electric car buyers went back to gas:
www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ev-owners-switch-gas-power-study

EVs are still a niche market. Great for a select few, but not ready for prime time for most of us. Maybe someday, but not today.

And there are still good deals to be had on cars today. It's just that few people can or will take advantage of them. Most people want it all; a car that is pretty, dependable, and cheap enough. Lots and lots of people want that. And that demand drives the price up.

I can offer cars with two of the qualifiers above, but not all three. An example; hail cars with too many dents to fix can be had for really good prices. But while they may be dependable and cheap, they are not pretty. So I can't give them away. Most people would rather gamble on a pretty car with 180k on it. That unit may be pretty and cheap enough, but it's day to day dependability comes into question.

And let's not forget that vehicles 10 years and older can go to export with no export tax. That should not be allowed. According to Forbes magazine, the Unites States shipped 2.6 million used light duty vehicles overseas with a market value of $24.5 billion between 2015 and 2018. That volume has a direct impact on the price of older cars here. I hear folks talk about the 'Cash For Clunkers' debacle. But the impact that duty free exports have on the market is far greater, but largely unknown/ignored.

I dunno man. In the early 2000's, I had NO problems finding parts for my 70's and 60's cars I was rolling back then. The local parts place even used to have those parts IN STOCK.

I gotta agree with That AMC Guy.

Early 2000's I had no problems finding parts for my '71 and '73 locally. They were almost 30 yrs old at the time.

Now, same age, but current time, I'm having more and more difficulty finding parts for my '93. The difficulty actually started about 4 yrs ago. It was as if once it hit the 25 yr mark, everything disappeared. If it wasn't for places like rockauto, I'd be screwed.

I know they can't keep parts around forever, but still. Cars actually last longer now, but what's the point if parts can't be had?

A big part of the problem with parts availability is the massive variety of parts needed for today's vehicles. The manufacturers don't make stuff the same for years and years like they used to. Now many things are changed every model year. Or even more often. Plus, there are many more manufacturers than there used to be. I don't know how they could possibly keep it all.

I should've been more clear. I was referring to body parts, trim parts, interior parts, etc. Those get discontinued and when they are gone, they are gone. I didn't realize the problem was becoming so common with wear/replacement mechanical parts, too.

my problem is i never throw ANYTHING away.
i have three minivans stashed at my buddy's junkyard i can pick parts from to keep my 99 "bus" running till i croak.
it ain't pretty, but i don't care. it gets oiled up every year, so it ain't rusty, but the drawback to that is it's kind of "slimy" to do regular maintenance on.
i have a ton of parts on the shelf for it like starters, alternators, sensors, PCM's, etc. so if something happens, i can fix it quickly.
my motto is : "if you have it, you won't need it."

My last challenge was OEM style gaskets. The metal core gaskets used on these magnum engines. All that’s available locally is cork.

Is it the 5-speed? If so, unfortunately don't expect to make the 300K. Been there done that. The transmission has an unsupported 5th gear (i.e. not a bearing on both sides of the gear...its just kind of hanging out there in space. Over time, expect it to get noisy. Mine made it to 260K (which I am told is a high water mark). I did the 5 speed to 6 speed conversion (direct, drop in replacement). As far as the engine goes, yea. They will last.

Y'know, that's part of it.... the move away from standardized parts. There used to be 3 styles of headlight. Now there's 30,000. Mufflers used to be universal fit, today, they're specific to each vehicle.
It used to be one power window motor fit all four manufacturers. Now they change from car to car. The car companies would benefit from standardized/interchangeable parts by lowering costs, and the parts places could breathe a sigh of relief for not having to carry 29,000,000,000 parts for 3 cars.

About 5 years ago I started buying crashed or broken Jeeps and flipping them for profits. Along the way I've retained a couple for my kids as they helped me work on them. Since I was flipping for money, I've also tracked my expenses on these. These are light collision, blown engine, blown trans, heavy hail damage vehicles that are too costly for insurance repairs, but can still have reasonable commuter value as lower dollar cars. Vehicles I was picking up for $500-800 price tags 5 years ago are now going for $2000-2400. What amazes me even more, is undamaged, clean, low mileage, used versions of these are selling for $6-10k. The book on many of these maxes out around $7-8k.

The export angle is one not often talked about. Where I am at, we have what we call Mexican road trains. These tend to be cars that are 6-12 years old, that may be like those described above, that are sold to Mexican nationals. These guys will buy one good operating large car or truck, they then tow bar 3-4 of them together, make a convoy of 3-4 of these trains, and at night, run them down Interstate 25 to Juarez Mexico. Personally, I think this is were a lot of the local beaters in my area are going.

I admit I'm one of those parents that doesn't want his kids driving a 25 year old POS. My strategy for my kids has worked well 3 times. Two years before they turn 16, I buy a new car and drive it myself. They learn to drive in that car and then when they get their license I give them a car that has only 30K on it and has all the latest safety equipment. Oldest son got a Honda Civic, second one Toyota Corolla, third one Ford Focus. When they finish school and get a job I sign the car over and make them get their own insurance.

Agreed there is a lot of trash but a gem every now and then. I bought a similar 2009 corolla with 75K miles on it a year ago from an older couple. It was an extra car for them thus the low miles. I paid $5K for it and now drive it 120 miles round trip on my commute. Just did all the major maintenance, hoping it will got at least 200K.

You'll want to stay away from 03 to 08 Corollas with manual transmissions. The output shaft bearings usually start making noise around 175 to 200K miles and used ones are hard to get and expensive because they are in demand. The automatics go forever even without a fluid change..

And what's the average cost of any of those? Because nothing entices me and I have a hard time paying a fortune for something I won't enjoy.

I'm somewhat surprised that, with the laws having been changed recently, no small manufacturer has popped up to produce their 500 annual cars that don't need to meet emissions or crash regulations.
But, at the same time, I can understand that it takes billions of dollars to start a car company and 500 cars a year won't produce a profit. But, if they could reproduce an AMC Hornet or AMC Gremlin with a 350-mile electric setup?? THAT I might get behind. Especially if they can sell it for under 25k. Cheap for me, cheap for teenagers.

But I know that will never happen.

You can't fault a safety conscious parent.