Many people treat cars like a status symbol.  Everyone has heard of the celebrities with massive collections of expensive cars, or custom built garages to accommodate their cars in the heart of an expensive city like New York.  A better option could be an inexpensive car for some.  It's doesn't have to be a clunker just because it doesn't cost a lot.  Fun can be had with a less expensive car.

A used car purchase can save a lot of money.  Even luxury models are much less expensive when purchased second hand.  A new term has emerged over the last decade, pre-owned – to denote used cars that are of high quality.  These pre-owned vehicles have even managed to pull some long time new car buyers into the used car market.  Consider this with luxury cars.  A Mercedes or Lexus is so well built that even 10 year old cars can still be in excellent condition.  In fact, many people have generations of car buyers in their family who always purchase higher end models that are used.Driving Miss Daisy immortalized this concept as Hoak, the driver, kept buying Miss Daisy's used cars.

Some cheap new cars are quite nice, too.  Hyundai makes some models that are decent for less than $12K.  Then there's the Civic, from Honda, weighing in at about $15,000.  That's a good car that gets great mileage and lasts forever.  These cars are also much cheaper to maintain than luxury cars that often require more expensive parts and even premium grades of gas.

Try the cheaper, not really cheap, luxury cars.  Audi has some luxury models that generally sit at the bottom price in their class.  These are the best engineered in the world, nobody beats them.  A less expensive luxury sports car is the Audi TT.

Some people aren't happy unless they scrape the bottom of the barrel cheap.  They don't care if the car is held together with chewing gum and wire.  Teens often buy this style of car.  It's a set of wheels, and it gives them practice for a life time of practical mechanical knowledge.  When doing car comparisons be aware that what you see is what you get, even with cheap cars.  A car that constantly breaks down is no bargain at any price.