Margen
A new car loses, on average, about half its value in its first five years, and the hardest hit comes the moment it leaves the dealership. It's the only big purchase we make knowing it melts away.
Put numbers on it: 25,000 € financed over five years can top 28,000 with interest. By the time you've paid it off, the car is worth around 12,500 €. Add insurance, maintenance, and taxes, and the dealer's "how much a month?" tells only half the story.
The boring, solvent alternative: a reliable four- or five-year-old car, with the big depreciation already paid by someone else. Nobody's saying don't buy a car; the idea is not to mistake a means of transport for an investment, because it's exactly the opposite.