I think it costs me about $6000 per year to keep my truck relatively new. Part of that 6000 per year goes toward building some equity. So if I keep throwing $6k toward a truck every year in 10 years from now I might have a $95000 vehicle in my garage. If on the other hand I were to sell my current truck for 65k and buy a $15000 beater I could start an investment fund with $50k. If my $15000 beater happened to provide excellent service for 10 years and I was able to add $5k to my investment every year I could expect in 10 years to have a $5000 truck in the garage and $147,000 in my investment. (Assuming a 5% return on investment) So whether I drive a beater or a new truck for the next 10 years is not going to make much difference to my retirement. However, for someone in his 20s or 30s the math would become hugely different.
