Ever wondered why millionaires drive old cars? The Millionaire Next Door famously states that “Only a minority of [millionaires] drive the current model year automobile.” And about 33% of those millionaires-next-door only buy used cars.
At a glance, it may be hard to understand why they’d choose to drive an old car, or to buy a new car and then hang onto it for years instead of replacing it regularly.
“If I were rich,” you might think, “I’d drive a really nice new car.”
After all, you’d think a millionaire could afford a brand new car. So why not get the latest and greatest?
Lottery mentality vs. work
If someone handed you a million dollars today, of course it’d be tempting to go out and get your dream car. Free money!
But if you got to be a millionaire over time through hard work, you’d know the value of a dollar. You’d know what it takes to earn that money and keep it. And so you’re much less likely to just fritter that away on an asset that on average will depreciate 15 to 25% in the first year, with 11% of that happening the moment you drive it off the lot.
The average price of a new car in 2025 is $47,462 according to Kelley Blue Book. I don’t know about you, but if I paid that much for a new car, I’d be irked if I knew it would be worth $5220.82 less just a few minutes later.
Millionaire or not, I don’t see any point in wasting that kind of money when I can probably get a perfectly nice (and even fun!) used car for less. Maybe I’m a bit jaded too. The only new car I ever bought in my life turned out to be a lemon. I’d rather make sure a car’s been good enough for someone else first before I buy!
But it’s not just about the math
I suspect a large part of why millionaires drive old cars is plain old being content with their life and belongings.
If you like your stuff, why replace it? Especially if it’s given you good value over the years, and continues to do so by needing only normal maintenance items + the occasional repair.
You enjoy your old car, it does the job, and you don’t see the point in getting a new one. Or maybe you’re just not into cars. Also, you probably don’t get too worked up about what other people think of you. Instead, you know that what they think of you is none of your business.
Point in fact: This car?
That’s my 36-year-old Miata, mostly patched up after its run-in with a tree. I know it doesn’t look like much in the photo. But it still runs awesome and is a ton of fun to drive! I’d rather have it than any of the new cars I test drove when I thought it couldn’t be repaired.
(I’ve since sprung for a new paint job, which again was a whole lot cheaper than a new car.)
Why do I still drive it? Because I love my old car.
And that’s what it’s really all about: choosing the things you value over the things you don’t and then enjoying the heck out of them.
