Let’s say I want a car that can get me to work every day for many years. What is the cheapest reasonable option assuming I know nothing about cars? How old should the car be? How often should I get a new one? What model should I get? Is there any good data about this, or is it just opinion?
I can’t say what the cheapest car is to own, but Edmunds has a calculator that will help you compare various cars. It includes a lot of factors you might not think of at first.
You really need to know how many miles you drive a year to answer this question. It changes the answer a lot. Many new cars are quite reliable but even the inexpensive ones aren’t that cheap especially when you look at a brand that has reputation a reliability like Toyota. The miles per year is important because service intervals on cars are based on mileage as the primary criteria and they aren’t cheap either. I have a Toyota SUV and it has never had a problem at all but I drive 25,000 miles a year and those service intervals come up quickly. They are each a few hundred dollars and sometimes much more and that is on top of the car payment and insurance. You get the reliability and almost indefinite longevity but you pay a lot for it as you go along.
The absolute cheapest car to run for a long time probably wouldn’t be a new vehicle at all. It would probably be something like a very old VW bug that has been completely overhauled to run like new. The performance would be terrible and they are quirky things at best but the $20,000 or so you save getting one of those over a new vehicle will cover a whole lot of bug repairs.
I think Consumer Reports might have that sort of data. Here, for instance, is an article on “best values.”
How far away is work? Probably the cheapest car to operate over the long term is going to be a full electric like the Nissan Leaf. Right now the only issue is that they’re pricey compared to a gas econobox, but once paid off they are massively cheaper to operate than conventional cars. Not only do you save on gas, but the electric drivetrains are virtually maintenance-free and because of regenerative braking the mechanical braking surfaces wear very slowly. The only possible question mark is the batteries, but if older Priuses are any indication, they’ll probably last long enough that they don’t significantly contriubute to cost of ownership over the long term.
BMW.
Lots of good info already, but let’s say 2000 miles a year.
Seriously, I’d think about walking or a bike. Your cost per mile will be astronomical at that low mileage.
Really that low? Get an old but reliable super-cheap used car or a scooter or a bike if cost is the primary concern. That is only about 6 miles a day on average. The cost per mile in a newer car with mileage that low is very high. You would be putting about the same mileage on yours in 6 1/2 years years as I do in 6 months. The low mileage won’t save you from everything. Some costs are time dependent as well like oil changes and you would have to do those even though you didn’t approach the recommended mileage.
I would get an older 4-door sedan with just over 100,000 miles. Something a teenager would be embarrassed to drive. Sedans lose their value quickly. Cars over 100,000 miles lose value, even if they have a good 60,000 to 80,000 miles before total disaster.
It’s no wonder you see a lot of lower middle class people driving older Cadillacs. The old people who buy them, always buy them new, and there really isn’t a good used market for them.
Just want to add: I just Kelly Blue Booked a hypothetical 2003 Ford Taurus with 110,000 in good condition. $3,300 and it will probably run with no major problems for another 10 years. Similar price for a Cadillac DeVille
If you’re in India, you can get a brand new Nano for 2800$. If you’re American, you may not consider it a car 
I agree-those older Cadillacs will run forever. Buy one in Florida (where the old folks are), and have it shipped. Many of the oldtimer owners put less than 5,000 miles/year-so you are getting a new car for next to nothing.
Avoid any “high end” German car (Audi, BMW, M-B). These cars often encounter catastrophic repair situations ( new tranny for an Audi A6 > $9,000), once they go over 100,000 miles.
If I only drove 2000 miles a year, I’d get a classic car with a carburetor that is relatively easy and cheap to repair if there are any mechanical problems.
Depending on your preferences, requirements, and style, you could choose anything from a muscle car, to a luxury car, or a compact like the above mentioned VW Bug.
If you don’t plan on doing any repairs yourself, you might even consider working backwards and looking for a good mechanic first, and see if any of them have any cars for sale or know of someone selling the type of cars they specialize in. I used to live near a shop that specialized in Bugs that always had a handful of them for sale in a wide range of conditions at quite reasonable prices.
How about an electric bike?
Carb’s aren’t cheap or easy to repair anymore. I doubt you’d even find someone willing to rebuild a carb these days.
What service interval is costing you at least a few hundred dollars a pop? Surely you’re not talking about oil changes every 5,000 miles. Many cars have more intensive maintenance work scheduled every 30,000 miles or so that might cost a few hundred dollars or so, but oil changes should run you about $30 even at the dealer.
About 10 years ago I bought a Subaru for a friend. It had 96,000 mi on it and was in excellent condition. Owner probably was of the type who thinks that 100k miles = worthless. Price was $800.
Car continues to run well at 215k miles. It has not yet needed anything beyond routine maintenance.
Last time I rebuilt a carb (single-barrel AMC), it cost me like $15.00 for a rebild kit. That and a few hours time.
But you are correct-most mechanics will not touch them.
If the only reason not to look into a bikes or scooters, would be that you need to haul kids or groceries, check out bike cartsand bike trailers.
One billion Chinese and most Dutch moms can’t be wrong. Besides, you get your outdoor exercise for free.
What Chinese do when the snow is piled high, I don’t know. I know Dutch moms borrow a car.
My favorite cheapest car, from initial costs to purchase and best gas mileage was my 1984 Honda CRX HF (high fuel efficiency) with the 1.3 engine and 5 speed manual transmission. This neat looking two seater only weighed 1,713 lbs. It was given to me about five years ago with already over 200,000 miles. My best highway mileage was 69.4 mpg driving 55 mph. My best in city was just over 63 mpg. I really babied that car, and just loved it! Even the EPA sticker said 51 city and 67 highway, but there were many things you could do to beat that. That would be my choice for all around cheapest car. Eventually I couldn’t solve some mechanical issues with it, and it’s hell finding mechanics that will work on them.
The other CRX’s are great too, if they had the HF engines, and actually the second generation 88-91 just have better bodies and suspensions all around. You’ll still get over 50 mpg on those too if it is the HF engine. Unfortunately too many kids seen the movie, Fast and Furious, and started turning them into hot rods. It’s rare to find them stock these days. If you can find a decent running one, expect over 200,000 miles on it, and first generation CRX’s going for $,1000,-$2,000, and the 2nd generation CRX’s going for about double. Again condition is key.
Some years ago on E-bay when gas prices were on the rise, I seen really nice clean low mileage CRX-HF’s going over $5,000.00