'05 Malibu hatchback. It was a good price, had low mileage when I bought it (Lol), and still gets kick ass fuel economy. If I don't do any excessive weekend driving, a tank of gas can last me almost 3 weeks. It's getting on in years, and it's starting to show. I had the brakes re-done last year so I'm hesitant to just up and dump it after sinking cash into it. For a replacement I want to find a nice used Subaru something to haul my kayaks around with a little more grace than the Malibu is capable of.
Subarus maintain their value right up to 90k miles. Then they tank, because that's when the expensive shit happens. Somewhere between 90-120k, expensive bits way down deep inside the engine need to be replaced. Or they explode. But up until then? Wonderful cars. (I still miss my Impreza Outback.)
Subaru prices are highly localized. They're worthless in LA. In Seattle they hold value impossibly well. If you like to drive and have a lot of time, energy and liquid cash, you can arbitrage local car markets with reasonable effect. I knew a guy who would buy Hondas in LA and sell them in Seattle and my uncle has bought a few Saturns out of Florida because the price differential between FL and WA is something like 20-30%.
This prompted a thought. What are some things that a person could steal that they could reasonably maintain ownership/use of? Not a whole lot, at least nothing big/worth stealing as far as I can tell. Too much technology these days, too much invasion of privacy.
Cars. Seriously. The crew I ran with kind of went a different direction after I left. One of their friends up in Denver had a brand new pickup he wanted out of the payments on. Paid one of 'em $500 to make it disappear. She literally took the keys and drove it to Albuquerque. They kept it in the garage but they kept it. Tooled around town in it for years. There's this idea of massive surveillance and police oversight but it's a lie. My wife had her laptop smash'n'grabbed out of her mom's car. I had Prey on it and was able to give the cops the running location and IP. Nobody gave a fuck. She had her phone stolen off the ground as she dropped it and I had a text conversation with the thief, so much as offering him $200 cash to get it back but it was fuckin' gone. Apple, in case you're curious, has zero compunctions about reactivating a stolen iPhone and AT&T doesn't give the first fuck about IMEIs. you can get away with a lot more than you think.
During one two year stretch when I was particularly poor, I would take a photo of someone else's tabs, print it out on my color printer, "laminate" it with Scotch tape, and then glue it onto my car's license plate. Went without tabs, insurance, or emissions testing for 3 years. Not proud of that, but the "surveillance state" isn't. They haven't got a clue what is going on right under their noses.