The new cars being made are required to meet certain gas mileage regulations. Because of this they need to be serviced more frequently than older cars. I personally prefer older cars. For me, the cost of my car going to a mechanic more often is not worth what I would save in gas. My car is from 1999 and I have not once had a problem that could not be solved at my own house. My mother's car is much newer and has had multiple problems that resulted in a trip to a mechanic. If I drive with the intention of getting better gas mileage I can get gas mileage better than my mother's car. This is why that I see the opportunity costs of buying an older car to be more beneficial.
This is a very valid argument. I also have an older car, it is a 2003 Honda Accord. Although this car doesn't have all the fancy gadgets, it doesn't need them and it works just as well as the newer cars. I have had no major problems with my old car as well. In my opinion, it would be much more economically rational to just buy old cars, and have them as long as they will run instead of wasting almost two or three times that amount on new cars. Not only will you save more money on old cars but they will run just as well, if not better.
For the shrewd, I think you both are on the money! Only tangentially related, but related nonetheless, is the fact that new cars lose a lot of their value when they are rolled off the lot and become "used" cars. Used cars don't have this opportunity cost as they are already used!
I completely agree. Although a new car has fancier things like a TV in a van so kids can watch a movie during a road trip, we sacrifice our money in more stops to the mechanic and more money on gas. If I had to pick between getting my favorite new car, or my favorite old car, I would always pick the old one. You need reliability in a vehicle more than entertainment. It is more economical to have an older vehicle than a new vehicle.