The young Americans choosing Y2K cars over shiny new SUVs: ‘I get so much crap from people’

People under 35 are hunting for no-frills rides they can pay for in cash and fix themselves – defying expectations to take on steep loans Jack Price joined the marines in fall 2021 knowing he would need a car to get around base and that he couldn’t afford a new one.

A joyless, month-long search through dealer classifieds and Facebook Marketplace listings ended when his mother spotted a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta posted on her office listserv by a co-worker moving abroad. With just 60,000 miles (96,560km) on the meter, the car (a manual! ) was mechanically sound, and the air conditioning, sunroof and Bluetooth radio worked too. At $6,000, it was a steal. Price paid in cash. Five years on, the Jetta, which he called…