An Australian father has warned young people against buying a new car, describing it as one of the worst financial decisions he has ever made.
Eric Ho Pham, from Reservoir in Melbourne’s north, said buying a new ute was the “dumbest” decision he made despite loving the car.
Pham said he bought the ute when he was younger, after finishing his apprenticeship and becoming a qualified electrician.
“When I was an electrical apprentice, I pretty much did my entire apprenticeship on a motorcycle,” Mr Pham explained.
‘I would carry my tools on my back and fun strap everything to my bike and make it work.
“As soon as I qualified and started earning a lot of money, I thought I could now afford a car.”
Pham explained that he went to a Mazda dealership and saw a shiny BT-50 in the parking lot.
Eric Ho Pham (pictured) claimed buying his Mazda BT-50 was the “dummest” decision he has ever made and warned young Australians not to go into debt by buying a new car.
“I, being naive and young and having never bought a car in my life, got sucked into the slimy salesman and lost my life on this $70,000 car,” Pham said.
Pham said the price wasn’t a concern at the time because he believed he could afford it on his new salary.
However, he said he quickly learned that having car debt meant he was completely dependent on his job.
“I was tied to work and that’s when working stopped being fun,” Pham said.
“It was like I was on a hamster wheel working to pay off this debt.”
Pham, who now works designing clothing through his company Cruzado, urged young drivers to save money and be debt-free instead of buying a new car.
“If you’re young, drive the cheapest, most reliable car you can afford and save money,” Pham said.
‘It’s that simple. You don’t care what people think about what you drive because, at the end of the day, that’s not the case.’
Social media users agreed with Pham, with many stating that their car debt made them feel financially stuck.
‘A lot of people need to hear this. I just qualified myself, so I know the temptation. There is nothing wrong with driving shit boxes and being debt free,” said one.
‘Car debt can overwhelm you. Save, plan and shop smart to stay financially free,” added a second.
‘I agree: we’re about to buy a new car after 15 years of marriage and I’m panicking about having to be tied to my job to pay for it. “We are seriously reconsidering,” said a third.
Pham said he was “young and naive” and was forced to buy the vehicle for $70,000 (pictured). He urged young Australians to become debt-free by saving money and driving an affordable car.
About 12 per cent of Australians (about 2.5 million people) took out a car loan in July 2024, according to Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that new vehicle loans amounted to $1.5 billion in July 2024, up from $1.3 billion a year earlier.
Australian motorists set a new vehicle purchasing record in 2024, with 1,237,287 new vehicles delivered. This represents an increase of 1.7 percent from 2023, when a previous record of 1,216,780 new registrations was recorded.
BEST SELLING NEW VEHICLES IN 2024
1. Toyota RAV4: 58,718
2. Ford Ranger: 57,960
3. Toyota HiLux: 45,839
4.Mitsubishi Outlander: 27,613
5. Ford Everest: 26,494
6. Isuzu D-Max: 24,031
7. Toyota Corolla: 24,027
8.Mazda CX-5: 22,835
9.MG ZS: 22,629
10. Kia Sportage: 22,210
Source: Federal Chamber of the Automotive Industry