“I gotta love what I drive.”
A personal finance creator’s claim that driving a paid-off 2006 Toyota Camry for 12 years has saved her more than $100,000 in car payments has struck a nerve.
Her video has racked up over 483,500 views and more than 1,100 comments, split between praise for her financial capital and questions over her math.
Imperfect Taylor (@imperfecttaylor), a creator with over 160,000 followers on Instagram and more than 50,000 on TikTok, posted a brief clip showing her behind the wheel of her aging Camry.
A text overlay reads: “Driving my paid-off 2006 Toyota Camry for the last 12 years has saved me approximately $107,712 in car payments.”
In the caption, Taylor cites NerdWallet data showing the average car payment in the US is $748 per month for new vehicles and $532 for used ones.
That checks out if you assume she would have financed a new car every six years. $748 multiplied by 144 months comes to exactly $107,712.
That figure is the total payments she would have made, not interest alone. It also assumes she would have opted for a new vehicle at the average price point each time rather than buying used. If she had financed used cars instead, the savings figure drops to about $76,608 over the same period.
Even the more conservative estimate represents enough to put a substantial down payment on a house in many US markets.
Her ride may be significant here. The 2006 Toyota Camry is widely regarded as reliable, with 95% of owners recommending it on Kelly Blue Book.
Toyota has consistently topped reliability surveys, and midsize sedans like the Camry routinely cross 200,000 miles with basic maintenance.
The trade-off is that the 2006 Camry lacks the safety technology found in modern vehicles, including automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, and side curtain airbags.
Not everyone bought the argument. TJHolmes99 acknowledged the financial logic while pointing out that this wasn’t everyone’s top priority, writing, “This is the flex you think it is… as a car enthusiast though, I gotta love what I drive.”
That was echoed by Charles U Farley, who wrote, “Reliability and depreciation are not everyone’s highest priority when buying vehicles. They are for me so I stick with Toyota/Lexus. This doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate other people’s choices and somehow believe I’m smarter or better than they are.”
Others were less diplomatic, with 313LeoSane declaring, “The smartest people don’t have car payments.”
Several commenters wondered whether the money saved actually ended up anywhere productive. User whatusaybruh44 asked the obvious question: “So you have $107,000 in the bank?”
User Troy89301 offered his own case study: “I have had Toyotas with no car payments since 1995. Most driven about 300k miles. Yes I invested my savings and my retirement account is looking good.”
Meanwhile, twobyteplotz trolled with some sarcasm, writing “I saved 3 million by not buying a Bugatti a few years back.” Another person was quick with the comeback, “A few years back it was only 1m so you lost 2m by not investing in one.”
The $107,712 figure is eye-catching, but driving a 20-year-old car comes with its own costs if parts wear out or fuel economy declines. Commenter simondimin raised another hidden cost, writing, “Don’t forget to calculate that double priced insurance when you have a newer car.”
The reality is that insurance costs vary widely depending on the driver, the vehicle, and the coverage level. Dropping comprehensive and collision coverage on an older car can save hundreds per year, but it also means eating the full cost of any damage.
What the video inadvertently highlights is a broader truth about Toyota ownership: these cars hold their value and keep running longer than most competitors
Commenter JG wrote, “My 1999 Camry has 400,000 plus miles on it and is still going. I’m amazed.” User ojbewe wrote, “Driving my 1994 Toyota pickup truck with 398,000 miles on it is saving me a lot of money.”
Geoffrey Stephens summed up the shifting cultural attitude: “Paid off vehicles is the new flex.”
And a reliable paid-off car, maintained properly, is one of the simplest financial advantages available.
The 2006 Camry may not turn heads in a parking lot, but as commenter sara berns wrote, “That’s actually one of the best cars still on the roads. You’ve also saved a ton in repair costs.”
For drivers willing to miss the new-car smell and the latest safety tech, the math is compelling—even if the exact figure deserves a few caveats.
Motor1 reached out to Imperfect Taylor via TikTok direct message for additional comment. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.
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