I like asking friends who grew up rich what small things about their lives were different. I asked one whether any of his friends had crappy cars. “Not really. Maybe one.” He meant an older Honda Civic. I meant a car where more than two of the doors or windows don’t open, or one you can’t take on the highway. Another friend told me he wouldn’t know where to get a 5,000car.Everyoneknowsthere’sculturalknowledgeinelitecircles.Howtogetyourkidintoagoodcollege.HowtopassaconsultingorfinanceorGoogleinterview.There’sjustasmuchculturalknowledgetobeinginthebottomtwoquintiles.Iseeitwrittenaboutmuchless.Howtobuyagoodcarfor5,000 car. Everyone knows there’s cultural knowledge in elite circles. How to get your kid into a good college. How to pass a consulting or finance or Google interview. There’s just as much cultural knowledge to being in the bottom two quintiles. I see it written about much less. How to buy a good car for 1000 When a car is on its last legs, we start asking around. Someone might know someone moving away or upgrading. The best case is a friend or a friend of a friend. They won’t sell a lemon. A fellow waitress was selling hers for 1000whenshemoved.That15−year−oldcarlastedmydadfiveyears.Yougooutsidethenetworkifyouneedacarquickly.Orwhenyouwantacuteone,likeIdid.Formyfirstcar,wewenttothepartoftownwheretherearealotofmechanicshops.Thelotssellcarsfrom1000 when she moved. That 15-year-old car lasted my dad five years. You go outside the network if you need a car quickly. Or when you want a cute one, like I did. For my first car, we went to the part of town where there are a lot of mechanic shops. The lots sell cars from 1,500 to 10,000andsometimesjunkersforparts.Afriendofmygrandmother’s,Mario,ranoneofthese.Myparentswantedmetobuya10,000 and sometimes junkers for parts. A friend of my grandmother’s, Mario, ran one of these. My parents wanted me to buy a 2,000 Honda Civic. I splurged on a 3,000carIthoughtwascuter.Iwassixteenandpayingwithmyownearnings.Therewasnobankloanorcreditcheck.WepaidMariodirectlyininstallments.Myparentsknewhowtojudgecarsatthisprice,andwehadatrustedcontact.That’sthesamecombinationthatgetswell−offkidstheirsummerinternships.What“crappy”meansStatusstillexistshere.MydadalwayshadaMercedes.The3,000 car I thought was cuter. I was sixteen and paying with my own earnings. There was no bank loan or credit check. We paid Mario directly in installments. My parents knew how to judge cars at this price, and we had a trusted contact. That’s the same combination that gets well-off kids their summer internships. What “crappy” means Status still exists here. My dad always had a Mercedes. The 1,000 car was a Mercedes. But you focus your buying research on how well the car runs. There’s no depreciation left to worry about. We keep the car until the repairs cost more than the car. To me, these cars are not crappy. Reasons not sufficient to...