Most billionaires treat cars like jewelry: polished, swapped out, and paraded as proof of success. Warren Buffett treats them like toasters—buy a decent one, use it for years, and only replace it when safety or sheer embarrassment forces his hand.
At 94, the Oracle of Omaha is still driving a 2014 Cadillac XTS with hail damage, and the story behind it says as much about his view of time as it does about money.
Buffett’s philosophy on cars has been remarkably consistent. Back at the 2001 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, he explained why he clings to his vehicles long past the point most people would.
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“Actually, I picked out the car I have based on the fact that it had airbags on both sides. So that was a factor,” Buffett said. “It would take me, probably, a half a day to go through, you know, the exercise of buying a car and reading the owner’s manual and all that. And that’s just a half a day I don’t want to give up in my life for no benefit.”
That line—”a half a day I don’t want to give up”—gets to the core of how Buffett sees the world. Time, not money, is the scarce resource. And if a car is safe and runs well, there’s no return on investment in trading it out just for flash. “If I could write a check in 30 seconds and be in the same position I’m in now with a newer car, I’d be glad to do it this afternoon,” he added. “But I don’t like to trade away when there’s really no benefit to me at all. I’m totally happy with the car.”
That attitude carried forward when he finally replaced his 2006 Cadillac DTS in 2014. Rather than burn those dreaded hours haggling at a dealership, Buffett delegated the task to his daughter, Susie Buffett.
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According to ABC News, she went to Huber Cadillac in Omaha, posed as a regular customer, and bought him the 2014 Cadillac XTS—complete with hail damage. The car was later delivered to her father, who sent a letter to General Motors CEO Mary Barra praising the dealership for treating his daughter fairly without knowing she was shopping for one of the richest men alive.
The XTS has been in Buffett’s garage ever since. He drives about 3,500 miles a year, meaning the odometer creeps up slowly. His daughter has admitted she occasionally nudges him to upgrade when it gets embarrassing—”time for a new car”—but otherwise, he’s content. To Buffett, cars aren’t about prestige. They’re about utility, safety, and above all, not wasting time.
From a personal finance standpoint, there’s a lesson here for anyone, billionaire or not. The average American doesn’t just burn an afternoon at the dealership — the process drags on for hours before and after stepping inside.
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According to Cox Automotive’s 2023 Car Buyer Journey Study, new-vehicle buyers reported spending nearly 12 hours in total, from research to signing the paperwork, while used-vehicle buyers spent more than 14 hours on average. That’s not just an afternoon, that’s two full workdays gone.
Buffett’s view is brutally pragmatic: why sacrifice compounding hours of high-value work—or simply reading and thinking—for a shiny replacement when the current model works just fine?
His investing style echoes the same principle. Buffett has said his favorite holding period is “forever.” He buys companies with durable value and lets time, not churn, do the heavy lifting. His cars follow that same philosophy. Buy solid, safe, and practical. Hold for as long as it makes sense. Replace only when there’s a tangible benefit.
“I’m totally happy with the car,” Buffett told shareholders back in 2001. Decades later, he’s still proving it behind the wheel of a Cadillac old enough to have survived more than a few Nebraska hailstorms.
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