Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Anyone who does everything "Otto normal" automatically orients themselves towards increasingly expensive things. This is true for vehicles (the new Golf of the "average German" was mentioned) and also for construction, where expectations for execution often go far beyond the pragmatic. Thinking helps significantly more than negotiating. Future homebuilders will "no longer simply take everything offered by providers," but, as some here are already doing, consider how they want to live. Much of the unimportant will then simply fall away and cost nothing.

My car: Mercedes C-Class station wagon, year 2004, bought in June for €2500 including 2 years TÜV. Fixed costs:

Purchase 104€/month calculated over 2 years
Taxes 339€/year
Insurance 360€/year
Consumption ~6.5l diesel/100km.

It probably doesn't get much cheaper and I end up at a bit over €160/month WITHOUT maintenance etc.

That’s exactly how I’ve been doing it for many years. I always buy older Mercedes E-Class cars with around 200,000 km, good equipment, and a full service history for about 3-4,000 euros. I usually drive the cars for 4-5 years and sell them again at 500,000 km. Usually, I still get around 1,000 euros back for them. Sometimes even more. So far, I have always driven without major repairs. I do small things myself.
You drive a great car for almost nothing. I am also not willing to accept depreciation of more than 1,000 euros per year.

However, two years ago I switched to an ML because I no longer drive that much.

My car: Mercedes C-Class station wagon, year 2004, bought in June for €2500 including 2 years TÜV. Fixed costs:

Acquisition €104/month calculated over 2 years
Taxes €339/year
Insurance €360/year
Consumption ~6.5l diesel/100km.

It probably doesn’t get much cheaper and I come to just over €160/month WITHOUT maintenance etc.

And then it runs another 17 years with €0 repair costs?:(
Depreciation is nonexistent, that’s clear, but even a star has defects – sometimes more, sometimes less.
And wear is independent of age.

ok, back to topic:

last month there were various reports on the subject. particularly 3 factors seem to determine the game:

- disorganization after the corona lockdown. many manufacturers/suppliers had reduced production and inventory in anticipation of a following downturn and are overwhelmed by the now starting boom. scarcity pushes prices up.

- at ZERO interest rates many – including fund operators – have switched to real estate expecting hefty speculative profits. this thins the supply of available real estate and simultaneously reduces the amount of available housing because vacant properties are more profitable to sell. likewise available building plots, which speculators were never supposed to build on anyway. all leads to scarcity.

- increased technical requirements regarding emissions, thermal insulation and energy efficiency. higher construction effort -> higher costs. at this point it is probably not sensible to change anything, especially since this probably has a rather smaller influence on the total costs.

- another one?

the first two points are politically intended or negligently introduced as a side effect. so they can only be fixed politically.

And then it runs for another 17 years with 0 € repair costs? :(
Depreciation is not present, that’s clear, but even a star has defects – sometimes more, sometimes less.
And wear and tear is independent of age.

I specifically said without maintenance etc. That of course comes on top, but has ALWAYS been lower than the depreciation of a vehicle costing 20,000 € so far.
And with really big defects, you can simply get rid of the car and buy the next vehicle. Accidents don’t affect you, scratches don’t matter, and you don’t need fully comprehensive insurance either.

My car: Mercedes C Class Estate, year 2004, bought in June for €2500 including 2 years TÜV. Fixed costs:
Acquisition €104/month calculated over 2 years

For €100/month, you can also get a new car if you drive it for 10 years or more. I find that less stressful than the gamble with used vehicles.

I myself bought my great Skoda Fabia Combi 10 years ago and after a quick residual value check, it has lost about €80/month in value. So far no repairs needed, just the usual maintenance stuff.
But it's being sold now because it lacks the sixth seat. Otherwise, I would continue driving it daily until it falls apart.