Quote:
Originally Posted by photon
Cars are another interesting thing, Phanuthier you say that's why you drive a Civic and not a BMW, but as you say it's a necessary evil so I'd be more focused on what the cost of driving the car per period of time was..
If a $20k car is worth $10k after x period of time, and a $40k car is worth $30k after the same period, I'd rather drive the $40k car (presuming that it's a car that's more enjoyable to drive, otherwise no) all things being equal.
Though Civics from what I understand hold their value well so the comparison between a Civic and a BMW probably isn't a good one.
Our last two cars we purchased outright (one brand new, one slightly used), and I'm finding that the amount of $$ put into them plus the purchase costs is almost the same as making car payments.
I think the ideal is to buy a car fairly new, drive it till the warranty expires, then sell it  |
Ha, actually I did my research. In addition to wanting good mpg and certain features like manuel transmission, the deciding factor for me on a Civic versus Mazda's, et al was Civic's had one the best holding value and 2nd lowest maintainence (besides Corolla). I also wasn't willing to pay over $20k, and wanted to keep it below $15k, but I wanted <10k miles because I didn't want a big maintainence bill. Then I held out for months until one came on the market.
I honestly can't wait till zipcar comes to my area, so I can get rid of my car. All I need is my bike and my motorcycle, then the occasional time I need a car, just use zipcar.