Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Lee
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I don't know where they're getting their assumptions about what my costs are, because they seem way off the mark for me, and a lot of people I know. First, no one with any sense buys a NEW car: you buy used, and let the fools take that first big hit of depreciation. Buy what you can afford to pay cash for, and there's no finance cost. Then there's the purchased warranty: another waste of money. Same with repairs & maintenance: do it all yourself, and it doesn't cost much. Then go with just liability insurance, and that cost is cut by maybe 2/3.
At current prices, it's costing me about 7 cents per mile for gas in the Insight. Amortising the purchase price over the 100K miles I've driven it so far works out to 8.5 cents/mile (but I expect to be driving it for years yet). Add a generous 10-20 cents/mile for maintenance, registration, & insurance, and I'm still way, way under their numbers.