[Ecky]

If you purchased that truck for $40,000 new on the lot, put 15k miles on it per year and it lost $4,000 in value for the first 5 years (leaving you with a 5 year old, 75k mile truck worth $20,000), that adds almost 30 cents per mile for the first 5 years. That doesn't take into account your monthly payment, insurance, registration or any maintenance.

My Insight, on the other hand, was worth $3,000 75,000 miles ago. It's probably still worth $3,000.

EDIT: Another way to look at it, if you paid $40,000 for it new and plan to drive it into the ground (let's say 300k miles since it's diesel), it's an amortized average 13 cents per mile until the scrapyard takes it. The earlier miles cost more if you ever intend to sell it.