[Caddylackn]

I saw an article recently about the best car to buy with the lowest operating costs per mile long term. So, $ spent per mile driven. The cost of the car was included in the analysis.

It was a ten year old prius that was number one on the list to own. Assuming you paid $13k for a 10-year old Prius, it was the cheapest car to own if you look at in terms of $ paid per miles driven over a period of x years. I think the period was ten years. The ten year old prius has very low maintenance and fuel costs and that countered the $13k capital costs to put it to the top of the list.

Now, their study, I believe had a limit on how old the car could be.

In reality, a Geo Metro, or Saturn SL1 or SL2, or older Civic would win the $ per mile contest, but if you can't do the maintenance/repairs yourself and want safety, ABS, air bags, etc. they would not be practical.