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Old 12-01-2023, 03:02 PM   #33 (permalink)
Isaac Zachary
High Altitude Hybrid
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Gunnison, CO
Posts: 2,075

Avalon - '13 Toyota Avalon HV
90 day: 40.45 mpg (US)

Prius - '06 Toyota Prius
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5 View Post
I've always wondered why people of modest means purchase a new car in the first place?
Doing some quick math, I noticed a Camry (maybe other cars are different) loses about 1/3 of it's value in 5 years. So a $30,000 becomes $20,000 in 5 years. If you plan on keeping the car 15 years, then it's going to cost $10,000 per every 5 years regardless if you buy new or 5 years used.

Of course getting into a $30,000 car means you'd need either a bigger down payment, longer loan term and/or bigger loan meaning you could end up paying more for interest and opportunity losses.
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