Why You Should Wait Until 2010 To Buy A New Car

[johnpr]

a good reason to wait for 2010.... they will have worked out all the bugs in the new camaro so that i can happily put one in my driveway and by driving style alone get 30+ mpg.. think i am kidding? i drove (sometimes) like an ass, always on the gas pedal and rarely slower than 90 in my t/a and was averaging 24 mpg...

sorry for being a bit of a smart ass, ive just been waiting for the camaro for a while...

[JohnnyGrey]

Thanks for that calculator, Arminius. It's a real time saver. I found out that to justify dumping my paid-for Cavalier for a new Corolla, I'd have to drive 245,000 miles per year! I suppose the calculator is geared towards immediate monthly cost as it doesn't take loan term length into consideration.

Looking at only the next 5 years...

I'd have to drive 70Kmi/year to justify buying a used Corolla at $7K.

I'd have to drive 125Kmi/year to justify buying a new Prius.

Going "green" can come at a steep price, which is why I'm not overly concerned about "greenness". I wonder how many idiots dug themselves a deeper hole financially by buying a new "green" car because of the relatively minor costs of fuel.

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by LostCause

New technology means nothing alongside the same old mode of thought...but the technology is cool, though.

- LostCause

The business model is likely tied to that mode of thought.... Funding comes from sales (not necessarily directly). Why develop new tech when people aren't buying the transitional tech?

Just throwing that out there - the model isn't optimal from our perspective, but that doesn't change the model they appear to be following.

[trikkonceptz]

Originally Posted by JohnnyGrey

Going "green" can come at a steep price, which is why I'm not overly concerned about "greenness". I wonder how many idiots dug themselves a deeper hole financially by buying a new "green" car because of the relatively minor costs of fuel.

Add to that the fact that EVERYDAY I see those idiots passing me on the hwy doing 85mph, where is the savings there? I now cringe everytime I see a prius fly by me doing at least 20mph over the speed limit ..

[JohnnyGrey]

Add to that the fact that EVERYDAY I see those idiots passing me on the hwy doing 85mph, where is the savings there? I now cringe everytime I see a prius fly by me doing at least 20mph over the speed limit ..

Hey, if Al Gore were my dad, I'd be doing worse things than that.

[Arminius]

Originally Posted by JohnnyGrey

Thanks for that calculator, Arminius. It's a real time saver. I found out that to justify dumping my paid-for Cavalier for a new Corolla, I'd have to drive 245,000 miles per year! I suppose the calculator is geared towards immediate monthly cost as it doesn't take loan term length into consideration.

Looking at only the next 5 years...

I'd have to drive 70Kmi/year to justify buying a used Corolla at $7K.

I'd have to drive 125Kmi/year to justify buying a new Prius.

Going "green" can come at a steep price, which is why I'm not overly concerned about "greenness". I wonder how many idiots dug themselves a deeper hole financially by buying a new "green" car because of the relatively minor costs of fuel.

Let the rich people who want to impress their pseudo-green friends and the people who are bad at math buy those cars. Then they will saturate the used car market with them and it will then make sense to buy one.

[Lazarus]

Originally Posted by Arminius

Let the rich people who want to impress their pseudo-green friends and the people who are bad at math buy those cars. Then they will saturate the used car market with them and it will then make sense to buy one.

What if you don't have any friends. What does it matter if some one wants to buy a car, any car. It they have the cash let em. The market will dictate what they are worth when and if they try to sell them.

[ebacherville]

my dad did this calculation when looking at new cars a 12k yaris vs a 24k hybrid.. Yaris won even with its 10mopg less fuel rating.. and he calculated 15 year ownership.. however he cant predict the price of gas in there accurately, so he went with a even $4 a gallon..

The one huge draw back of hybrids are the batteries , if these go bad out of warrantee your in for a big expense.. however hopefully in that warranted time they will decrease in cost and increase in capacity making old hybrids more of a plug in hybrid.. only time will tell.. However if batteries get better we may see these hybrids getting more plug in conversions in the future or better MPG ratings with new batteries and computer reprograms.

Time will tell, do what you can now..

[Arminius]

Originally Posted by Lazarus

What if you don't have any friends. What does it matter if some one wants to buy a car, any car. It they have the cash let em. The market will dictate what they are worth when and if they try to sell them.

I'm not sure what you're getting at. I'm all for anyone buying anything they want. However, I'm also one who encourages running the numbers to make sure what makes the most economic sense. In addition, I think it hurts the environment more to make a new hybrid car from scratch than to buy an existing efficient car.

The hypocrisy comes into play when celebrities (or anyone, for that matter) buys a brand new hybrid car to show how "green" they are. Obviously that's better than buying a gas hog, or pouring gas on the ground. However, it's not better than walking, biking, public transportation (in most cases), or even buying any one of variety of efficient used cars. Every time a celebrity buys a Prius, it's on the news, but not when they buy a bike or a used Focus, Cobalt, Civic or Corolla. If someone wants to buy a Prius or Hummer, I'll let them.

I remember years ago (1989?) when the founder of a big computer company (Cray) was riding around in an old subcompact (I believe it was a Tercel), and he had a wrist watch taped to the dash because the car didn't come with a clock. That guy is a celebrity to me - and not just because he founded a big company.

[LostCause]

Originally Posted by Arminius

I remember years ago (1989?) when the founder of a big computer company (Cray) was riding around in an old subcompact (I believe it was a Tercel), and he had a wrist watch taped to the dash because the car didn't come with a clock. That guy is a celebrity to me - and not just because he founded a big company.

That's a great story.

I've recently heard one about an old lady near my community that drives a spartan 1980's Ford Escort. Her daily job is to drive by the hundreds of properties shes been accumulating since the 1950's to collect rent. Where was that option on those career surveys I used to take in high school?

I've also heard numerous times that the most common car of the average millionaire is a Ford Taurus. Wealth is measured by capital, investments, and money in the bank...not toys.

Personally, I cringe more at the sight of a full minivan rolling down the street than a celebrity in a Prius.

- LostCause