How a vehicle holds it’s value matters as much as it’s retail cost (MSRP). So figure what the vehicle will be worth in 5 years (at sites like Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds) and subtract that from your purchase price. The result will be the true cost of owning your new car. You’ll generally find that higher priced vehicles are often cheaper in the long run because of their better ability to hold value.
Even better yet, if you can live with buying a slightly used car, you can save as much as 40%, since new cars lose about 40% of their value in the first three years. Craigslist often has some great gems in their used car listings.
Happy car shopping!
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Posted by djmikey
Thanks for the tip! I bought my last car (a 2002 audi a4) from autotrader.com. It’s a bit easier to search by region and details of the car than craigslist is.
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Posted by lawrencel715
in particular, american cars drop in value so much more than japanese. edmunds.com calculates true to own costs for popular cars - some cars don’t have figures yet.
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Posted by lilkitty
I’d buy used, but I love that new car small way too much. I don’t mind spending a bit more to be the first owner. :D
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Posted by David
I’m always up for car tips, especially saving when it comes to a car. All we need is an article on budget cars that price their value. :D
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Posted by AllaN
Handy sites, im saving them for for future use, but some car gets higher appreciation depending on its production and availability, if the production stops, the cars’ values may go up
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