a car costs

[low_delta]

Here are my rough estimations based on my own costs:

A $20,000 car that lasts ten years: $2000 per year.
$600 per year in insurance
$100 a year for oil changes
$20 per week for gas: $1000 per year
$50 a year for car washes
$4000 lifetime for repairs and maintenance: 400 per year

That's $4750 a year, on average. More while I'm making payments, and less after that.

Let's see now... what percent of my take-home pay is that? Eew, that's not good at all.

Comments

[melonaise.livejournal.com]

Reason #2 I don't have a car. :) Reason #1 being that I don't know how to drive. ;)

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

It's great that you can get by without one. Personally, even if I could get away with not owning one, I'd still want to know how to drive.

[specificocean.livejournal.com]

Time for an auto-industry rant here...

THIS is why the manufacturers can't move as much metal (er, plastic) out the showroom door as they'd like. They've jacked up prices to the point where people with any fiscal sanity are refusing to buy what they offer. That $20,000 car depreciates $6,000 the minute you drive it off the lot. Thus, they keep going back to 0% financing and other gimmicks in desperation.

And whatever happened to the "basic transportation" car? NO power door locks and windows (e.g.) as standard equipment.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

1. People are realizing that the longer you keep a car, the better the value.

2. The more people buy those features, the cheaper they are to produce and install.

[specificocean.livejournal.com]

1. True. HOWEVER, with electronic gadgets galore, cars don't last as long. And power window motors cost $200, window cranks a fraction of that (e.g.)

2. Perhaps when the veh is MANUFACTURED, they're cheaper to produce/install. Try replacing 'em when they wear out.

[vlinker.livejournal.com]

a good reason not to buy a "new" vehicle....

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I prefer a new vehicle. That way I'm sure it's been maintained well. A lot of late-model used cars (which are positioned best on the value curve) were leased, and not taken care of the best.

Re:

[vlinker.livejournal.com]

i prefer to buy from a private owner......never a dealer.......and i have had fairly good luck in doing so.....

[banana.livejournal.com]

But if you save the $6,000 that specificocean suggests, won't that more than make up for any extra work you need doing on it? One of our cars was a lease car and the other was a company car, so they'd both been heavily used, but we had them inspected and a few initial problems fixed, and they're still going fine. I don't remember exactly when we bought the older one, but it must be close to ten years. One of the doors is rusting, but everything else is good.

On the other side, I've heard endless stories of people buying new cars and having endless problems that neither the manufacturer nor the dealer want to fix.

Shortly after we bought our first house, I dreamed that I spent the same amount again on a Ferarri without telling my SO. When I mentioned the dream to people at work, they said you couldn't get a Ferarri for that. Even in my sleep I bought a second hand car. 8~)

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Yes and no. Generally, you can't find a car that has just been driven off the lot, and whose owner is willing to sell it for $6000 less than he paid. :-)

I would be willing to go that route, but I'd have to spend a lot of time shopping around, before I felt very comfortable.

But it is true that the initial bugs will have been found.

I think my house cost as much as a lower-end Ferarri.