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Doug Miller[_2_]

In article , wrote:
On Fri, 12 Aug 2011 01:45:21 GMT, (Doug
Miller) wrote:

It doesn't matter HOW you're paying. It's still not a sound financial
decision. Let someone *else* pay the depreciation, and buy the car after it's
lost 1/3 to 1/2 of its value.

May as well let it loose 75% of it's value, or more.

That depends largely on how skilled you are at making your own repairs. I've
been doing the vast majority of my own service for 35 years (including engine
and transmission rebuilds), so buying older, high-mileage vehicles does not
daunt me. The newest used car I've ever bought was five years old; the oldest,
nineteen. Average about ten.

With any used vehicle, there's a point where cost of repair has a greater
influence on total cost of ownership than does the initial purchase cost. If
you have to pay someone else to do your repairs, that point comes earlier in
the vehicle's life. For those folks who can't do their own repairs, it's
likely to be somewhere around 40-50% depreciation. I'm quite content to buy at
75% depreciation, but then, I pay only the cost of parts for nearly all my
repairs.