On Fri, 12 Aug 2011 06:18:04 -0700, SMS
wrote:

On 8/12/2011 5:26 AM, Doug Miller wrote:

So buy a 5 or 6 year old car. So what?

If the only important factor in your purchasing decision is the
percentage of depreciation, that works.
But if you get rid of your cars at about 18 years, depreciation is
not an issue. Cost is - initial cost and repair cost - which
translates to cost per year.

A new car, bought right, CAN cost less per year over 18 years than the
used one, bought at 3 years, over 15 - or sometimes even the used one,
bought at 5 years, over 13.

Depends a LOT on how you buy it. (cash or finance - what finance rate,
and how good a deal you get - bought private, from dealer, or off used
car lot (often the poorest deal)