I agree. For some interesting numbers, my wife and I bought a Prius in 2011 for $21,000 (2010 model). Current value around $6,000. So $15,000 lost in 9 years is about $140/month in depreciation. Maintenance costs have been minimal however. It kills me to see that.
Imagine a two car household, buying a more expensive car. My neighborhood is solidly middle class and most households have $25k-$30k cars x2 in their driveways.
Owning my 850 and working on it myself (and my wife's VW which I had to do a LOT of work on
) was one of the main ways we catapulted becoming financially free in our 30's. What savings we had we stuffed into investments instead of buying fancy, depreciating cars. Imagine if more of America did that.As much as I want a newer car I just can't physically get myself to buy one. The thought of losing hundreds of dollars a month for years really hurts.
That being said, it's time for a newer car and I'm not sure what route to go down. It seems anything newer than our 2000 and under cars are pretty much dealer or mechanic only when it comes to fixes. Anything 2010 and newer is out of the question.
It might be refurbishing older cars is the way to go for those interested in keeping costs down. But you run into problems like wiring starting to crumble etc. Ugh.
