You got it! You have to compare apples to apples, in this case its out of pocket vs out of pocket for two alternative cars, not a comparison of new car vs used. So the time period and the payments are whats critical to your decision/analysis.

We know that new cars are better, nicer, warranteed and and make our dicks bigger in the eyes of our friends and enemies, but its usually the second biggest expense in a person's budget after housing costs. We need a car, the question is what do we need and how much should we spend. Wealth is not what you can afford, its what you keep after buying what you need. Thats a financial decision, anthing else is an emotional decision. And its ok to make an emotional decision, you just can't quantify emotional satisfcation as its subjective from person to person. especially in hindsight.

I have posted on the 9 - 3 board about this topic because they are usually heavy lease users and a lot of their comparisons neglect the renewal period of the lease and the costs associated with the renewal or termination charges.

Now buying used is not without risk, you could get a lemon. Or suffer a huge repair out of warranty. But you can minimize that by figuring out the history of the car, Carfax, SAAB corporate records (not as good as in the past)or using independent mechanics. In my opinion, the reason SAABs are a good risk is that they are well made to start, generally bought new by higher income users that do not work on their cars, so the dealers maintain them. Higher income owners usually keep the cars a short time and then trade in. SAABs also don't have the cachet of a BMW or Mercedes, so they depreciate significantly enough that there are great used car opportunities.

My 2 cents worth......

posted by 208.212.2...

• the price of used car ownership--4 yr lookback, Dan A, Wed, 8 May 2002 12:09:19
  • New for same cost - And it's new too!, Mike Lynch , Thu, 9 May 2002 18:57:55
    • Used buyers think it's a trick, but it's true!, Mike Lynch , Thu, 9 May 2002 19:17:12
  • You done good, my thoughts........, pursang, Wed, 8 May 2002 12:47:35
    • Re: You done good, my thoughts........, Dan A, Wed, 8 May 2002 13:48:20
      • Exactly,........, pursang, Wed, 8 May 2002 15:40:40 <-- Viewing This Message
        • What about us buyers of new cars...., Bob M, Thu, 9 May 2002 11:29:56
          • Re: What about us buyers of new cars...., Matthew, Fri, 10 May 2002 17:42:57
          • Re: What about us buyers of new cars...., No.9, Thu, 9 May 2002 16:54:04
            • Re: What about us buyers of new cars...., Saabrunner, Fri, 10 May 2002 13:06:31
            • Re: What about us buyers of new cars...., pursang, Thu, 9 May 2002 17:08:02
  • Re: the price of used car ownership--4 yr lookback, 91Aero.jr, Wed, 8 May 2002 12:30:12

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