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New Cars and Keeping Driving Costs Down
Will A New Car Save Money?
If you’re considered buying a new car to save money on fuel, experts say you might reconsider. Consider the following scenario:
Current Car = 18 mpg;
15,000 miles per year = 833 gallons of gas per year.
If gas costs $4 per gallon that’s $3,332 per year for fuel costs.
New Car = 25 mpg;
15,000 miles per year = 600 gallons of gas per year.
If gas costs $4 per gallon that’s $2,400 per year for fuel costs.
So you save $3,332 - $2,400 = $932 per year. (Also see Window Stickers)
But what did it cost for you to save this $932?
| First year depreciation (20%) on a $25,000 car |
$5,000 |
| 6% Sales tax |
$1,500 |
| First year interest (6.5%) on a $20,000 car loan |
$1,300 |
| Plus higher insurance |
TBD |
That’s a whopping $7,800 (plus insurance) you would spend to save $932 just the first year (these are conservative figures). It could take 5+ years of fuel savings to recoup the first year costs.
Using this example, each year you drive the car you own you save $7,800 compared to the costs of a new one. Even with the additional fuel and maintenance costs for an older car ($2,000-3,000 annually) you’ll have $5000 left to use anywhere else you choose.
Keep Driving Costs Down - Drive The Car You Own.
The imports we work on have a service life well over 150,000 miles. That means if you trade yours at 80,000 miles, someone else is going to drive it comfortably another 5+ years and get the savings and value available from these high quality cars. Each year you put off trading saves you $5000 or more.
With our 30+ years of experience specialized on imports we can evaluate your present car to determine if it’s safe and practical to drive another year. We will show you what you could expect to spend doing that. We can also perform the service that gives you the best mileage, performance and long life from your car. Please call us with any questions you may have. |