http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/andylawcc/CheapSuv.JPG
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Sa...WhyNowsTheTimeToBuyAnSUV.aspx?GT1=8386
excerpts:
You consider a 2002 Dodge Durango SLT, two-wheel drive with a 4.7-liter V-8 engine. It's rated by the EPA at about 17 mpg in combined city and highway driving. If you drive the national average of 12,000 miles a year and pay the national average of $2.90 a gallon for regular, it'll cost about $2,047 in gasoline, annually, to steer your Durango around town. That boils down to $171 a month.
Now let's say your alternative is a 2002 Honda Accord LX, with a 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engine. It gets a combined mileage of 32 mpg, which means you'd spend $1,087 annually, or $91 per month. That means the Honda will save you $960 on gas annually.
But wait. The average sale price of a four-year-old Durango has dropped significantly over the past year: 8%, to $12,643, according to Edmunds.com's Rosten. "Normally prices should be going up year to year around 2%." That's $1,000 that you could use for gas.
Meanwhile, the Honda's average sale price rose about 10% over the past year, or more than $1,000, to about $12,000 at dealers. It will cost you a lot more to buy that Honda. (In fact, the market value of compact cars generally has climbed 11% in the last year, and subcompacts are up 23%, says Rosten, as more people have looked to get into a smaller car.)
still, I still don't find the logic; in the long run, the SUV's lower MPG is gonna get ya... and that's assuming gas price stays @ $3.00.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Sa...WhyNowsTheTimeToBuyAnSUV.aspx?GT1=8386
excerpts:
You consider a 2002 Dodge Durango SLT, two-wheel drive with a 4.7-liter V-8 engine. It's rated by the EPA at about 17 mpg in combined city and highway driving. If you drive the national average of 12,000 miles a year and pay the national average of $2.90 a gallon for regular, it'll cost about $2,047 in gasoline, annually, to steer your Durango around town. That boils down to $171 a month.
Now let's say your alternative is a 2002 Honda Accord LX, with a 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engine. It gets a combined mileage of 32 mpg, which means you'd spend $1,087 annually, or $91 per month. That means the Honda will save you $960 on gas annually.
But wait. The average sale price of a four-year-old Durango has dropped significantly over the past year: 8%, to $12,643, according to Edmunds.com's Rosten. "Normally prices should be going up year to year around 2%." That's $1,000 that you could use for gas.
Meanwhile, the Honda's average sale price rose about 10% over the past year, or more than $1,000, to about $12,000 at dealers. It will cost you a lot more to buy that Honda. (In fact, the market value of compact cars generally has climbed 11% in the last year, and subcompacts are up 23%, says Rosten, as more people have looked to get into a smaller car.)
still, I still don't find the logic; in the long run, the SUV's lower MPG is gonna get ya... and that's assuming gas price stays @ $3.00.
