How many of you consider TCO when buying a car?

[Chunkee]

TCO?
Length of Ownership?

JC

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Yup. Mainly gas and insurnace prices. But TCO is why I didn't get power windows, doorlocks, fog lights, cruise control, etc. But I DID get heavy duty cooling and that sort of stuff. My car's about 5 years old now and still pretty damned good.

 

[vi edit]

I definitely consider TCO.

When I buy a car I take into consideration gasoline costs, insurance costs, depreciation costs, repair costs, and reliability.

I don't buy solely on TCO, but it certainly is a factor.

 

[lokiju]

Not as much as I should.

TCO is way to high now on my 130,000 mile gas hog.

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

I don't really consider it personally. I place most emphasis on overall looks and how well it will suit my needs.

 

[Nyati13]

TCO, I do pay attention to it, but that isn't a primary factor in my purchase.

I generally keep a car 7 to 8 years.

 

[Tbirdkid]

I dont really pay much attention to that as i should, but i would say i have two vehicles now that will have a low tco. The yukon will be the worst besides my bike, and my altima last. You also have to consider alot of other things such as gas cost which is so variable its crazy. That along with the ability to take my family with me in my sedan is why i didnt buy a sports car. I got rid of a dodge ram for my sedan and sometimes i wish i still had my truck for its uses, but after that, im glad i did it.

 

[j00fek]

i used to consider it then i just started buying honda

 

[dullard]

I definately do. It is really stupid in life to NOT consider the total costs of your decisions. However, I remember to consider the cost/benefit of intangibles. Suppose, vehicle X has a TCO of $10,000 over 5 years and vehicle Y has a TCO of $11,000 over 5 years. I don't just automatically choose vehicle X because it is cheaper. No, I do my best to give a value to the intangibles. I estimate the value of things such as (a) will vehicle Y better fit my needs, (b) do I like the look/feel of vehicle Y more, (c) will I be safer in vehicle Y, etc. If the intangibles give vehicle Y at least a $1,000 bonus over 5 years, then ultimately vehicle Y is the better value even if the TCO is higher.

Disclaimer: the numbers in the above paragraph do not reflect any specific vehicles, nor do they reflect my opinions nor the opinions of ATOT on the issue. I personally buy a car to use for 10 years.

 

[FoBoT]

sure
i keep cars for a very long time, normally

only new car i bought, we still have it

paid about $13,500 in Nov. 1989 and we still drive it (part time)
so that works out to $843.75 per year

i can only guess at total maintenance, but it has never had a major engine or transmission problem, so i'll guess $2500 for maintenance, that is $31.25 per year

gas, whatever, it still gets 32 MPG last time i checked

insurance, i dropped collision/comp several years ago, right now liability on it is something like $125 per year

it still runs great! i just need to replace the muffler and exhaust pipes and put a new water pump on it to get it ready for its winter driving season (A/C went out 7 years ago, so we avoid driving it in the summer)

 

[kranky]

I consider TCO. I bought bland cars with good reliability records that are cheap to insure, and I use them until I can give them away and not worry about the little bit of cash I could get by trying to sell them.

 

[thomsbrain]

i definetely consider it. insurance and depreciation are often overlooked in that equation, too.

 

[Ryan]

IIRC, The Scion xB has one of the lowest costs of ownership in the industry

 

[Slew Foot]

You should, but most Americans are too stupid and just look at the monthly payment.

 

[Mloot]

Never thought much about it, to be honest. Over the weekend, the Ford minivan that I've had for 9 yrs. and 200K+ miles finally got to the point where it cost more to keep it running than it was worth (total brake failure). It had been reliable until the last year or so, but over the last few months things started going fairly fast. I figure I got more than my money's worth out of it, but I bought a new Toyota van a couple of days ago because I hope it will last longer and be in better shape in 9yrs/200K miles.

 

[BrownTown]

Yeah, apparently if you buy a foreign car they have to ship the parts over from across the ocean, or maybe thats only if its somewhat rare. Anyways, it means that repairs are much more expensive. Personally as I dont own a car i don't consider it much .

 

[Zenmervolt]

Yes and no. I consider TCO in my decision for what I can afford, but it's mainly a factor to limit the number of vehicles I look at. I use TCO to determine my range and then select the vehicle in that range that I enjoy the most. Most recently, it was the Mustang. I intend to keep the Mustang for 10+ years, so at least until I'm 34. So far, the only costs have been fuel and insurance (dealership had a "free oil changes for life" thing going when I bought the car).

ZV

 

[brandonbull]

I get a car that I like. Could care less about resale value or TCO. I'm buying an item that depreciates on a daily basis. If I wanted an investment, a car would not be one of them.

 

[radioouman]

Absolutely. I just bought a 1994 Dodge Dakota. Insurance is $165 every six months. Out the door price was $2885. I will drive it for 3 years, and probably put $1000 into repairs per year. Add gas into the equation, and I'm barely at what some people pay just for insurance.

 

[her209]

I'm going to save up for a new Ferrari. Pay off the first month's insurance and see how quickly I can total the car.