So wouldn’t this total cost to own assume it depreciates to zero then? I mean a 6 year old Tahoe with 15k/year of driving is still going to be worth $20k at least. IMO though not taking depreciation into account is a good idea for long-term cars because then anything you get back when you trade/sell it is a positive.

They are nice, but man are they expensive. I looked into the Tacoma as a wild-card option to replace my BMW since the reviews were so good and had a good manual. Not only is the top trim that’s available with a manual pretty much a unicorn, with all the good options it’s like $55k MSRP. And with a car that you can’t…

I just can’t understand how they looked at this completely objectively and said “yes an $80k starting price for the new Macan is great.”

That’s a 2004 Commemorative edition, same as mine but with an auto. Great car and great color combo. I’m not a fan of Paul but props to him for his great taste in cars!

It’s a BMW off-roader, so technically it’s a “sports activity vehicle”

So this is anecdotal and one of my cars is black so it kind of flies under the radar, but I’m pretty sure having the special support the troops plates offered in my state has played a part in keeping me from being pulled over in the first place. I’m not a slow driver but don’t fly by cops, and we don’t have front…

Honda and Kia have more claims because they’re more likely to be driven by younger people, and people with likely less funds to cover a high deductible. The risk is the 16 year old driver, and a low-volume luxury car with a high cost to repair is going to be a lot more expensive than a more basic car.

Yeah I think the time is right especially now. They used to say entry level Porsches are used Porsches, but they’re just not depreciating now, so we have to keep looking older and older for something affordable.

No, don’t admit it looks good. I know looks are subjective, but you give them an inch they give you an iX. Hold the line, the current BMWs are ugly. Eventually with enough pushback they’ll start making some good looking cars again.

Dude it’s a goddamn puddle. It’s not a ford. Yeah it splashed up a little on the front bumper but it’s midengine so it’s not going to damage anything.

Yeah no I have a C5 and they’re not bad at all. No they’re not daylight-levels of lighting, but it doesn’t need to be. They’re as good as any other car of the era which is plenty bright for normal driving.

The photo of it in the slideshow makes it look high AF to me...

A luxury sedan, Kia, or hot hatch as a first car for a 16 year old? I know he’s probably on his parents’ policy but any of those are going to be stupidly expensive to insure.

There’s nothing wrong with being a weenie. Just that for brand new cars, no matter how “exciting” the Camry gets it’s always the boring default choice for the Ned Flanders types.

This vintage SL was awful for reliability, the CLK not so much. No air ride, the top is ligher since it’s a soft top so less stress on the hydraulics, no SBC brakes or ABC hydraulic suspension either on this one.

Usually the old Benz horror stories are on either the AMGs, V12s, or other “big Benz” models that not only are old, but have historically less reliable engines and other tech like air ride that people continually forget is a wear/maintenance item not a forever part.

There’s no denying that the Camry is a good car, or even can be a sporty car. It still gets derided not because of the car itself, but because of its buyers. The majority of new Camry buyers being completely apathetic about cars and going with it not because it’s fun but because it’s a Toyota Camry and facts and…

ND especially with the miles. I worked in the service aisle at a VW dealer back in the early 2010s and I saw the repair bills for these. People loved them and kept them through being mechanically totaled multiple times over. Honestly from what I saw it’s probably break even with buying a similarly priced V12 Mercedes,…

Oh nice, so if I see a car with model designation that’s a mishmash of poorly spelled English with a few Cyrillic characters in there I’ll assume it’s just the new Maserati...

It’s not even about treating your car as disposable, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about getting your regular maintenance done, but when the oil change guy says not a lot drained out failing to recognize that as an oil burning issue. Or not knowing that you should really save all your service records in case…