O/T Car TCO
Exactly...
I argued one time with a co-worker who leased a Jeep Cherokee for 4 years at $450 a month. I bought an Intrepid (don't laugh) and at the time paid $495/month for 5 years.
He repeated the mantra, "if it depreciates, Lease it, appreciates, buy it." I laughed because he ended up parking it for 6 months do to mileage penalties and turned it in with nothing. I sold the car after 7 years and actually $3k for it with 176k miles on it.
I am waiting to see on the Hybrids, how punishing the battery replacement is, once it is out of warranty. My wifes company picked a first generation Prius for research. Shortly after warranty was over there were several issues with the powertrain. Repair estimate was 8k. The dealership gave them $2500 for it as it was.
If you have a 3 year old Prius, DUMP IT now!!!! Somebody will give you a great resell price. Avoid the repair issues.
caddman
