dagblog - Comments for ""True" Cost of 2011 Cars"

As another thought, after

Donal — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:51:28 +0000

As another thought, after CARS (Cash for Clunkers) removed a lot of potential vehicles from the market, used cars cost a lot more - which would affect depreciation values across the board.

You'll probably get a lot

Verified Atheist — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:30:36 +0000

In reply to [I like Dan Choi, but don't

You'll probably get a lot more mileage (no pun intended) by starting a blog about it. It's easy to register here, and I'm guessing you'd fit in.

[I like Dan Choi, but don't

mzchief — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:26:00 +0000

In reply to "True" Cost of 2011 Cars

[I like Dan Choi, but don't spam my blog]

That is strange. I did read

Donal — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:11:00 +0000

In reply to Huh, go figure. For their

That is strange. I did read that Honda was having battery problems early on, so maybe they were influenced by that. Another possibility is that the original Insight was such a dud that Edmunds assumed the Civbrid would be a dud, too. I have no idea if Edmunds revises these old TCO numbers like Blue Book does theirs.

Huh, go figure. For their

Verified Atheist — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:56:13 +0000

In reply to Yes, you've mentioned that

Huh, go figure. For their 2006 figures, the hybrid comes out ahead. Hybrid Sedan TCO: $26,493. Civic Sedan DX: $26,879. Civic Sedan LX: $27,774. Civic Sedan EX: $28,542. (Automatic for all of those.) As for differences, I've had no repairs to pay for, and my maintenance costs have been less than they report, but that would presumably apply across the board (I don't see a significant difference in what they're reporting for those costs depending on model). One other difference is that I had 0.9% financing, so that number dropped a bit (and since it's proportionate to cost, it is influenced by model). That said, I was totally forgetting to include it in my previous calculations.

The main thing I find wrong, and in my opinion it's very wrong, is their calculation of depreciation. They have the hybrid depreciating more than any of the other models, which makes absolutely no sense to me when you look at blue book values.

Yes, you've mentioned that

Donal — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:40:00 +0000

In reply to I'm somewhat surprised by

Yes, you've mentioned that before. Edmunds' TCO archive only goes back to 2006 for your Civbrid, but you could probably compare item to item and get a sense of where they differ (put in your own zip code):

http://www.edmunds.com/honda/civic/2006/tco.html?style=100660627

I'm somewhat surprised by

Verified Atheist — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:29:25 +0000

In reply to "True" Cost of 2011 Cars

I'm somewhat surprised by these numbers, considering that they putatively included resale value into their calculations. By my calculations, my Civic hybrid had a lower TCO over a traditional Civic after less than three years once you factor in the significantly higher resale value. And, of course, it's only getting better. (I bought my hybrid in 2005.)