Cars I

 

I'm turning 21 in a couple of months and I've owned 5 vehicles since I turned 16 (actually, I never even got a car until about 5 months after my 16th birthday).

So I'm averaging about 1 a year right now

 

4 cars since 16.
Probe GT - 75k miles 5.5 years
Civic Si - 35k miles 2.5 years
WRX - 30k miles 2.5 years
S2000 - 13k and counting. 1+ year

I am going to keep the S for a while. Need to save up and buy a house now.

 

The thing that really kills you when you switch cars regularly, even with low-depreciation used cars, is the taxes in states that have sales tax on cars (read: almost all states).

So I have a 6% sales tax in my state. I buy a $20,000 used car, and I pay an additional $1200 to the state immediately before I ever drive it home. You won't see any of that tax back, no matter how great the car holds its resale value.

Andrew

 

Hmmm...

91 Maxima - Approx 2 yr, 6 mo
03 RSX - 2 mo
00 S2000 - 2 yr, 2 mo*
95 Civic - 5 mo
93 Prelude - 5 mo*

*Currently own

 

I generally flip about every 3-5 yrs or so unless someone totals my car, and I usually buy 2-3 yrs old and save on depreciation - the only car i bought new was my S. I'll probably flip it after 5 years for a red one...

NC sales tax is 3%, so its pretty easy to get into different cars.

 

I keep cars until the cost of keeping them exceeds the cost of replacing them (or until something or someone kills them). My previous ride was a 1989 Toyota Celica GT convertible I bought in June of 1989, and drove until last summer when I bought my S (imagine how much I enjoy that step up in performance!). That replaced a 1978 Fiat 124 Spider, which replaced a 1969 124 Spider (I commuted by train or bicycle during the Fiat years, so the fact that they often were balky was not a big deal). I intend to keep the S for many years.

 

Here are my thoughts on holding cars. The amount you paid for your car is a sunk cost that you might as well disregard after you drive away from the dealership.

In fact, I holding onto a car you don't use is the opposite of what you should do if you care about depreciation. Because your car will only depreciate more as time goes by, you lose money when you hold it longer. If the monthly rate of depreciation (+insurance +upkeep) is greater than the monthly utility you receive from having the car, then there is no good reason not to sell it.

 

I've owned 4 cars since getting my license:

1970 Chevy Camaro RS/SS - 14 years and counting
1980 Honda Civic - 4 years
1988 Toyota Truck 4x4 - 6 years
2003 S2000 - a little over a year and counting

I have a hard time getting rid of cars. I would have kept the Toyota if I could have but I needed to trade it in to get my wifes new car. I then got her old Explorer for 3 mos. until I couldn't stand it and got the S.

I figure I'll keep my Camaro and the S, and supplement it with a Z06 or GT3 in the next couple of years.

 

I really do want to keep my cars for a long time but it never works out.