>>>>Same thing applies to buying cars, the depreciation is such a huge factor your better off to drive the wheels off your old buggy, put some new ones on and drive them into the ground, again and again.
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>>>The most expensive thing you can do to a new car (without actually damaging it) is to drive it off the seller's lot. The moment you inserted the key and started the engine, you lost 20% of the car's value.
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>>>Which is why I'll keep buying used cars (the ridiculous expression "pre-owned" was not translated into Serbian, nor non-translated into Engrbian, so used it is), and will generously leave the luxury of buying new cars to those who know how to appreciate it (pun premeditated).
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>>I'm probably sick because my wife and I have typically bought new and kept the cars for ten or fifteen years, unless the repairs start costing more than the car is worth. OTOH a friend never buys a car less than two years old. He's probably smarter than I am.
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>I'm probably just lucky to have found a good used car each time so far. I drove a six year old corolla for another ten years. The repairs were minimal, overall below the cost of gas. And if you're keeping a new car so long, then you don't care how much it's worth 5 minutes after you buy it, and probably end up just like me, having a ride for about $1500 a year (in cost of hardware - gas and insurance are not in this amount). OTOH, if you're out of luck, you can waste a fortune on repairs, even on a new car, once the warranty expires.
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>If you're changing cars frequently, those aged 3-8 years are a good bet. My son in law has done it 40 times (with cars aged up to 20 years), but he's a pro and knows the ropes.

My car, a 2003 VW Jetta, will have been with me 10 years coming up next fall. This is a major change for me in automoting, Mr. New Sports Car Every Other Year. I just wish I had done so sooner. The Jetta doesn't peel anyone's eyes off on the highway but it has been very reliable. It has 115K miles on it now and there have been only minor maintenance issues. German auto engineering is not a myth.

Goodbye, little red Corvettes, you will always have a special place in my heart ;-) It was a time and a place. I am in a different time and place now and it would be sort of a joke to be one of those guys driving Corvettes just because they've got the money. Driving by themselves, their few strands of hair flying with the roof off. Less like a joke than a sad cliche.

My daughters and I have a running joke. Whenever we are on the road and see a yellow Corvette I say, "There's that guy again, driving my car." They have inherited my quirky sense of humor, such as it is, and know exactly what I mean.