If you’re like me, every time your “check engine” light pops on, or some component starts emitting an odd noise (or smell), a tiny counter in your brain rolls forward like an odometer. Is this the Big One? Should you take your beloved beater off life support and shell out for a new ride instead?
Just how much is too much to spend on repairs? The answer might surprise you. Let’s start by looking at how much you should expect to pay for repairs over the lifetime of your car and then compare that to the cost of buying a new one.
Sticker prices and financing aside, figuring out which car is really the cheapest to own can be a complicated affair. You have to consider the costs of sales tax, depreciation, fuel, interest on the loan, insurance, maintenance and repair. In this article, I’ll give you the rundown on the best deals over the long haul, broken down my MSRP, total cost of ownership (TCO) and vehicle category.
Ambrose Bierce called insurance “an ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comfortable conviction that he is beating the man who keeps the table.” Liability auto insurance can shield you from the worst financial fallout of an accident, but it’s still a long shot that you’ll need it. When buying a policy, consider: How lucky do you feel, and how much do you stand to lose?
Paying auto insurance premiums month after month can be a bitter pill to swallow. It’s like a bet you’re never allowed to collect on because, if you do, chances are you’re premiums will go up. Maybe the pill would go down a bit easier if we better understood how the odd little people in the green visors calculate our premiums.
This article isn’t for you, because I know what a good driver you are, but maybe you have, let’s say, a friend. This friend has a bit of lead foot, is a fan of the stop-sign-roll-through, likes to tailgate, rabbits through traffic like a squirrel on speed and tends to get a bit mouthy with local law enforcement. Well, this article isn’t going to help your friend, but it might keep you from stumbling into an avoidable ticket.