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Originally posted by jpg7n16
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thekid- I'm noticing that I come across more argumentative than I mean to be at times 
Sometimes I mean it. This was not one of those times.
My intelligent questions line was my thought process, not an accusation or anything.
Even still - I'll go with your numbers. Say $354 of extra depreciation. But you forgot the extra finance charges of interest, so there's still roughly an $854/year gap that the $20k car (with 15k financed) is going to cost over the $10k car (with $5k financed). And I don't think maintenance expenses for $10k cars run anywhere close to $350/year - let alone $850.
My car was an '06 Accord bought in summer 08 for $13k cash. I've had to replace the brake pads, and that's it. So over 2 years, I'm a long way from $700.
Sometimes I mean it. This was not one of those times.
My intelligent questions line was my thought process, not an accusation or anything.
Even still - I'll go with your numbers. Say $354 of extra depreciation. But you forgot the extra finance charges of interest, so there's still roughly an $854/year gap that the $20k car (with 15k financed) is going to cost over the $10k car (with $5k financed). And I don't think maintenance expenses for $10k cars run anywhere close to $350/year - let alone $850.
My car was an '06 Accord bought in summer 08 for $13k cash. I've had to replace the brake pads, and that's it. So over 2 years, I'm a long way from $700.
I did refer to financing costs in my post. If you stay within the same make, you will necessarily buy significantly older if you want to half the purchase price and that will cost you much more maintenance (possibly completely offseting -and beyond- the extra depreciation/financing).
My point in all thi was simply that value of a car purchase cannot be determined by purchase price alone, as depeciation will be fairly steady from year to year after the initial 2-3 years of heavier depreciation. So once you chose a make, buying a 2 year old car or a 6 year old car will cost you roughly the same for say 4 years of use even if the newer car will have a higher purchase price. I take it you went with this conclusion yourself since you bought a 2 year old car.
That's for the how used should you go debate (and hence the determination of value within a make).
The choice of make, that's really a question of afordability to a partiular buyer and his/her own priorities. The fact that the OP was going for a 20k$ used car really doesn't tell me anything without regard to his overall financial situation.
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