Friday, May 15, 2009

Auto Nation

Yesterday's news about the Chrysler closing of roughly 25% of dealerships nationwide, and GM preparing to announce the closing of approximately 1100 more, have many people thinking about cars.  While this is certainly bad news for the owners and local communities, it should be good news for folks looking to buy a new car.  While some of these dealerships may close down, others will remain open as used-car dealerships or possibly switch to another brand.  As a general rule, buying a car is a personal choice, not an investment.  It is pretty hard to make a case for buying a new car over a used or pre-owned car.  Depreciation is the main reason.  You can usually find a better deal on a 2-4 year old car with low miles.  Hybrid cars are another area of confusion.  While saving money on gas and getting better mileage is preferred, to trade in your paid for vehicle for a new Hybrid almost never makes sense.  The gas savings would take years to pay for the difference in price, in some cases 7-10 years (or never).  Check out the neat calculator on Edmunds, to find out of it's worth it to trade in your gas guzzler for a new gas sipper:


The results may surprise you!  If you want to get a higher mileage vehicle, one alternative is to try a motorcycle!  Well, it looks like rain today, I guess I'll have to take my Durango again!

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