Jalopnik: Does mileage (as in miles accumulated) matter?

[kevm14]

The only other option is keep the car for a shorter period of time, which sucks if you actually like it. So you could get the V, drive it for 2 years, and sell it. It's easy to be a proponent of buying a car when it is basically used up and driving it into the ground (Adam's method and similar to mine). But when you are looking at a $30k CTS-V2 (which is a LOT of car for $30k), you don't just sign up to drive that into the ground, probably. But the more you use it, the less it will be worth.

[kevm14]

Going further with the CTS-V example...say I drove my CTS-V regularly as everyone seems to think I should. Say I manage 12k miles a year, which would probably require I get snow tires or all seasons.

It would have around 157k now instead of 118k and I demoted it to Average condition. That would take it from being worth $12,700 dealer retail to $8,150. Instead of $2,300 in depreciation, I would have been looking at $6,850.

And, if I bought the 2007 instead, thinking I better buy a lower mileage one since I'm going to use it daily, hoo boy...that would be worth $12,167 dealer retail, average condition (same daily driving), indicating a depreciation of $15,833!

I conclude I have made a smart move by both buying the vehicle I did and attempting to preserve the car by using it in the manner that I have. Not only is it worth more (I could still sell it), but I have also exposed it to less shit that demotes the condition, as well as saving money on wear/tear items. This works because I have other vehicles to drive which are relatively cheap to own.

Now for car people, the answer isn't to just not buy a nice car, but to think it through a bit in terms of the initial cost, intended use and how long you plan to own it. Manage expectations. You can't often drive nice cars for nothing, unless you enjoy a very specific set of circumstances. It's going to cost something.

[Bob]

Yes, and however that drives the year/mileage.

It sounds like the Accord decision was pretty solid.

The real issue is, if you use a car a lot, it is going to depreciate more than if you didn't use it, due to wear/tear as well as the miles themselves. But even if you don't use it, it still depreciates. So you almost have to do a business case analysis on each individual situation and the car to determine how to optimally operate the vehicle. Which is a crazy amount of thinking for what is a means of conveyance.

I think the Accord decision was solid, especially given the one year ownership horizon. I drove the car 100 miles to deliver it last weekend and I must say it drove very nicely. It is still tight with no rattles or other apparent issues. It handles pretty well and has a sophisticated feel to it like the Hondas of old. The only downside I noticed during my long boring highway drive was that the on center feel was a little less than perfect, probably due to worn suspension components or crappy mismatched tires. This is something I would probably try to address if I owned it, but I am 100% confident the new owner will never notice.

Also, looking under the oil cap revealed there may be some sludge or other build up. I instructed the new owner to keep an eye on the oil consumption. The K-series isn't known to be a big user of oil the way the older Hondas were, but this probably still isn't a bad idea. If I owned the car, I might attempt an auto-rx treatment.

This whole Accord thing kind of made me long for a cheaper car that I could put some effort into to make nicer. Maybe I should buy this car next year to keep miles off of my future V2

[kevm14]

Exactly.

[Bob]

The only other option is keep the car for a shorter period of time, which sucks if you actually like it. So you could get the V, drive it for 2 years, and sell it. It's easy to be a proponent of buying a car when it is basically used up and driving it into the ground (Adam's method and similar to mine). But when you are looking at a $30k CTS-V2 (which is a LOT of car for $30k), you don't just sign up to drive that into the ground, probably. But the more you use it, the less it will be worth.

I think the thing about the V2 is that I almost feel bad using it as a daily driver because of the amount of depreciation it will suffer and the fact that the car is kind of special. I also don't know if I would be willing to give up the Elise to have this as my special car. Of course, I would be able to use it a lot more due to the extra seating and driving it around Charlotte would actually be more fun than driving the Elise around Charlotte.

[kevm14]

I think a better option would actually be something like a nice condition V1 that was Magnacharged. Waaay cheaper and about as fast. Yeah it's not as fancy but think of the savings.

[Adam]

Pretty much everything else can be replaced (unless you picked something rare/stupid)

No comment.