You are actually missing the gist of this. I meant to give you perspective. An overall view of the many components to your car's value. From the miles to the depreciation and to the value TOYOTA Financial has placed on similar cars over a 3-year time frame for depreciation that's REAL and tangible.
If I was going to Grad School... I would tell my wife that her gas guzzling SUV had to go!!! Gotta save all the money you can!
Haha ya I wish that was the case. If we owned the Prius and not the SUV then it would be a no brainer. Unfortunately we own the Volvo (it's a 2004).
One other item to bring up and that is future gas prices. With the current situation in Iran, there is a TON of speculation that Gas prices will go to record highs come Spring (target Memorial Day). Ask your spouse if the thought of gassing up the Volvo @ $4.00/gallon is an appealing proposition (when you have a car that uses half the fuel). Link to the article discussing gasoline prices Roadshow: Record-setting gas prices could hammer California by Memorial Day - San Jose Mercury News I suggest you make her pay cash (no ATM/Debit/Credit card) to watch how far that $100 bill goes in the Volvo.
Very interesting article! I think it should be interesting to see what happens. But as far as the Volvo vs Prius thing, there are two factors against the Prius. 1 my wife's Volvo has always been her "dream" car. Second, we would have to spend over $400/mo on gas in Volvo just to cover car payment, not including however much driving we would do. Currently we drive about 400-500 miles a month because we live on campus. Even at $10/gal, it would still be about $300/mo to fuel the Volvo.
