Quote:
Originally Posted by BRZfan
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deslock
Limited.
Even when a car is reasonably priced up front, it's not cheap to operate once you factor in fuel, maintenance, insurance, taxes, parking, resale, etc. Owning my BRZ for 10 years / 150k miles will cost me 40-42 cents/mile ($16-17/day). I spent $2k extra for Limited, which equates to 1.0-1.3 cents/mile. So while I initially paid an extra ~7% to get Limited, it'll only end up being an extra 2.3-3.3% of the total cost.
IMO, that was well worth it just for keyless, automatic/dual HVAC controls, and heated mirrors. The heated seats, leather/alcantara, and fog lights are also nice to have. I didn't care about the spoiler when I ordered, but it looks good in person, and is actually functional (for reducing drag).
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It IS a good analysis....but keeping a car for ten years is not the norm. |
Thanks. FWIW, it also applies if you sell the car sooner, though not quite as favorably. If I keep my BRZ for 3 years and 45k miles, I'd probably average 52-56 cents/mile and $21-23/day. If resale is $900-1200 higher for a Limited at that point, that'd mean having spent 1.8-2.4 cents/mile for it (3.4-4.2% of the total cost).
Different mileage/year changes things slightly, but the general point still applies: Proportionally you won't end up spending that much extra for Limited because (1) the car will retain more value and (2) purchase price is only one of many costs.