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Some of you have touched on the core reasoning in my mind here- the new car vs. old supercar deal.
I'm going to pick a random new sporty car here- the G37 coupe.
A new, well optioned Infinity G37 will cost me more than the initial price of a Ferrari 348. Yes, it has a warranty, but let's not look into service at the moment- let's just judge the car and what it does for me-
The G37 has a lot of new, fancy gizmos like bluetooth-sync with phone probably, and Ipod connection, etc etc. I don't have a bluetooth phone or an ipod. My requirements for a vehicle are 3 pedals, a gearshift, a seat, a tachometer, and a steering wheel. So cool new options are pointless to a buyer like me- anything after 1985 with power locks and windows is good enough for me.
Speed? Both will do 0-60 in slightly over 5 seconds. The Ferrari will obviously do it with God's soundtrack.
And resale? in 5 years, the Ferrari will be worth probably nearly exactly what I pay for it. The G37, less than half.
So even though the G37 has a warranty, you pay for it in MASSIVE depreciation.
I would argue that, over a 5 year period, a $35,000 G37 and a $35,000 Ferrari, driven for 5,000 miles per year for those 5 years, and then sold at the end- would wind up being nearly even in the amount spent. The G37 will lose half it's value, being worth no more than 17.5K when sold (or less) - so you lose 17.5K. The Ferrari, if taken car of, will cost about that same amount in service - 17.5K for 5 years- or $3500 a year (DIY some, but not all the time). And you can turn around and sell it for nearly what you paid for it, maybe a bit less due to the increased mileage.
That's my logic. It was the same logic behind buying my Boxster S.
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M
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