• The biggest cost is resale value (depreciation). Even if you never turn the ignition key you can expect to lose 20% of the car’s value each year. So if you fork out $5,000 for a car, it is likely to lose $1,000 in value in year 1, $800 in year 2, etc. And it gets worse if you bought a new car.
• People should think about the hidden costs of owning a vehicle. Someone who ties up $10,000 in a car, is missing out on the income they could have earned.
• Get rid of that second or third car if it spends most of the time sitting in the garage. Those few kilometers per year are very expensive – it would be cheaper to hire a taxi or rent a car!
• If you have borrowed money to buy a car – sell it! Repay the loan and use the remaining cash (if there is any remaining!) to buy something you can afford (even if it is only a push-bike).
– Oily Rag Ed’