Fleet Vehicle Lifecycle Appraisal: Just the numbers
Figures DO NOT account for total fuel costs for 60,000 miles of driving
Aquisition cost: COMPACT:
Chevrolet Cobalt: $12,315
Ford Focus: $12,372
Toyota Corolla: $14,260
Honda Civic DX: $14,791
Annual maintenance:
Chevrolet Cobalt: $1,313
Toyota Corolla: $1,553
Honda Civic DX: $1,588
Ford Focus: $1,853
Total Depreciation at 60,000 miles:
*This is loss of value in dollars, not resale price
Ford Focus: $6,662
Chevrolet Cobalt: $7,015
Toyota Corolla: $7,760
Honda Civic DX: $7,891
Cost per mile to operate:
Ford Focus: 0.2426 per mile
Toyota Corolla: 0.2431 per mile
Chevrolet Cobalt 0.2486 per mile
Honda Civic DX: 0.2520 per mile
Total cost to buy and drive car for 60,000 miles:
(assumes owner sells at 60,000 miles for purchase price minus depreciation)
Chevrolet Cobalt: $8,328 * (sales tax $582.96 @.07%)
Ford Focus: $8,475
Toyota Corolla: $9,313
Honda Civic DX: $9,479 (sales tax $662.53)
* Best value
The Cobalt costs around $1,151 less than the Civic to buy, maintain, and sell at 60,000 miles.
Assuming you buy three Cobalts instead of three Civics over a 12 year period, not accounting for inflation, and buying at the same prices, one would save $4,604 owning a Cobalt instead of a Civic. One would save $322.28 in sales taxes over 4 car purchases for a total of $4926.28. That's $410.52 in savings per year. That would pay my gas bill each month.
If one were 20 years old, by the time one was 32, one would have almost enough to put 8 percent ($5,040) down on a $63,000 starter house (just a $114 shortfall) just based on the savings of car choice.
Source of Statistics:
BusinessFleet.com
INTERMEDIATE-SIZE SEDAN
Aquisition cost:
Ford Fusion: $16,016
Pontiac G6 $16,916
Chevrolet Malibu: $16,918
Honda Accord: $17,381
Toyota Camry: $18,252
Annual maintenance:
Honda Accord: $1,588
Pontiac G6 $1,789
Toyota Camry: $1,959
Chevrolet Malibu: $2,357
Ford Fusion: $2,433
Total Depreciation at 60,000 miles:
*This is loss of value in dollars, not resale price
Ford Fusion: $ 9,066
Pontiac G6 $9,516
Toyota Camry: $10,052
Honda Accord: $11,031
Chevrolet Malibu: $11,418
Cost per mile to operate:
Pontiac G6: 0.3067 per mile
Ford Fusion: 0.3114 per mile
Toyota Camry: 0.3128 per mile
Honda Accord: 0.3174 per mile
Chevrolet Malibu 0.3422 per mile
Total cost to buy and drive car for 60,000 miles:
(assumes owner sells at 60,000 miles for purchase price minus depreciation)
Pontiac G6: $11,305 * (sales tax $791.35 @ .07%)
Ford Fusion: $11,499 (sales tax $804.93 @ .07%)
Toyota Corolla: $12,011
Honda Civic: $12,619 (sales tax $883.33)
Chevrolet Malibu: $13,775
* Best value
The Ford Fusion costs $1,314 less to operate for 60,000 miles than the Civic. That is a $5,256 savings over 12 years and 4 car purchases, and $367.92 savings in sales taxes over 4 car purchases. A total savings of $5623.92. About $469 a year in savings. Over a 12 year period, one would save enough to put down almost 9 percent on a $63,000 starter house.
[bLARGE SEDAN[/b]
Aquisition cost:
Chevrolet Impala: $18,944
Buick LaCrosse: $19,867
Ford Five-Hundred: $21,031
Chrysler 300: $22,403
Toyota Avalon: $24,431
Nissan Maxima: $25,288
Annual maintenance:
Chevrolet Impala: $1,712
Buick LaCrosse: $1,837
Toyota Avalon: $2,067
Chrysler 300: $2,255
Ford Five-Hundred: $2,394
Nissan Maxima: $2,977
Total Depreciation at 60,000 miles:
*This is loss of value in dollars, not resale price
Toyota Avalon: $11,431
Chrysler 300: $12,303
Nissan Maxima: $12,413
Ford Five-Hundred: $12,431
Buick LaCrosse: $12,717
Chevrolet Impala: $12,994
Cost per mile to operate:
Toyota Avalon: 0.3481
Chevrolet Impala: 0.3719
Chrysler 300: 0.3743
Buick LaCrosse: 0.3750
Ford Five-Hundred: 0.3770
Nissan Maxima: 0.3881
Total cost to buy and drive car for 60,000 miles:
(assumes owner sells at 60,000 miles for purchase price minus depreciation)
Toyota Avalon: $13,498*
Buick LaCrosse: $14,554
Chrysler 300: $14,558
Chevrolet Impala: $14,706
Ford Five-Hundred: $14,825
Nissan Maxima: $15,390
* Best value
There is an $836 savings in the purchase and maintenance costs of a Buick LaCrosse over a Nissan Maxima, and an $1,892 savings of a Toyota Avalon over a Nissan Maxima. One would save $3,344 purchasing four Buick LaCrosses over four Nissan Maximas; and $7,568 purchasing four Toyota Avalons over 12 years instead of four Nissan Maximas. With those savings, one could put down a 12% down payment on a $63,000 starter house.
However, if one is going to keep the car well past 60,000 miles, or until it breaks down and becomes zero value, and one doesn't care about depreciation or resale value, the Chevrolet Impala and Buick LaCrosse are better values because they have the lowest maintenance costs per vehicle of the one's listed. The LaCrosse also has a higher satisfaction rating and a lower problem rate after three years than the Toyota Avalon.