Even when I took part in the “cash for clunkers” program, I purchase a relatively modest vehicle. My out the door cost was only $11,250. And I feel confident that in a bad collision, my new car is far safer than the 19 year old Astro I traded. So I have no regrets about taking part in the program other than the fact we will ALL have to pay for it in the future.

1) I already spent time/money getting a scooter up and running for relatively little expense (about $2000 or so, license, gear, bike, etc). I use that as my daily commuter, so really my old car just sits unless it’s raining.

2) Let’s say I decide to buy a new car. I end up with a tangible piece of property that depreciates immediately as time goes by, and I’m not driving it since I have the scooter (we covered that above). OR … I can take the same money I would have used to buy a new car, buy up shares of stock and mutual funds in the downturned market when prices are rock-bottom, to which those shares will do nothing but APPRECIATE when the market recovers.

Needless to say, I did option #2. So far, I’ve netter a nice profit on the money I put into my mutual fund portfolio, and the market is only just beginning to recover.

If you work hard for your money, you should make your money work hard for you, rather than stuffing it away in a piece of metal which will only be worth 1/5 it’s value in 5 years anyways.

Actually they should of done the cash for clunkers instead of the bailout money, lets see give the President of the company big bucks, why should he not deposit it and still fire all the workers, no one out there has any extra insentive to purchase a car (or money to do so) If all the funds that went that way did the cash for clunkers (with out destroying good cars) then the CEO’s of the car companies would of had reason to make cars and keep employees!

>Unless I am mistaken, cars lose 5-10% of their value by >simply driving them off the lot…making them one of the >worst high end products you could possibly buy.
I don’t know about today but years ago when you drove it off the lot it had already lost 1/3 to 1/2 of its value from signing the sale agreement since it is now an USED CAR!

Wonder what the exact value is today!

Unless I am mistaken, cars lose 5-10% of their value by simply driving them off the lot…making them one of the worst high end products you could possibly buy.