Gotta love the MINI!

I bought it new in 2006 for $17190 or $18584 out-the-door. The Edmunds listed $17880 as the price dealer sells it for, $16887 as what I can get privately and $15800 (or something like it, already closed the page and didn’t write down the numbers) as a trade-in value. I don’t remember if their estimates include taxes or not.

Depending on whether or not Edwards’ estimates include taxes – I forgot to check, it appears that dealers sell my 2-year old car for either approximately $700 more or $600 less than what I paid for it in 2006. This value is important because this is more or less what the insurance pays for totalled cars – so if you don’t plan on selling your car and I don’t, this is the only value that matters. Insurers add taxes back too. Which means that even if Edmunds estimate also includes taxes, my car value only decreased by $600 in two years I drove it. Pretty cool.

If I were to sell it privately, I’d only lose a couple of thousand on it, but I used it for two years. Still pretty good for a two year old car. I do hope I drive it for a long time though. I totalled my previous car (3-year old Corolla) – after 20 years of accident- and ticket- free driving, and it was no fun at all.

Seeing as how I never plan on trading in a car since I usually drive them into the ground, my 1995 Saturn SL1 is fully depreciated to where it’s of negligible monetary value as a resale or tradein. However, compared to other cars, it has great value to me.

I’ve owned the car outright for years, meaning that I do not make regular obligatory payments every month. While it may cost me $200/month here and there in repairs, every month I don’t expend money in repairs is money in my pocket. Even with a new(er) car, periodic repairs and maintenance are often not factored in to cost of ownership or relative residual value compared to new.

My car nets me a whopping 40mpg fuel economy. In order to match that, I’d have to spend $20K on a new car to replace it. To beat that economy, I’d have to spend thousands more.

As my Saturn is fully depreciated, I pay the absolute minimum registration ($40/year in NV) and my insurance costs are also low, since even if I did wreck the thing it’s not worth very much. I have full coverage because it only costs me $5/month more and replacing the windshield (which I’ve done three times) costs $400-500 (very poor design).

I do my own car maintenance, and given that there are 20 Saturns at PickNPull, I have plenty to choose from when I need replacement parts. Plus, the modular nature of this particular model means replacement parts should be available until I retire from the military.

Finally, but not least, my car is ugly. You may not see that as an asset, but I do. Nobody wants to ding or dent it, and it has enough of those already that I don’t stress out if someone scratches it like I did with my Dodge Ram (sold it years ago). I am also proud of my passive anti-theft device: manual transmission, AMFM Stereo Cassette, manual windows, doors, etc., and peeling paint. The car is simple to repair, easy to operate and cheap to own, and I don’t feel bad about the environment either with 40MPG, although I think that argument relies mostly on conjecture than anything else.

Almost everyone is bottom up in their car. Remember that as you hear about people who are bottom up in their homes. The best you can do, unless your car is a 1942 Rolls Royce Phantom II or similar collectible, is break even.