Thursday, June 4, 2009

Breaking even on Little Blue

We are nearing 1 year of Little Blue awesome-ness. Over 10,000 miles in the books. Little Blue came along as the result of a few things. EP had just had a job change that brought a company car with it (a 2008 Camry Hybrid). And I really just needed a car to commute in. Paying almost $470 a month (between payments and insurance) for the 2006 MINI Cooper S we had seemed a little wasteful. Sure, it was a safe car, but I didn't need that great of a car (and it really was a great car) just to commute to work and back.

So I convinced EP that it would be cheaper to buy a bug. And this month, a year later, is when that finally proves true. As you can see from the grid below, had we not bought the bug and just kept making payments on the MINI, we would have spent now what the bug cost us (with the money for the initial repairs added in).

This gets tricky when you start talking about how much more value you would have in the MINI, but let's make it simple. Also, I know the MINI would have blown through another set of tires (it went through tires like crazy).

So June is the break even month - for the most part. Just to be fair, if you add in the minimal amount we pay for insurance on the bug - about $25 a month vs $125 for the MINI, the break even point would be next month.

By either logic, the bug is now a free car. And every mile driven from here on out is free. Or, at least, that's what I'll tell EP...


2 comments:

Joe

There is a really clean '63 Beetle in the window at that classic car dealer on 4th St. in San Rafael.

I think that EP needs this vehicle.

Why should you have all the fun?

Turnabout is, after all, fair play.

Big Blue's Driver

Joe - you are referring to this one:

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/volkswagen/beetle/669246.html

It's a great car - same color as Little Blue - just about $4000 more than Little Blue was.

I think EP has her heart set on a fastback or wagon should the economy cost her the company car.

Either way, if EP wants to add another VW to the family, I'm all for it.

-Brett

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