If you thought owning a luxury car was impossibly expensive, as it turns out, it depends on how you look at it.
Remember Tyler Hoover? He first bought his 2007 Mercedes-Benz S600 for just $4,500, albeit with a broken engine. He since spent another $4,500 to get a new powerplant, although initially, his repair bill showed $14,450 before he finally got the car on the road.
After 20 months of ownership, he had spent $19,068 on the car, which came down to $353 per month (after sale price deduction) – almost the price of a brand new Honda Civic.
Hoover does mention that he considers himself lucky since he only drove the car for just 8,000 miles (12,874 km) over the course of those 20 months. Then again, that’s a plausible scenario for somebody who doesn’t need a luxury car as their daily driver.
So in the end, it really comes down to what your expectations are. If you’re uncomfortable taking a chance on an older luxury or premium vehicle, then you’re probably not going to do it. Still, these numbers do seem encouraging.