In The cheapest 2012 cars to own, Jim Gorzelany of Forbes reminds us to look at more than the sticker price of the car when determining the affordability of your car. Its important to research the long-term costs of ownership for any vehicle that you are looking to buy. This article looks at the costs over a five year time frame that come along with the cost of actually purchasing your new vehicle. Just because a car has a less expensive sticker price, the cost of gas, maintenance, and car insurance may not make it the cheapest car for you.
Kelley Blue Book looked at information on cars in twenty different categories to determine which is the cheapest. While the least expensive cars only had a $1,000 to $3,000 difference in ownership costs, the most expensive cars saw a difference of up to $20,000. KBB took many factors into account; including depreciation, finding cheap car insurance, fuel, repairs, taxes, registration, maintenance, and financing costs.
Look at the historical depreciation for that particular car as well as the cars fuel economy because you could pay $5,000 more in five years for a car that gets 20mpg versus 30mpg. Car insurance rates are definitely determined on an individual basis, but you will pay more depending on what vehicle you purchase as well. See what the maintenance costs for your car will be and also how much it will be to repair anything that might break or be damaged. The article also says not to purchase a car for the full sticker price no matter what!
Some of KBBs cheapest car list follows. The cheapest subcompact car is the Nissan Versa, while the cheapest compact car is the Kia Soul. The Hyundai Sonata is the cheapest midsize car and the Chevrolet Impala is the cheapest full-size car. The cheapest luxury car is the Audi A5 and the cheapest sports car is the Mazda MX-5 Miata. The Honda Insight is the cheapest Hybrid, while the Ford Escape Hybrid is the cheapest Hybrid SUV. SUVs were broken into multiple categories, with the Ford Expedition being the cheapest full-size SUV. The Mazda5 is the cheapest minivan. Check out the full list in the Forbes article or from Kelley Blue Book.
