An very interesting post. Imho, one other factor to be considered is dependability. I recently traded for another vehicle when the milage on my old one was approaching 250,000. I REALLY hesitated because I do not like to use debt to purchase anything if I can avoid it. In addition to the ever increasing frequency of repairs, I didn't feel as though I could trust it, especially on long trips. If its one thing I want in a vehicle, its dependability.