Hybrid = luxury car with the lowest operating cost
Forbes compiled a list of luxury cars with the lowest operating costs. The Lexus hybrid, RX 400h, came in first with a 5-year estimated operating cost of just $12,091. The car costs $41,895 which is much higher than many cars on the list, including the operating costs. Anyone find it odd they are compiling a list of cost savings on a luxury car? If you are a buying a luxury car, do you really care about operating cost?
Forbes also had a list of the most expensive cars to drive. The winner there is the $108,275 Mercedes G55, which has an estimated 5-year operating cost of $26,544. The calculations includes fuel along with repair and maintenance. The biggest factor in the calculation is fuel though. The article makes special mention of BMW which have free scheduled maintenance and higher resale values.
[Source: Forbes via Hybrid Car Review]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Pete 1:10PM (8/31/2007)
I think it's a misconception that people with high incomes are more liberal with their spending. Probably the opposite is true, particularly if they've worked for it rather than inherited it. Such a person has probably adopted a lifestyle of understanding money and doing their best to keep as much of it as possible. Any person, wealthy or not, should consider operating expenses when making a car purchase, regardless of the purchase price of the car. Forbes is dead on to write about this topic and is just targeting their audience.
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Lascelles 1:11PM (8/31/2007)
Good point Steve!
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Natalie 10:00PM (9/02/2007)
I agree with Pete that wealthy people are not necessarily liberal with their spending. However, although operating expense is important, of more concern to me is the environmental factor. After many years of driving several full size "gas guzzlers", I am becoming much more aware of our carbon footprint and I am waiting for a luxury manufacturer to come out with a mid to full size hybrid luxury SUV that might give me some options to the Lexus RX400h. Any news from Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Landrover?
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Lascelles Linton 10:03PM (9/02/2007)
Porsche may buy VW. I linked to a few others in the article. Here are a few articles about Landrover.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/05/11/land-rover-to-show-driveable-hybrid-prototype-this-year/
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/02/04/land-rover-s-co2-offset-program-gets-independent-oversight-group/
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Doc 11:26AM (10/08/2007)
As a hard-working bloke worth about 3/4 million US$, I got there one dollar at a time: sack-lunches, no lattes, shopping for the cheapest fuel, doing my own oil changes, eating out only once a week (not twice a day like some of my "poor" friends, and driving my cars for at least six years or 150,000 miles.
So, I greatly appreciate articles spelling out long-term costs, like the aforementioned Forbes article.
To quote Dave Ramsey: "Live today like no other, so that later, you can live like no other."
I'm on my way to retiring COMPLETELY at age 50... and penny-pinching is the reason.
You don't have to make a million bucks to become a millionaire, just be WISE with your money. Buy high quality when you NEED it, not just WANT it... If I bought everything I wanted, I'd be drowning in consumer debt and POOR, regardless of income.
Current stable (in case you wonder if I'm suffering in my penny-pincing ways):
2000 Lexus GS400
2005 SLK350 (replaced a 8 year old SLK)
2005 Corvette Z51 (replaced penny for penny a 30 year old sports car requiring too much maintenance).
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