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IntelliChoice Value Rating
The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.
One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.
What is a good car value?
A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.
But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?
For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.
This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)
Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.
Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.
So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.
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Review From Motor Trend Magazine
2009 Subaru Forester Priced: $1200 less than 2008 model
By Zach Gale
Subaru is giving consumers looking for a midsized crossover 1200 reasons to check out its 2009 Forester. The vehicle, which arrives at Subaru dealers in April, will cost $19,995 (plus a $665 destination and delivery charge), which represents a decrease of $1200 over the 2008 model. Of course, base 2008 Foresters already have $2000 on their hoods in most areas today, but the 2009 Forester has updated styling, inside and out, plus a standard Vehicle Dynamic Control stability system and a wheelbase that's 3.6 inches longer than that of the last generation. A naturally aspirated 2.5-liter Boxer four comes standard on less expensive models while the turbocharged 2.5-liter engine produces 224 horsepower on higher end models like the 2.5X L.L. Bean Edition model, which drops $700 below the similar 2008 model's price. Dropping the price on a new model competing in the oversaturated $20,000-$30,000 crossover SUV class sounds like a good idea to us. The new price and other changes should be enough to keep this latest Forester going strong until its refresh in a few years. For more on the 2009 Subaru Forester, check out Motor Trend's video live from the Detroit auto show floor, read the First Look article, or view the high-quality photo gallery.
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98 Subaru Forester rear axle
Looking for info on how to remove drivers side rear axle on a 98 Subaru Forester. I have a bad wheel bearing and the...
12/29/2005 | 21:12 PM | Matt
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