In praise of older sleds

[C M Smith <cmsmith@domain.elided>]

For those contemplating the awful financial pressure driving them to... 
gasp ... sell their ALFA, please bear in mind the single most expensive 
component of auto ownership....depreciation. This is the invisible cost 
that all those leasing cars ignore, either ignorantly or deliberately. Of 
course you can get low low monthly payments if you never actually own the 
beast, but the true cost of this ownership is you never ever get the 
benefit of a paid for capital asset. Leasing is great for businesses which 
need to constantly update their equipment and can benefit from the various 
tax and accounting advantages. For personal use it's a bit like borrowing 
money to go on vacation, another dumb idea that feels good at the time.

As well as depreciation there's also carrying charges, interest on the loan 
or leasing costs. Even a modest new to 3 year old Japanese dullmobile car 
is a financial disaster compared to just about any old ALFA in reasonable 
condition.

And BTW, there's some "old" farts out here that deliberately choose to keep 
up the maintenance on our old ALFAs even though we could easily rationalize 
and afford a new car. Question is a new what? If you keep meticulous 
financial records on the operating costs of a car (as I must for the 
revenooers) you'll be amazed at what a bargain an old ALFA actually is even 
when serviced by a checkbook mechanic like me ( I could do the work, but 
the running costs are a business expense so what would be the point?). If 
you do a lot of your own routine maintenance and the odd big project 
yourself, calling in the pro's for the tricky bits, the cost is way way 
less than any new or slightly used car financed by a bank or leasing company.

Michael Smith
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
91 Alfa 164L, White, original owner

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