[VGM911]

In making our car-buying decisions, we either pay a higher purchase price for a newer car (to reduce maintenance and repair costs, better reliability, improved performance, etc.) or we pay a lower price for an older car (and take our chances on being faced with higher maintenance and repair costs in lieu of big depreciation/insurance costs).

There's no one right answer that applies to all buyers. A $6,000 Boxster makes many of us squeamish, but in context of the above, one could argue that it's no better or worse a deal then any other Boxster on the market in the sense that the total cost of ownership could be comparable.

This is not a value argument, per se, but the low $6,000 price lets the potential buyer dodge the biggest costs of all - depreciation and insurance, and leaves a lot of money not spent in purchase price to be available for the maintenance and repairs.

Just sayin'.