Depreciation has never been an issue for me because the value of my vehicle to me is never a function of the value of my vehicle to anyone else.
Case in point, in the early 1980s I was driving a $350 AMC Hornet Station Wagon… it was the most car I could afford. I kept it clean, maintained it very well, and treated it as if it was the best car in the entire world… because it was (to me). I never cared about the value that anyone else assigned to this car. It was special to me from the day I bought it until the day I sold it.
I have come a long way from my used Hornet driving days… but one thing has never changed; I buy and value my cars for me and no one else. Cars are more than just things to me… and my 2023 Model S Plaid gives me more smiles per mile than any car I have ever owned.
Those of you who are gearheads will absolutely understand… and those of you who think of your Model S Plaid as an iPhone with wheels, probably never will… and that’s okay; go hop in your MSP, turn on your favorite music, and press the accelerator. Try not to smile, and see if, in that moment, you care about how anyone else values your car.
Enjoy these moments because life is short. With any luck, when the time comes to shake off these mortal coils, you will remember what it felt like to drive the fastest production car ever made, and not how much you lost because you bought or sold a car at the wrong time.
Joe