The 5 most overpriced vehicles

Sorry, just guesstimating for counties like the one that surrounds my place of work. They'd tax the air we breathe if they could; yes, I do struggle with whether I should move out of it. If you will forgive the political semi-rant, consider that the states that do not have a sales tax of 7% or more, make up for it by taxing income, and that counties (and probably cities???) add their own sales taxes.

I actually prefer sales taxes to the alternatives, because they get in the buyer's face. Add up what you pay to government in income, payroll, property and sales taxes, then throw in some of the fees and the items utilities say that "your local government _asks_[*] that you _contribute_..." All of that says nothing of the costs imposed on us by government regulation; that's not all bad, but it is out of control. It strikes me that we have an obligation to over-estimate the cost of government, because government does everything it can to hide what it takes from us. At the federal level, they/we spend three TRILLION dollars per year.

One thing that would help deobfuscate the cost of government would be the FairTax. It won't fix the spending, but it would bring the tax man out into the open. Hopefully then, the people paying the tab would start pressuring their representatives to cut the largess.

End of rant. Happy New Year!

Bill

I have pretty good open-mind credentials on this, because my most recent purchase was an F-150. I dug around and it was a pretty clear winner. Things can always take an ugly turn, but so far, it appears to be one hell of a machine. It's a low mileage '96, but it's still a Ford.

With that said, you can lament the public's attitude toward US manufacturers, but whose fault is that? I cannot speak to the whole market, but they produced some real junk 20+ years ago, and like it or not, it takes a long time for the collective memory to get past it. I can still remember the Buick that fell apart on me, and the company's terrible attitude about it. Now you have people not much older than me with kids leaving for college; what guidance do you think they provide? More to the point, what are they going to buy, as it is probably their money, not Junior's?

It is damn hard to win over a customer; it is very easy to send them elsewhere, and while it was a long time ago, the US manufacturers did some really stupid stuff. The price has been high, but that's how it works. They knew that, or should have known it, when they were mis-behaving. The piper is still collecting royalties.

If it helps any, I have noted that Nissan's attitude toward my 18 year old Sentra has been less than stellar. Sure they don't make money on me, but one would hope they would see it as badge of honor and at least bag the hostility. In fairness, I think it is mostly a dealer (which I visit only when there is no other choice) taken over by poor management. However, I also noted a few years ago that Nissan was worst of class in SUVs or something. Nissan might be in the throws of the same mistakes that Buick and others made decades ago???

Bill

Rant on if you want. I don't mind paying a fair tax for services, but I don't want to pay for all the waste and pork around.

You forgot the "tax the business" that is so popular. When given a choice,, people will support an added tax as long as it is on the local businesses, not on them. They forget that businesses don't pay any taxes. They just pass that along with the price of goods sold and the consumer still pays in the end.

In our state (CT) we also pay a personal property tax on our cars. Value is based on book value, not condition or actual value. No pay, no registration.

Could it be because of the merger with Reanult? One only has to lok to Mack trucks to see the way Reanult works, they milked Mack for everything they could and then sold the dregs to Volvo.

The media is as much to blame as anyone. Let GM or Ford have a recall and their all over it like vultures on road kill. But how comes they never do the same on the ricers?

Whitelightning

Not sure; I will look for signs of it.

Excellent point.

Bill

Edwin,

Agreed. Though I add that frequently government has a loose way of deciding which services to provide. My city made a big thing of canceling its New Year's Eve celebration. To their credit, they did cancel it. If the businesses in their little downtown panacea (complete with high prices, limited hours of operation, poor selection, lousy roads, and insufficient parking - you have to know the area or just take my word for it) want to pay to attract people, let them dig into their own pockets and raise their already bloated prices. Again, I am forced to give the city credit for (no doubt grudgingly) taking a stance approximating that. Our county would simply let roads go to even further toward hell and raise property taxes to cover it. That would be in addition to the extra gasoline tax, purportedly for roads, gets wasted on who knows what. I said I would stop ranting ;)

You sound like you might already be aware of the concept, but just in case, have a look at:

It's not just a fair tax; it's the FairTax. Government would still be out of control, but I think it would help Joe Average start to see just how much he's paying for the free lunch at Uncle Sam's Grill. That in turn should cramp the career politician's life style.

Bill

More like 30-32 on the highway (at legal speeds :)

I do have the Handling Package BTW...

No one is getting a true 32 miles per gallon on a V-8 Grand Marquis, unless they are towing it...

Or using "Canadian Gallons" which are 5/4 of a US (short) gallon)

Maybe not, but I certainly got in the high 20's (27) with my Mother's old Grand Marquis with four people and luggage in the car on trip to Annapolis in 2006. In everyday driving (back and forth to work) I average 21 mpg - almost the same as with my current Fusion, and better than my SO 4 cylinder Front Wheel Drive RAV4. For comparison, this year we drove the RAV4 to Annapolis, with the same four people and luggage, and we got...wait for it.............27 mpg., the same as with the Grand Marquis.

If you have not driven a Grand Marquis, I think you would be surprised at how good they are on gas. On a long trip my 6 cylinder AWD Fusion will beat it by no more than 1 or 2 miles per gallon.

Ed

Likely, since it's a Canadian car :)

I paid what I was willing to pay when I got my 2004 F-150 and do not consider that I paid more than it was worth at the time. I got good money for my trade-in and a discount on the new truck that was better than I expected to get.

You comment above is exactly correct. Once the buyer and seller reach argreement and the sale occurs, the vehicle was not overpriced.