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| Decision Center | The cheapest cars to own in 2006
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The Sentra is often overlooked in the compact-car market while its Japanese counterparts -- Honda and Toyota -- garner the most attention. But don't pass up this spunky little machine just yet. The Sentra retains 49% of its value after five years -- the same as the Civic -- and costs roughly the same to maintain as the Corolla. Yet the base Sentra model costs $1,430 less than the Honda Civic and $865 less than the Toyota Corolla.
The Sentra's 1.8-liter, 126-hp engine gets 28 mpg in the city and 35 on the highway. Air conditioning and CD player don't come standard, but you can add them both with the $1,250 convenience package.
MINI Cooper
MSRP: $17,500
Service cost: $3,327
Insurance cost: $5,490
Resale value: 61%
Fuel cost: $7,576 It carries a price tag of $17,500 and requires premium gasoline, but the MINI Cooper still costs less to own than most of its peers. A big reason: it retains a phenomenal 61% of its value after five years. And even if you're paying a little extra each time you fill the tank, you won't have to visit the gas station as frequently. The car gets 28 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway.
This charming coupe has plenty of other things going for it, too, including a peppy 1.6-liter 115-hp engine and a surprisingly roomy front seat. It's also loaded with standard safety equipment, such as anti-lock brakes, head-protection airbags, corner brake control and a crash-sensor system that, after an accident, will unlock the doors and cut off the fuel pump if the airbag has deployed. The MINI Cooper took Kiplinger's top honors for safety among cars costing less than $18,000, proving that good things truly do come in small packages.
Other cars to consider
At $9,995, the Chevrolet Aveo SVM boasts the lowest sticker price of any car we looked at and one of the lowest insurance bills. So even though it retains only 28% of its value after five years and you'll pay slightly above-average fuel and service costs, you still come out on top over five years. However, anti-lock brakes, automatic transmission and air conditioning are not available on the base model, and its quality is about what you'd expect for under 10 grand. Even so, the "special value" model could be a good choice if all you need, literally, is a set of wheels.
Need more room? We limited our analysis mainly to sedans, but for those drivers that want a bit more space, we took a separate look at wagons and SUVs. There are only a handful available for less than $20,000, but the Scion xB and Toyota Matrix turned up as bargains.
And which cars will cost you the most? Within our $20,000 price limit, the Hyundai Tiburon, Kia Optima and Mitsubishi Eclipse cost between 40% and 58% more than each of our six bargain buys over five years of ownership. Poor resale values, steep insurance bills and above-average service and gas costs detracted from their value.
The numbers
We drew our data from the comprehensive charts in the December issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. Pick up a copy to get detailed information on our five low-cost cars as well and hundreds of other cars, SUVs and minivans.
- MSRP: The manufacturer's suggested retail price -- also known as the sticker price. Our numbers came from Kelley Blue Book and Chrome Systems.
- Service costs: This is an estimate of the cost of maintenance and unscheduled repairs over five years. The figures were provided by Vincentric.
- Resale value: How much the car will be worth after five years, expressed as a percentage of the original price. Our numbers come from Vincentric, which bases the percentage on private-party sales.
- Fuel cost: Vincentric provided one-year fuel cost figures based on EPA mileage ratings. It assumes 15,000 miles of combined city and highway driving each year assuming an average regular gas price of $2.96 a gallon and a premium gas price of $3.25. To get a five-year estimate, we increased the annual cost by 3% each year to keep up with inflation. Gas prices have since come down, so these figures may run a bit higher than you'll actually pay. But it doesn't hurt to budget for the worst.
- Insurance cost: To show the relative cost of insurance, we asked Vincentric to estimate the annual premium for each car for a middle-aged driver with a clean driving record. We increased that premium by 3% each year to get a five-year estimate. Your actual insurance cost will depend on where you live, your driving record and your age.
Other costs to consider: We didn't include taxes and fees in our analysis because those vary widely from state to state. And we left out financing charges -- your particular deal will vary depending on the amount of your down payment and your credit rating. Find the latest auto loan rates to estimate your monthly car payment.
By Erin Burt, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine
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MSN Money's editorial goal is to provide a forum for personal finance and investment ideas. Our articles, columns, message board posts and other features should not be construed as investment advice, nor does their appearance imply an endorsement by Microsoft of any specific security or trading strategy. An investor's best course of action must be based on individual circumstances.
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