I guess the "joy/satisfaction" of driving can only be afforded by the rich and famous, no?
If one can only afford a Proto*, then he/she should limit his/her imagination (only in terms of driving) and just enjoy the ride.

My point here being, we need to generalise when we discuss about the impact and importance of a vehicle's RV to the masses.
Unfortunately, the masses also means ordinary Joes like myself and a majority of others whom are not equipped with deep pockets.

I think it has already been mentioned that for vehicles of similar values, no calculations are required. Less RV = rugi.
Unless u want to factor in the "intangibles".

Which I my point exactly. We can not.
Intrinsic and intangible values of "joy and satisfaction" towards a certain product is very much subjective.

We can only generalise here.
If money is no object, perhaps 10 out of 10 will be driving a sports car. However, I could be wrong. Maybe only 6 or 7 will drive a sports car. The balance may find joy in driving a luxury cruiser. Or maybe I'm entirely wrong. Maybe everyone is an environmentalist and chooses to drive a hybrid/electric, etc.

However, how financial analysts and economists and even actuaries come up with statistics and charts are mostly based on the (assumed) general opinion of the masses.
And as mentioned, masses in this case means the ordinary Joes.

As such, for consistency purposes, individual intrinsic preferences will not be factored in for most (if not all) calculations as there is no way to do that. Only an individual can do so himself/herself.

So, u are absolutely right that 'joy and satisfaction' is immeasurable. Thus, it is a moot point to factor that into any calculations.

JMHO

No buddy..
For the sake of simplicity, we should take the purchase price of the brand new cars and minus out the final respective total loss values. The difference will tell you which is supposedly a more 'pocket friendly' (for lack of a better word) car.

P/S - provided that everything else remains constant (a.k.a. ceteris paribus)

Edit: That's to my understanding-lah..if TS meant something else, then perhaps he could shed some light and correct me.

This post has been edited by rompers: Mar 10 2013, 06:06 AM