sly1

There's a lot to like about the S4, but its very poor gas mileage was the deciding factor for me in not buying one. My concern is not only about the rising price of gas, but the potential gas shortages that may occur in the near future. Apparently, from what I have read, there is a real danger of gasoline shortages within the next two years because of several factors. Of course there's the good ole USA with its love of the low MPG SUV, but the real threat comes from India and China. Their economies are growing extremely fast, and therefore their needs for gasoline is growing geometrically.

So bottom line for me is that poor gas mileage + ever higher gas prices + potential for gas shortages = very low resale value for the S4. I remember back in the early 70s when my brother tried to sell his Camaro with its 400ci engine. He paid $5K for the car in 1972 and he almost had to give the car away after the gas shotages a couple of years later.

So my '02 Audi TT with its 23 MPG fuel efficiency is looking good to me. I think I'll hold onto my TT for a couple of years to see how this gas supply issue plays out.

NJRickD

15Kmiles /yr @ 15mpg @$2.00/gal = $2,000. at $2.50/gal $2,500. etc
I won't even come close to 15k a year, but even if you do it seems rather insignificant.

sly1

I agree that the price of gas isn't that big of a deal. The big issue is potential gas shortages and the inevitable gas lines. If this happens there won't be any demand for cars that get 15 MPG.

Paying an extra $500 a year for fuel doesn't hurt much, but losing $10K in dereciation because of the absence of demand for S4s is a big deal. Of course an option is to keep the S4 until it's ready for the junkyard, but I don't think many of us would find that to be a pleasant option.

mr. zero knew

And walk away from it, rather than having to sell/trade it in.

Orangeblood

For one thing we are no longer in the 70's (thank god) the other is, who do you think gets all the oil from Iraq? You do know that iraqi oil is no longer a part of OPEC and is not availible on the would markets. That is because it all goes to the U.S. inventory stockpiles to pay off the debt of the war. When the price gets high enough the U.S. will let out barrels from the stockpile and drive domestic price's down. Also they will probly sell some on the market to other countrys like china for an inflated price. We also only get 23% of our oil from the middle east, most of our oil comes from sweden and russia.
Oil price's always go up about this time every year it's just a way for day traders and OPEC to do profit taking. OPEC has caused a glut in the market by lowering production when demand goes up. Do you think it's right to lower production by 1mil barrels a day when demand is going up? Trust me OPEC is nobody's friend and they will hold as much of the world by the ***** until the world gets rid of them. Just food for thought.

NJRickD

absolutely. If you're looking to turn the vehicle over that quickly, you should be leasing.

Orangeblood

67 rs/ss camaro in good condition for under 20k. So my point is, that a collector of fine cars will always pay a premium for it even if all it is for is to sit in a garage. But if you think you are going to lose out on depreciation then lease it and walk away at the end.

sly1

I agree that the S4 would be a great car to lease in order to protect against significant depreciation caused by oil shortages. You would then only have the problem of waiting in those dam gas lines a lot more frequent than most others. I'm not saying that gas lines are inevitable. It's just a possibility that I hope doesn't happen, but as you know we don't do a good job of preventing things in this country. We only act when we have to.

jkocher191

out of it, when I first got the S4 i couldnt believe the 13 MPG i was getting... then I broke the 1000mi barrier and didnt care

BC(squared)

ding! ^^^this man knows his world energy market economics^^^