What PRICE Will Fuel Have To Get To BEFORE SUV Owners Trade Their Rides?

An interesting piece ran in USAToday recently. The group Automotive Lease Guide, a.k.a. ALG, did some research into how gas prices effect specific classes of cars.

According to its findings, a premium full-size SUV gets hit the hardest if gas prices raise a buck and its three years old. Considering depreciation is the most costly aspect of every vehicle, you definitely don't want to hear it isn't working in your favor. It's even worse if you're financing a vehicle over an extended plan.

Taking this into account we're a bit curious: Just what exactly will it take before we can pry SUVs from owners cold, dead hands?


You don't realize it until it's time to trade or sell your used car, but depreciation is your single biggest auto expense. A lot of things affect how much your new vehicle's value drops, but its mileage rating is becoming a much bigger factor for some vehicle categories...

...If gasoline goes up $1, your big SUV loses 13% in resale value when it's 3 years old, forecasts ALG, a.k.a. Automotive Lease Guide, the leading reference for residual values on which leases and other auto transactions are based.

At the other end of the scale, ALG says a $1 gas rise will boost the value of your cheapo econobox by 10% at age 3...