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IntelliChoice Value Rating
The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.
One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.
What is a good car value?
A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.
But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?
For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.
This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)
Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.
Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.
So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.
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2008 Volvo V50 Packages & Options
2008 Volvo V50 Packages
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MC930
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Climate Package
- $675
Heated driver and passenger seat; Headlight cleaners; Windshield wipers with automatic intermittent wipe and rain sensor
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MC938
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Select Package
- $2,145
Glass electric front sunroof; Front and rear alloy wheels with 17 inch rim diam and 7.0 inch rim width; Twelve upgraded speaker(s); Disc autochanger dashboard and 6; Audio system with satellite, Disc Autochanger and six-disc remote changer CD player reads MP3; Front fog lights; Electrically adjustable driver seat with height adjustment, four adjustments and tilt adjustment; Luxury trim leather on gearknob, wood/woodgrain on doors and wood/woodgrain on dashboard; Computer with average speed, average fuel consumption, instantaneous fuel consumption and range for remaining fuel
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2008 Volvo V50 Options
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000322
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Integrated Booster Cushions, Rear Seat
- $300
2 integrated child safety seat on rear seats
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000603/000
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Blind Spot Information System + Retractable Side Mirrors
- $695
Overtaking sensor; Electric foldable mirrors
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4**
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Metallic Paint
- $475
Metallic paint
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5AT
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Automatic Transmission w/Geartronic
- $0
Automatic five-speed transmission with mode select, lock-up, electronic control, manual mode and shift lever on floor automatic with manual mode; Automatic drive indicator on dashboard
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5DXX
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Leather Seating Surfaces
- $1,200
Leather seat upholstery
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J004
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Standard Paint Type
- $0
Black paint; Excludes: [J005] Standard Paint Type
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J005
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Standard Paint Type
- $0
Gloss paint; Excludes: [J004] Standard Paint Type
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Carsoft, PARTS 1- 7, Car Diagnostic and Tunning equipment, Dashboard t
Carsoft, PARTS 1- 7, Car Diagnostic and Tunning equipment, Dashboard tools, Workshop manuals
please send e-mail to : ...
01/04/2008 | 00:01 AM
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Volvo Cars Tops Sales Record for 2004
IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Volvo Cars of North America, LLC (VCNA) closed out 2004 with sales of 12,236...
01/05/2005 | 22:01 PM
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2007 Volvo V50 Photo Gallery
With its revolutionary interior design, class-leading safety, powerful 5-cylinder engines and available all-wheel drive, Volvo's most attainable Sportswagon is the ideal companion for young, active fa...
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2007 Volvo V50 Photo Gallery
With its revolutionary interior design, class-leading safety, powerful 5-cylinder engines and available all-wheel drive, Volvo's most attainable Sportswagon is the ideal companion for young, active fa...
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2000-2004 Volvo V40
The average Volvo lasts decades. Our Four Seasons V40 didn't feel like your average Volvo.
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