Sure, you can buy it. But can you afford to drive it?

"There could be a run on a particular car that increases its new-car value, which causes the used-car value of that particular car to inflate," he says. Or "it could be that suddenly a car gets a bad reputation for something [and] there's a lot of bad PR," deflating the market value.

Gillis, Bell, and others support the widely hailed practice of buying good used cars in order to allow a first owner to absorb the initial depreciation.

"Generally, if you look at the depreciation cycle, especially with the rebates and the incentives, that first 18 months is where the majority of the depreciation hits," says Bell. "And then it starts to average out a bit. But each vehicle has a very different curve."

Not that it's always bad to be the first on your block to own something new, even fundamentally new.

AIER's Lynch still sees gas-electric hybrids, for example, as something of a financial gamble - although tax incentives to buy them might tip that balance.

But during a telephone interview, Bell is creeping through Los Angeles traffic in a 2004 Toyota Prius, running "like a golf cart," he says, while all the cars around him burn gas. Some people have told him he might might face costly battery-replacement issues down the road.

"But there's a warranty on the system," he adds, because Toyota - like many carmakers - aims to maintain its reputation.

Most manufacturers know about that intangible: To keep customers loyal, the benefits of ownership over time must equal or exceed what the customer paid.

When considering the costs associated with buying a car, consumers should weigh a variety of factors besides price, monthly payments, and resale value. Here are some other prepurchase steps experts recommend you take to keep ownership costs low:

• Check insurance costs. The best way to know whether one model costs more to cover than another is to call your carrier for a quote, with year and model in hand. Shop for better deals every few years, and ask about discounts.

• Price out your fuel economy. Having a miles-per-gallon number is useful, but it won't become real until you estimate your annual mileage in city and highway conditions and calculate a dollar cost per year.

• Consider repair costs. After a car's warranty expires, consumers are likely to experience repairs such as replacing brake pads and shock absorbers. "The differences among the cars to replace them if they should fail is quite remarkable.... And knowing that before you buy can save you money down the road," says Jack Gillis, whose annual buyer's guide, "The Car Book," lists the costs of nine typical repairs for a variety of models.

• Weigh that warranty. Check the cost of preventive maintenance required by the manufacturer to keep the warranty active; it could run from $0 to $15,000 for the first 50,000 miles, says Mr. Gillis.

• Question marquee mythology. As shown by the rising reputations of several American makers including General Motors, and of South Korean carmakers Kia and Daewoo, automakers can make great strides, fairly quickly. (One barometer, technical service bulletins, can be found at sites including www.nhtsa.gov.)

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