[A/S] Re: Depreciation

[hilty@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Bob,

That may be true if you do not take into consideration the 
depreciation of the dollar itself. By refering to 
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt you will see
that the CPI for Jan 1966 is 31.8 and for Jan 2001 it is 175.1, 
meaning it takes $175.10 to buy what it took $31.80 to buy in back 
then. So if a 1966 Airstream cost say $8,000 new in '66, the same 
trailer would cost roughly $44,000 today. If you value your trailer
at say $8,000 today it would have taken only $1,450 1966 dollars to 
buy it then. Rolling stock, like cars, trucks and trailers, have a 
known useful life over which their market value declines to salvage 
value and they become obsolete and/or unusable for their original 
purpose. The bulk of the typical depreciation curve takes place over 
approximately 10 years with most vehicles. This means that if you
find a 10 year old vehicle that has been well maintained and has 
plenty of use left in it you will experience little depreciation in 
terms of market value as a result of further aging. There are certain 
types like Harleys, 55-57 Chevys, and Airstreams that have a
following that refub them to original and provide the stable market 
into which they can be sold. This tends to support prices at a level 
above their utility value. This is why a basket case Bambi will bring 
a good price. On the other hand a totally refurbed one might bring 
less than the initial and refurb costs. I have seen this happen. All 
together I think that owning, maintaining and using an Airstream, 
while not as costly as some endevours, is still something which is a 
net drain on financial resources for those who are not fulltimers. 
But, the reason to do it is not that it makes financial sense. It's 
that it is an adventure, and we have to few adventures, to few things 
that we can personalize and take pride in the use of them. When I am 
parked in a campground surrounded by big 5'ers or diesel pushers, 
that's when I think about depreciation - theirs, and I think how 
fortunate I am in my just-the-right-size Airstream.

John H.