Say you want to buy a brand new $18,000 car, and you've done battle to "win" a 10% price reduction, which would bring it down to $16,200. You decide it pays to pocket a $1,000 rebate from the manufacturer. So that $18,000 buggy would cost you $15,200. Right?

Wrong! Let's assume you finance 90% ($13,680) at 7.5% for 3 years. That'll add $1,639 in interest to the $15,200, for a total cost of $16,839. Right?

Wrong! Even if you disregard your new car's sales tax, registration, and insurance (which will add up to way more than pocket change) there's still income tax to factor in. If you're in the 28% tax bracket, you'd need to gross over $23,000 to pay for this horseless carriage. That's over 50% higher than the $15,200 rock bottom price you negotiated, and the equivalent of almost 9 months of hard labor for someone earning $30,000 a year.

And that's without adding in the cost of state and local taxes, to say nothing of Social Security. Do you really want to spend the better part of a year working, not for food, clothing, or shelter, but just to pay for the privilege of parking that car in your driveway?

Get ready for the final insult: Your shiny new car will lose about 20% of its market value the minute you drive it off the lot.

Is a new car worth more than a year of your life? The decision's yours. Us? We'd rather buy the cream puff you're about to trade in.