In my opinion, the only way to overcome depreciation is what I have done for the first time in my life. I used to trade every 3 to 4 years and took a beating even though I always paid cash for the difference. My last purchase was a new '05 Tahoe Z71, loaded with all options. I paid somewhere around $42K. Still driving it, 195,000 miles on it. The only repair I have made was a water pump at 185,000 miles. Got 125K before I needed a break job. Should bring $5000 to $5500 today. That brings my cost to roughly $230 per month. The only time I have financed a car was in 1984, right after I almost went broke. I had no money and bought a worn out 6 cylinder Mustang and had to finance it. Wound up paying big time on this one. Never again if I can help it! Tahoes and other makes with the 5.3 motors will last a long time if you just take care of them and drive them sensibly. Probably should not have posted this. My engine, transmission or AC might go out now.