Can Get Good Deals

Not yet mentioned in your continuing debate on cash vs. credit car-buying (“Credit Doesn’t Always Rate Better Than Cash,” Sept. 30) is a related insurance cost that some cash buyers consider important.

To protect the lender’s equity, the credit buyer is compelled to carry collision and comprehensive insurance throughout the loan period. The cash buyer can choose to forgo this coverage or carry it only for the first year or two, by which time initial depreciation will sharply reduce the car’s value.

The difference can be a cost advantage of several hundred dollars a year for the safe-driving cash buyer.

D. A. LEA

Camarillo