Worth pointing out is that even $40,000 houses appear to have $1,800 a year tax bills. Treating that tax as a perpetuity you would need to invest 1800/.0357 = $50139 at mortgage rates to break even. It's still surprisingly inexpensive, but property taxes tell at least some of the story. A $4000 sedan that obligates you to $2000 in annual license fees is not a particularly good deal, even if it will run for another ten years.