Quote:
Originally Posted by bobtodrick
My Trailblazer (2007) was paid off in 2014. It now has 325000 kms. Every tax season I average the costs and over the time it's been paid off I've paid an average of $885/yr. This includes regular maintenance and a couple of brake jobs. I've been very lucky that in the last 5 years other than a serpentine belt, a steering rack and a power steering pump nothing has failed.
Plus I deal with a very good independent dealer who charge by the hour, not book rate (meaning you don't get charged a 2hr book rate for something that his mechanic finishes in an hour).
Of course doesn't include gas.
It runs like a charm has no rust and if you work it out on a monthly basis it is $73.75/mo.
I personally don't need to spend an extra $300-$400+ per month just to say my car is shinier than the next guys  |
Yup, that's the way try to look at vehicle ownership as well. I expect a vehicle to average $1K in maintenance annually over its lifetime.
Historically I bought older Ford pickups because they were cheaper to buy used on average, and I've become accustomed to working on them. With a Haynes manual and some good googling, I was able to do a lot of the work myself. I had a 2005 that I really loved to drive, spent a fair amount of time and money fixing it, but the purchase price was very low - so on average I did okay with it, and it was a great ride.