I keep hearing this. I've apparently been lucky for 20 years and with 4 cars. I'm a really lucky guy.
Or, perhaps, I research which cars are reliable, and get a good mechanic to check them out before I buy them.
> Unless you're doing the oil changes yourself, those alone should have run you at least $1,000
In that time period, an oil change was $20-30. Yes, it costs a lot more for some cars (e.g. $80 for one of my other cars). Also, if you did it every 3 months or 3000 miles you've bought into the propaganda. Do it on the schedule specified in your car's manual. For all my cars, that's every 6 months, and 5000 or 6000 miles. For heavy usage (10,000 miles for non-heavy, but almost everyone falls into the "heavy" category).
Oh, and I'm not a big car guy. I know almost nothing about doing maintenance myself (other than adding wiper fluid). I do whatever the mechanic recommends. Find a good mechanic, and stay away from official dealerships.
> And it sounds like you never had to do brakes
On the car I quoted, I did. In 2014. Cost me under $420.
> Most 2003 cars can't get away with such low maintenance costs.
That car got totaled in 2018. So I replaced it with another 2003 car of similar miles as the one that was totaled. In the last 5 years I've spent $3000 on maintenance/repairs. That's more than the 8 years prior, but some of it is just due to inflation and labor costs. Oil change costs, for example, almost doubled.
Gas costs should be higher per year because gas is more expensive and the car I replaced it with is a lot less efficient. But at the same time, COVID brought gas expenses down (less driving). I average $1000/year in gas costs. I expect it will go up soon due to needing to drive more now.
> But to be clear you're an outlier.
Sure, I'm an outlier in that I actually track my expenses. Everyone I know who tracks auto expenses has turned out to be an outlier ;-)
Eh, I posted it and removed it, given that prior owned cars is often used by sites to verify identity.
Let's just say it's one of the top Japanese auto manufacturers.
Generally, Toyota and Honda will give you good results for their signature cars (Corolla, Camry, Accord, Civic). Subaru, for some years and models do as well. I think Mazda and Nissan are a tier lower, but there may be exceptions (in model/year combination).
One tip: Try to avoid cars with chains. That's an expensive, mandatory maintenance.
I keep hearing this. I've apparently been lucky for 20 years and with 4 cars. I'm a really lucky guy.
Or, perhaps, I research which cars are reliable, and get a good mechanic to check them out before I buy them.
> Unless you're doing the oil changes yourself, those alone should have run you at least $1,000
In that time period, an oil change was $20-30. Yes, it costs a lot more for some cars (e.g. $80 for one of my other cars). Also, if you did it every 3 months or 3000 miles you've bought into the propaganda. Do it on the schedule specified in your car's manual. For all my cars, that's every 6 months, and 5000 or 6000 miles. For heavy usage (10,000 miles for non-heavy, but almost everyone falls into the "heavy" category).
Oh, and I'm not a big car guy. I know almost nothing about doing maintenance myself (other than adding wiper fluid). I do whatever the mechanic recommends. Find a good mechanic, and stay away from official dealerships.
> And it sounds like you never had to do brakes
On the car I quoted, I did. In 2014. Cost me under $420.
> Most 2003 cars can't get away with such low maintenance costs.
That car got totaled in 2018. So I replaced it with another 2003 car of similar miles as the one that was totaled. In the last 5 years I've spent $3000 on maintenance/repairs. That's more than the 8 years prior, but some of it is just due to inflation and labor costs. Oil change costs, for example, almost doubled.
Gas costs should be higher per year because gas is more expensive and the car I replaced it with is a lot less efficient. But at the same time, COVID brought gas expenses down (less driving). I average $1000/year in gas costs. I expect it will go up soon due to needing to drive more now.
> But to be clear you're an outlier.
Sure, I'm an outlier in that I actually track my expenses. Everyone I know who tracks auto expenses has turned out to be an outlier ;-)