...and people complain about Ferrari's?

Well, they're counting fuel costs, which are at/near record levels. If you calculate the fuel costs on a Ferrari driven 15,000 miles annually, I'd guess that would sting a bit.

And -- the Cadillac STS doesn't require an $8000 major service.

 

GREAT ARTICLE!!!

 

Well, you figure that the average American commutes at least an hour a day, too. Was this survey based on the maintanence that was recommended at particular intervals or was it based on what people actually do??

I'm guessing that what normal people spend on maintanence on their cars isn't as expensive as that would suggest. Most people do not follow recommended scheduled intervals. I spent a year doing basic maintenance and it was amazing how little people actually cared.

And Bullfighter's right: a timing belt at my old Nissan dealership will cost you $750, installed. If you find someone who'll do a 355 major for that, I'll buy one just so I can pay that little to have it done.

 

I have a slight problem with this article. Basic maintenance even at a dealership should not cost that much for a “standard” new car. If you’re 2008 Cadillac needs anything that expensive that soon it should be under warranty. How they climbed up to 19,537 in maintenance a year is hard to believe. Even a dealership wouldn’t / shouldn’t charge you 19K + for a car with only 15,000 miles on it.

 

"the Audi S4 quattro, at $18,948." Heh, figures my car would be high on that list. Hey, at least it gets better MPG than my 308... some days.

 

They included depreciation. That's where the bulk of the cost comes from.

 

A very misleading article. Obviously car prices have gone up over the years, so how could they not cost more to own in absolute dollar amounts.

 

Interesting just how expensive the small cars are. They are the most fuel efficient usually so the fuel costs are less than the Cadillac/Audis. So if the cars get 30 mpg, driven 15k a year, that 500 gallons of fuel at $3 a gallon is $1500. Figure $500 for oil changes and wiperblades. That means depreciation is about $6000 a year. On a car that only costs $15k. That about 40% in depreciation the first year. Ouch.

 

"(The Corolla CE's sticker price, meanwhile, comes in at $15,065, for a first-year total bill of just $22,998.)"

Ummmm, this doesn't work. If you count the cost of buying the car you can't also count the cost of depreciation. It is one or the other. They need some math/financial help before publishing.