Costs of Owning a Car

not quite true..

Oil changes cost me about 50-60 and I do them 2x a year (mobile 1 fully synth + purloator filter)

definitely could have gone cheaper on the brakes and o2 sensor (if thats what it was) jeep o2 sensors cost about $25 and free.99 to replace yourself

new tires cost be about 1g last fall
 
Car expense is too variable to estimate.

Okay, so the insurance and registration is fixed, but there are too many hidden costs.

Maintenance is never certain, fuel prices fluctuate, things creep up...

Hell, I bought a 4 year old Civic with 70k miles for $7000, thought I was set for life. 5k miles after the engine died.

Basically, don't get a car unless you have a solid income.
 
Here what happened to me when i baught my first car,

I baught a 93 civic 1000$,

Keep in mind these which i didnt think about too much, Gas,oil, Tires ( winter/summer) wiper fluid, power steering fluid, brake pads/ rotors, general matinence (exuast was my first to go... 450$) insurance.

Insurance keep in mind also 2 door vs 4 door and the colour of you're car too. Tags renewing.

And man honestly is your a smart guy, try to learn how to fix things as much as possible yourself, ex oil changes, switching tires, brakes. that alone there can save you close to 1000$. hope that maybe helps, gbirrd
 
OH ya,

Make a budget as SOOON as possible, sounds dumb and time consuming but try making a 3 year budget plan. saves you time and money! I made one and it helped so much!
 
make sure you remember taxes/inspection fees/registration fees. I got my car from a different state (family friend)and it cost me probably 700 for sales tax and all that.
 
heres the thing, i really wish i knew how to change oil/brake pads and had the time and the tools, but bottom line is I don't have the tools, time, knowledge, or even space since I live in the middle of a city to do so.
Also, seeing how I drive up to tahoe pretty often, if you've ever driven over echo summit on route 50 into south lake tahoe during the middle of a blizzard, you would not want used tires. There is 400 foot+ cliff to the valley floor that is barricaded by sand bags in places. $400 for for good, all weather tires is not a bad price and thats not something I'm willing to skimp on.
Another thing is, I probably work 40-50 hours a week at my job, go to the gym/play soccer/grab a drink afterwards, so the last thing I want to do is spend time doing work on my car. On the weekends, I want to chill with friends, ski, or hike or something like that. I don't have a driveway so even if I wanted to I wouldn't be able to.
If you are a college student, you will have a lot more time and probably space to do stuff like this. If you have the time, I would highly recommend learning how to do some basic car stuff. But, once reality sets in you have to have your priorities.
 
Tyres is the brit/canadian spelling of tire. If you'll notice, the poster also referenced 'petrol' instead of gas. Lack of culture ftw
 
Even if I bought the most expensive oil filter for my car (20$), and bought the best oil money can buy (not worth it IMO, oil is oil as long as it meets some requirements), my oil changes wouldn't be 50-60$. My oil changes cost 30$ tops.
 
how many quarts does your motor need

4.5 quarts of 0w-40 for me and im up to 53 alone with tax- plus a 10 dollar filter and im at 63 bucks
 
false. the 2.2 block is a beast. they don't die. the 2.5 dohc block is the one with head gasket issues. stick with the 2.2 and you're fine.
 
4.2ish, but I just buy a jug at a time, and then buy a additional quart every 1-3 changes. You're paying more than 10$ a quart for oil? That's ridiculous, what kind of oil do you use?

I typically use Mobil 1 synthetic 0w-40, and a lot of people think that there's really much not need to use pricier oil than that unless you drive an exotic, which I don't. If you buy it at Walmart in bulk, its under 5$ a qt.

Buy OEM oil filters in bulk too, and they're about 5$ a pop.

You don't have to buy bad supplies to have a cheap oil change.
 
Not that anyone hit my buzzer, but once again, the cost of owning, and driving a car is going to vary. Most repairs on imports are going to be more expensive than if you were to do the same on your 1990 chevy 1/2 ton. Tires vary in price because of size, quality, and longitivity, and you can take "quality" into any sense you would like. If you like offroading you're going to pay more for that type of tire, if you're a highway driver and want something with a relatively hard compound your going to pay more, if your a wuss and like snow tires, etc. Cars arent cheap, not to say that you cant cut down costs by doing some repairs yourself, making the repairs, and regular maintanence CHEAP-ER or knowing a few people who can help out with proper equipment, but ultimitly your going to run into a few problems that are a must to fix, that you cant just plop under your car in the driveway with a crescent wrench to fix. Simple things too. It all adds up, gas isnt cheap, you get the idea. And your not always going to find a sensor for dirt cheap, or have the time to have your car down while you wait for a 5 dollar o2 sensor on ebay that already has 80,000 miles on it. Parts can be cheap, but i would say more often than people put on they are not. Insurance isnt that cheap either. If you could get under your parents its usually dirt cheap if they have good records, as long as you dont start getting a driving record. But its still money spent.

Im sure this isnt news to you, but I thought I would chime in again. I drive a pretty fuel efficent car, live in a small town in montana, and still will pay about 30 or so bucks a week in gas. Just put in 20 today, will probably last till monday.
 
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