this post was submitted on 08 May 2026
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United States | News & Politics
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Those costs are highly variable and can be very low. I have 30+ years owning and operating automobiles in the USA, so I can speak from a well of experience on the topic.
If your car is running OK, able to operate well enough to travel in, your only cost could be gas. Some of us have cars that are paid off and low-maintenance. Insurance is required by some states, but you don't technically need it to operate the vehicle. You can also get low-cost liability-only insurance to meet the bare minimum legal requirements. Routine maintenance can be cheap if all you do is change the oil and filter - this can cost $30 or less every 5000-10000 miles if you do it yourself.
But if you're a dumbass who bought a monster truck with long financing and high payments, you're gonna have a bad time.
Incorrect, the gas is the cheapest thing you pay for over time with a car in many ways.
https://www.aaa.com/autorepair/articles/breaking-down-the-cost-of-car-ownership
https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/Transportation-Economic-Trends-Transportation-Spen/bzt6-t8cd/
https://bestinterest.blog/cost-of-car-ownership/
Your anecdote does not somehow magically trump the assortment of links to actual calculations from experts of these things I provided.
Why not? I'm not some special car owner. I just don't spend money like a dipshit. The fact is that owning a car doesn't have to be as expensive as what you're referencing.
Because you are providing no evidence other than "my car is cheap!" in a flippant totally anecdotal fashion.
You must not know how averages work. You don't have to be the person buying shitty cars and getting ripped off by mechanics.
The funny thing is, I'm talking from experience while you clearly have none.
These guys are just part of the metropolitan, anti-car crusade on lemmy. Most of them have no experience living life outside of a major city, yet think they know everything about it.
I'd just write them off as nutjobs and move on.