High cost of owning a car

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
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I recently posted about the shockingly high cost of owning a house. Here’s the second most-expensive purchase most people make.

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/cars/americas-love-affair-with-the-car-has-soured-over-money-4b73670f?mod=hp_lead_pos9

High Costs Have Ended America’s Love Affair With Cars

You love them, you want them, you can’t live without them…and they’re costing you a fortune in repairs, insurance and shockingly expensive replacement parts. Dan Neil on why our national obsession with the automobile has turned dangerously codependent.

By Dan Neil, The Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2025

…
Light-vehicle sales have fallen by about 1.7 million a year since 2016, reflecting the number of younger consumers declining the pleasures of ownership. Millions more remained trapped in toxic relationships with abusive elders. The average age of passenger cars on the road is currently 14.5 years, according to S&P Global’s data…

According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total cost to own and operate an automobile averaged a frightening $12,296 in 2024, roughly 30% higher than a decade ago. Driving the numbers are new-vehicle prices, now averaging $48,883, according to Cox Automotive’s latest data. With middle-income buyers priced out of new cars, demand for used cars has strengthened, now averaging around $25,500. …

Among the major stressors: car insurance. Lexis-Nexis Risk Solutions’ annual report found average insurance costs rose 10% in 2024, after soaring 15% in 2023. Full-coverage policies now average $2,680 annually, up 12% from June 2024…

It’s not just about money, honey. It’s about trust. Doubts start with the mounting complexity of new cars… [end quote]

The rest of the article is a complex list of the very expensive, hard-to-repair parts of newer cars, including electronics, all kinds of vulnerable plastic parts that are hidden inside of and under engines and cast-aluminum chassis of Teslas. The cost of making modern cars whole again, combined with steep depreciation, sends thousands of lightly damaged, otherwise functional cars and trucks to salvage yards every month (24% of all claims).

I prefer simple, old-fashioned cars with manual knobs and minimal electronics. (But I do like the back-up camera.)

Adding the cost of a car to the cost of housing pressures family budgets. But what can people do if they live outside of cities with efficient mass transit?

Wendy (no car till age 24)

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That’s not news to those of us who use a rent vs.buy analysis to inform their housing decisions. {{ LOL }}

I’ve been getting quotes on my free HVAC heat pump system courtesy of the $15,000 to $20,000 Energy Efficiency Refund program. The program was originally designed to cover the full cost of equipment and installation for a 2-Ton HVAC unit. Now Private Equity-owned, contractor price gouging is likely to leave me at least $5,000 out-of-pocket if I employ one of these bandits. Fortunately, the program allows savvy homeowners like myself to install the HVAC equipment as a DIY project and cut the contractor out of the action, as long as I’m sure I can pass the city inspection.

intercst

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Those day, other than Hot Rodders, Classic Car folks are gone, even my old F150 has multiple computers dealing with various systems, where the newer RAV4 is all computer, really, No physical connection to engine, brakes, any of it, sensors, cameras everywhere, cruise will set not only the speed, bus safe distance to whatever car you are following, jump to another if that one leaves…

Cost, only the routine maintenance, tires, maybe the 12v battery, where we used to check the oil, many no longer even have a dipstick as sensors monitor the fluid levels, tire pressures, and likely more than we know… I used to spend a lot of time fiddling, fixing, even overhauling engine, brakes, whatever was needed, no more… Just sign a check to local mechanic or dealer once in a while… Pretty pain free…

Also means all those meters, wrenches, gauges, sockets are very dusty… Like other trades, time has moved on…

weco

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Vehicles are expensive to own. Let me cry on your shoulder.

Last winter our granddaughter called us, her car had slowed down on its own on the interstate, so she pulled over onto the shoulder. She had purchased our 2004 Camry, which we bought new, from us a few years ago. So, we drive out there and the car starts and runs but is making a funny noise. She said her boyfriend had just changed the oil and filter for her. I had my suspicion as to what was wrong. I drove back home, hooked up my car trailer and went back out there to get it. The weather was turning bitter cold, and snow was in the forecast, so I left the car on the trailer when we got home. A few days later I looked, and sure enough, her boyfriend didn’t spin the filter all the way on. She drove the car about 3 miles with no oil. Pretty remarkable really.

So we financed a different car for her. Found a 2004 Lexus that had about 100k less miles than the Camry had. It looked like it had been well taken care of. So last month the power steering began to leak. Then the driver’s door window quit working. $1950 dollars later all is well. The $1950 included changing out the pump, lines and rear struts/shocks.

So now my youngest sons Focus rear window quit working. That was only $150.

I bought a 2007 John Deere tractor last fall to replace my 1989 John Deere. The tractor had only 400 hours on it and it also looked well maintained. I took it into a local farm equipment mechanic to look at the 3 point. It doesn’t always want to lift. he called Wednesday and said the part is $2500 plus probably about 5 to 8 hundred more for labor. Ouch.

And then my wife’s 2024 Passport had a service notice come on, saying the rear differential oil needs to be changed. I YouTubed that and did it myself, but the oil was $50.

And finally, my daughter’s 2022 Pilot had the service transmission notice come on. I looked and saw that there’s a drain plug on the transmission pan. No mention of a filter needing changed. I can do that. Well maybe not. The procedure is far more complicated than cracking open a drain plug. Mechanic’s estimate is $400.

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Years back. a '95 Chevy K2500, 4x4… I was on the road a lot, going to, working on jobs all over Calif. So no time for DIY oil changes, only the quick change oil places, what I didn’t notice, until it was too late, is that they don’t have actual mechanics, so weren’t allowed to open, change that internal transmission filter. And it cost me, out of warranty, had to pay for the new one… Lesson learned, never again went to this quick stops, made appointments, whatever it took, to have a real mechanic to the servicing…

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