>I think this must be a US phenomenon. >a car chosen for low total ownership cost. I own and drive a car that I bought with the intention of owning and mainta

>I think this must be a US phenomenon. >a car chosen for low total ownership cost. I own and drive a car that I bought with the intention of owning and maintaining cheaply, too. I am fairly anal about maintenance, so the costs associated with that are actually inflated from what they could be. I live in Southern California, apparently a very expensive place to be. I own a reliable used car that I bought for fairly cheap (sub 5000usd). I pay about 82 dollars a year for registration, and 85 dollars a month (with a good DMV history) for insurance. I spend around 1200 dollars on maintenance a year generally, but it has been as low as 500 a year. So, 2400-2900 a year after the initial purchase. It's more expensive than some places -- but not ourageous. Licensing is a lot cheaper than Japan, at least.