Not to mention the cost of the car! A really rough estimate of what I spent on my car in the 9 years that I owned one in California: $11k: insurance ($1200/

Not to mention the cost of the car! A really rough estimate of what I spent on my car in the 9 years that I owned one in California: $11k: insurance ($1200/yr, a bargain for a 20-something male) $8k: depreciation (bought at $18k, sold at $10k) $4k: gas (~50k miles @ 35 mpg, ~$3/gal) $3k: maintenance (very good luck on this one) $2k: tolls, parking, etc. (infrequent for me) Works out to about $260/mo. Not terrible, but a noticeable part of my budget. And I managed to go 9 years without a single accident, major maintenance issue, or run-in with traffic cops, any of which could easily have caused things to add up to a considerably higher number.