Originally Posted by
Williamsmith
AAA is just trying to make people feel better about car ownership and travel. After all, they are the American Automobile Association.
So the real story beneath the story for me is, why is it so high? And the truth is because the automobile industry, the insurance industry, the banks and the related garage repair businesses make it so.
The automobile industry advertises the heck out of new cars, the low to no interest rate carrot is dangled to get people in looking, most of whom can't qualify for no interest but who will definitely qualify at outrageous interest rates. The banks split the profit on the higher interest rate loans with the dealership. The insurance industry jacks up its prices when the cost of gasoline goes down claiming greater costs because of more miles driven. Yet they never cut their rates due to safety improvements or on an individual case basis.
So the related industries herd the masses into the most costly scenario for owning a vehicle and then turn around and publish bullcrap like how cheap it is to own and operate one even though the numbers they quote are outrageous.
I own a Toyota Tacoma (SteveinMN ....I wouldn't read any further) ....calculating my 5000 miles per year average, the cost of gas at a nation highest average because of a huge state surtax, insurance at $500 per year, free oil changes, tire rotations and state inspections because I own a Toyotacare product, and no other overhead......even after adding in cost of a new set of tires with 40,000 miles........puts me at a frugal $100 per month or $1,200 per year.
And that is just how cheap it could be.......if we got high usury and greed out of the equation.