<prompt> Human: Just wanted to share my cost to own a vehicle.First, I see cars as a means of transportation, period. I dont value what kind of car I drive and I dont see it as a status symbol typically the opposite. I would also like to add that I typically buy cars that are easy to maintain and reliable keeps operating costs low. I do my best to maintain the cars myself, hence why some maintenance charges are low free labor, cost of parts only. I buy cars based on my rule of thumb: for every 1,000 spent on a vehicle purchase, maintenance, etc, you should receive in return 10,000 miles. For example, if you purchased a vehicle for 10,000, it should roughly provide 100,000 miles of service. A more refined use of the rule would be to buy a car for 7,000 then spend 1000 on routine maintenance tires, belts, alignment, etc, in return have 30,000 miles of driving and sell the vehicle for 5,000. Later I realized I could just track my expenses or better estimate the costs of ownership and see how much it actually costs to operate on a per mile or per year basis.Before I begin the analysis, I want to add I wrote a post on costs of owning my home which received some interesting responses if you havent read it, its a good read. I will forego opportunity costs because I buy cars cheap and the opportunity cost is negligible for my scenario. What I really wanted from my cost of owning a home post was a methodology and a different perspective, not an absolute-- the same would apply here for cars. So, if you want to do an opportunity cost then knock yourself out or you insist on driving X vs Y, then proceed as usual. Ultimately, critique the assessment and compare it with your personal experiences ie buying new and selling at 100k miles or leasing for 5 years; seek a cost per mile or year and determine for yourself how much it costs to own a vehicle.The car: I found a nice used 1999 Acura Integra with 118,000 miles. We negotiated and I ended up buying the vehicle for 2750. I chose the Integra because like many Hondas, they are reliable, easy to work on, and fuel efficient. In addition, many can approach 200,000 miles with routine maintenance or little maintenance as seen on Craigslist. I ended up putting 800 in maintenance over the 1.5years of ownership. Also, I was able to drive 20,000 miles. Just very recently, I sold the vehicle for 2200. So using my quick rule of thumb: 2750800 - 2200 1350 or expected service of 13500 miles which is less than the actual miles driven of 20000. Therefore rule of thumb checks out and the car was worth buying.Now a deeper dive...Yes more accuracy can be done with respect to mpgs and cost of fuelThe integra manual states 8000mi per oil changeWhats great about the analysis is it can be compared to the government rate of 0.54 centsmile 2016. Also goes to show how expensive it is to own a vehicle relatively; keep in mind this is with me performing a majority of the maintenance myself and buying a 15 year old car. Anyway, I hope that was helpful. I enjoy reading the constructive criticism and trying to answer any questions about the methodology. Edit: I think I have been sending the wrong message about cars and this post. This is personal finance so Ill address them separately. On a personal note, a car can be whatever you want it to be a tool, a status symbol, an extension of oneself, it can have all the features that ultimately you want 3rd row seats, tow hitch, navigation, bluetooth, extended warranty etc. On the financial perspective, it costs money, and I think a lot of people dont understand the TRUE cost of owning a vehicle because a lot of people buy cars based on their needs and as along as their payments, maintenance, gas, insurance etc fall into budget then theres no real question on how much it costs to own.To marry the two, I pose the questions: How much does it cost to own your vehicle? Are you satisfied with that tradeoff or is there a better alternative? and most importantly does it line up with your financial goals? The last question embodies personal finance but you cant make that conclusion if youre not aware of what it costs to own and operate a vehicle.Sorry if I went on my rant about my personal preferences of owning vehicles, I should have focused on the quantitative side.  <response>: This is the stupidest post on cars Ive seen. So you buy an old clunker then complain that car ownership is expensive.Sure... 