[mike944]

I think the general public's attitude is: It runs fine, why do i need to spend money on it? You're just trying to screw me.

Way too many people know absolutely NOTHING about cars, don't know what's involved in keeping them running, don't understand what can go wrong. If it moves when i push the gas pedal, and slows down when i push the brake pedal, there's nothing wrong with it.

People are definitely cheap. I once read a quote from a president of a major airline, and found it online. Here it is: "Robert Crandall, the crusty former boss at American Airlines, used to say that customers always talk in surveys about food and legroom. But when it comes to buying tickets, the only thing that ever matters to them is price." In other words, people buy the cheapest, and then complain when it doesn't work as well as the best.

944's are rather inexpensive (as far as used cars go) to get in to, and many times, people underestimate the cost of keeping one running. Jaguars (prior to the Ford takeover) are in a similar situation. Cheap to buy, but expensive to keep running.

Everything we buy has 3 real costs associated with it.
1. The initial purchase price.
2. The cost of maintaining it (keeping it in usable condition).
3. The cost of keeping it (taxes, insurance, and the "cost" in space to keep it).

Many times, the initial purchase price turns out to be the smallest of the three. Nobody sees the other 2 when they go to buy something, and they certainly don't realize that the other 2 can be significantly larger than the first.

For example, take a common light bulb. Costs, what, maybe 25cents to buy? Over it's lifespan, it uses between $5 and $15 worth of electricity. Doesn't it make sense to spend a little more on a lightbulb that's more efficient? NOPE, buy the cheapest one.

Old cars are expensive to keep running. Nobody is happy with large repair bills, but you have to expect them from time to time. It's (almost) always cheaper to keep maintaining an older car than making payments on a brand new car. A new car is a fixed amount every month, with a used car, you get hit in larger "payments" but more randomly.