Running Costs & Repair Math

Deciding whether a repair is worth it against the car's value and remaining life, the real cost of a year of ownership, and which services are actually required.

Running Costs & Repair Math August 22, 2026 What a Year of Ownership Costs Beyond the Payment Twelve months priced on one 2016 Camry: registration itemised to the cent, fuel at 2026 pump prices, tires, and the two lines nobody can quote you. 10 min read
Running Costs & Repair Math August 18, 2026 Repair or Replace: The Worksheet I Run Before I Pay A $2,340 estimate is not a verdict. The seven lines I fill in first: free-repair offsets, cost per month on both sides, and the reserve that flips the answer. 10 min read

About this section

Nothing looked wrong on either car. Both times the problem was already written down somewhere Clay Dettmer had not thought to look — a title branded in a state the seller never mentioned, a recall that had been open for two years. He buys cheap used cars and now pulls the free records before the test drive instead of after the tow. He is not a mechanic, a dealer, or an adjuster, and he inspects nothing. Everything here comes from public federal and state data, quoted with the agency, the section number, and the date it was read.

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Every guide cites the agency, statute, or document it was checked against, and carries the date it was checked. Rules change — if something here is out of date, tell us and it gets corrected.