AW, y'all left out one factor in maintenance costs for our cars: our kids! My SEL suddenly needed flex disk after my son borrowed it to go on a long trip to see some friends. Not long after that it needed a left rear CV joint. Seems after son or daughter borrow the car, the rear tires look a little smoother. I can't complain too much. I blew a u-joint out of my father's car when I was a teenager...and then blew another one out of my own 6 cylinder Mustang years later-and that ain't easy!