by James Hamel

Created on: November 02, 2009

In this volatile new car market automakers can be seen throwing near giveaway deals to possible purchasers just to get them through the dealership doors. But are these deals really too good to be true? When you sign that 0 down $299/a month lease for that $30K-something SUV are you getting the most for your money? Do you know how not to fall into an economic money pit with your next car purchase? You do know you have to service your car per manufacturers instructions or face voiding your warranty? You know that, right?

But hidden servicing costs are only part of the problem. If the vehicle you are interested is hugely unreliable you do, of course, have the warranty but have you taken into consideration how much you will have to spend on rental cars? And what about fuel economy? Gas prices might not be causing huge headaches now but with just a flick of their Armani clad, Rolex wearing wrists the powers that be at OPEC could cause you a huge headache. When it comes to the price of gas, the United States truly is beholden to the whims of madmen.

Are there any companies that try to lessen your risk when it comes to the "true" cost of car ownership? Well, BMW for one has for years allayed the fears of its lessee customers by offering free maintenance (even brake and wiper blade replacements are covered) for 4 years or 40,000 miles. This helps as most people who lease cars for 3-4 years never go over 40,000 miles. Add in the fact that most BMW models rank above average in reliability and you can see why so many luxury car owners rate BMW's leasing arm so highly.

Although offering free maintenance has been tried and dropped by the likes of Audi, Mercedes and Land Rover all of these automakers found that offering a BMW-like program didn't really help sales all that much. In the sales race of 2009 it is only VW, Mini and Volvo (with a whopping 5 years of free maintenance) who persevere with free maintenance programs.

Besides having to routinely find the cash to service your nearly new car, often times vehicles with a low purchase price are equipped with pricey wear items that routinely need replacing. For example, the Chrysler PT Cruiser was notorious for having brake pads that usually needed replacing about every 12,000 miles while the rotors usually had to be replaced every 24,000 miles or so. Pad replacements from a Chrysler dealer can average around $300 while adding in the rotors brings the price above $500. That can add up to some serious cash over the life of a

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