[tonycarreon]

not counting regular maintenance (oil changes, filters, belts, battery, etc) i've been averaging around $1000/yr. throw general maintenance in and it doubles.

i do as much myself as i can (oil changes, alternator, belt, etc) and leave the tough stuff to a shop (control arm, engine mount, etc)

the thing to keep in mind is that it's not a strict $/ year. things seem to come in waves. this year i've spent around $200 on maintenance, last year it was closer to $2000.

i'll echo some of what frodo said.

- get a couple of books (love my 101 projects book) and learn some DIY. at first i didn't think i could do much but really the car is simple to do your own regular maintenance on (oil change, spark plugs, filters, belt, etc) and you'll save a crap-ton of money over going to a dealership/indy shop.

- tires are a big wear item. most of the time you'll be lucky to get 15k miles on them. though the fronts tend to last 2x as long as the rears. depending on how much you drive you'll want to budget around $500/year for tires.

- $200/year on oil change if you DIY (depending on sales you find and # of times), double that if you go to a shop / indy.

- at the mileage range you're looking at (i don't see a problem with that), you'll want to have a PPI (though i didn't and consider myself lucky) and be ready to negotiate for the parts that will need to be replaced. if you want to "gamble" and drive it as-is, find something with a good service history. at that milage range i'd really be looking at the coolant tank, AOS and water pump mileage interval which would cost around $2500 at an indy. maybe it's been done recently in which case - CAKE!

bought my car in '09 @ 66k miles. since then i've put 40k on it and it's not my daily driver.