College is expensive. And with what college students pay in tuition, room and board, possibly a meal plan, and numerous other costs, most of us have a very limited budget and often take certain amenities for granted. We expect certain things to work with little effort put toward maintaining their value. One such thing is motor vehicles. We naturally expect our vehicles, that many of us have payed thousands and thousands of dollars for, to work all the time, in all circumstances.

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Of course, we do have to conduct routine upkeep like filling up the gas tank or putting air in the tires. This routine maintenance is absolutely necessary to keep your car running smoothly. It can become expensive, and also depends on the type of car you own. Say, if you own a big truck with a low MPG like a Ford F-150, you will obviously need to fill the gas tank a little more often, and thus spend a little more money, than if you own a compact SUV such as a Honda CRV (like me), that has a much higher MPG. Additionally, we drivers have to engage in certain behaviors whilst driving to keep everyone (including ourselves) safe and not run your cars into the ground. Following the speed limit, staying in your lane, and constantly keeping your eyes on the road reduce the risk of accidents, and ultimately extend the life of your car. Especially with new developments in motor vehicle technology like electric cars and motion sensor steering and braking, drivers can make smart purchasing decisions to be environmentally friendly and utilize this advanced technology to account for error in human decision making. Now, not many college students can afford that advanced of a motor vehicle, but those types of vehicles are becoming more and more common, which will make them more easily accessible and affordable to college students.

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That is kind of the routine we drivers expect to follow on and off the road, but what about when we face situations that we are unfamiliar with or do not know how to deal with personally. One such of these situations that I have personally dealt with is nonroutine repairs. Recently, I had a fuel line leakage below my gas tank. I only noticed this when the manager of Snap Fitness, the off campus gym I am a member of, pointed this out to me when I was working out. So, not only was my workout interrupted, but I was also faced with a severe impending cost to repair the aforementioned deficiency. The leakage, prior to its repair, caused my gas costs to go up. In the end, I paid around $500 for this repair at a local motor shop, who additionally attempted to gouge me for rotors that my uncle and I replaced last year.

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Drivers also face time costs of construction zones and heavy traffic. When we attempt to drive somewhere, we expect to get to our destination by a certain time. And it can be really, really frustrating when we do not, as we consider our time very valuable and constrained. When this occurs because of construction zones, which seem to pop up about every five miles in Pennsylvania, or heavy traffic in concentrated areas, it can become increasingly irritating to have more of our time, and money, snatched from us. All too often in these situations do we deal with impatient people honking their horns and blabbing a series of four-letter words out of their windows to other people who have no control over the situation, which makes us more angry about the situation. Then, our attention becomes misguided toward the person causing the ruckus rather than driving safety and following the rules of the road. Needless to say, there is not just a monetary cost to owning a vehicle, but there is also a time cost, which may even be more severe than the monetary costs.

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I give great credit to commuters and to those that have to deal with vehicular troubles on a consistent basis. As was alluded to in an article last week about commuters, it is a constant struggle getting to and from where you need to go. This is especially true if you own an older car that needs constant maintenance, like my 2004 Honda CRV. I paid around $3,500 for the car a few years ago and I have probably now spent half of that on repairs and state inspections alone. For those of you that do not have a car and always need a ride from a friend, appreciate what that friend has to deal with in owning a car.