In a post entitled, "Wheels: The Costs of Owning a Car", New York Times blogger Jim Motavelli explores all of the hidden costs to owning a car. 

How much does it cost to own a car? Probably a whole lot more than you think. If your estimates are based on what you paid for your vehicle, plus the cost of gas, oil and repairs, you’re forgetting about insurance, depreciation, parking fees, tolls and registration, among other things.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, American “consumer units” (similar to a household) spent an average of $8,758 on all forms of transportation in 2007 (up 2.9 percent from 2006). We’re a car-owning country, so only $537.81 of our average spending went to public transit, including taxis and air travel. The latter expenses would appear to skew the statistics because the lowest-income fifth of the population spent an average of $171.30 annually on transit and the richest fifth $1,406.45.

Click here to read the full post.

You can also save yourself significant time and headaches by using public transportation, a bicycle, or by walking. Check out the below entertaining video from T4America: