PAGE 20 TERRACE BAY NEWS AUGUST 23, 1972 FOR * PARKING LOTS « SERVICE STATIONS * PLAY GROUNDS * DRIVEWAYS Call 824-2533 Business 824-2420) Home 824-2280) Home FIGLIOMENI BROS. SCHREIBER, ONTARIO DOJARS & GOOD SENSE by WILLIAM J. MARTIN Special Consultant to Avco Financial Services We all know that driving a car these days costs a lot of money. For a standard four- door sedan, it's around 14 cents per mile, in fact. For a two-door compact, the cost is about 11 cents a mile, and for those sub-compacts, the cost drops to less than 10 cents per mile. That is if you're "average." The figures come from a re- cent U.S. Department of Transportation study, listing cos over 2 10-year, 100,000 mile period. The figures # # f£ for the sedan # # include $2,- 787 for gaso- # f£ line, $2,147 ¢ for mainte- nance, $1,350 f id for insurance, $1,800 for park- ing and tolls and $1,319 for taxes. Somehow the study forgot about tires, a major item over 100,000 miles of driving. It also comes up a little short on mileage estimates, allowing for only 10,000 miles per year. Your costs, therefore, are bound to be higher unless you really work at cutting ex- penses. You can pay less for your driving in a number of ways. One way is to follow the own- er's manual and warranty ad- vice. That sounds simple, but most people don't study these important documents, espe- cially as relating to the sug- gested periodic maintenance. Keep your car properly serviced and maintain a strict schedule of auto checkups to catch problems before they become costly repairs. Since the biggest portion of service cost is for labor, you can save a considerable sum by doing routine check-ups yourself. For most of today's cars, especially the new compacts and sub-compacts, inexpen- sive repair guides can be pur- chased for just this purpose. When you do have to bring your car into a garage for service, be as careful in choos- ing the right establishment as you would be for other pur- chases. Service costs can vary widely, as can quality work- manship. Shop wisely, check with others. Readers' questions are wel- come and should be sent to Box 5875 London, Ontario.