I feel so old and SO naive

[heftysmokes]

When he said they were "super expensive" that's "imagined" because it is.

$1,320.00 a year for total costs is dirt cheap. My property taxes are over six times that for a year, my electric bill is three times that for a year, my internet/cable bill is exactly that for a year. Even with no job, my federal income tax bill is twice that for a year. Heating oil? How much do you pay? Honestly, this year, I have no idea what my total cost will be for the season but I just paid over three fucking fifty a gallon which means the minimum 200 gallon delivery was over 700.00 and I'll be lucky if that lasts me until the end of December. So if I could heat my house for $1,320.00 (your yearly car cost) I'd throw a party, invite you, pay for your plane fare and still have money left over.

The bottom line is his personal choice to forgo a car isn't because it's "super expensive, even if the car is paid off" because that's bull$hit.

I totally agree. $1300 for a year of operating a car is indeed dirt cheap. Actually, probably pretty much impossible. The problem with your argument is you're comparing the cost of car ownership to other expenses in your life that are necessities, not to the cost of owning just a bike. So, if you don't "have" to own a bike (which he obviously doesn't) $1300/year is a pretty expensive luxury.
You HAVE TO have heat (btw, our natural gas bill averages about 30/month since you asked), electricity, pay your taxes, etc. You (in this case I'm referring to jiveturkey) don't HAVE TO pay for a car.

Edit for your edit: Once again you're comparing car ownership to cost of living (rent/mortgage), not car ownership to bike ownership.