$5000 for maintenance in one year seems like a lot. I drive a 10 yr old car and DH drives a 5 yr old car. When they need repairs they can be expensive, but fortunately its not often. When it does become an issue for my car, we will look into replacing it. We don’t lease. Ever. But some people swear by it. If you keep a car a short time, keep it in pristene condition and keep the mileage low, it can be an option. If you keep a car a long time, it may not be a financial good decision.
JOD-
Not understanding your comment about blackmail. Who is blackmailing who? Where? When? No one suggested that OP say to the manager “if you don’t give me what I want I am posting bad reviews on yelp and contacting corporate”. Don’t know anyone who does that, nor is it likely to be beneficial. For me, in the example I gave with the natural gas provider, I had already changed providers and they (first company) were trying to bill erroneously. I had spoken to a CS rep before changing (tried to stay with them but they wouldn’t match the fixed rate price, so, oh well, goodbye) and was told exactly what to do and when. But something didn’t happen as it was supposed to. Had the CS rep’s name and date of conversation. Called back after the snafu and spoke to a second rep, who was unhelpful, and then to another who was flat out wrong and rude to boot. I probably asked to speak to a supervisor who was conveniently unavailable. No blackmail. No threats. Nothing rude or impolite. Just trying to straighten out their billing error (not worth explaining, but trust me, they made the mistake) and determine the correct amount owed, if anything, which I was happy to pay if owed. Ultimately decided to post a polite, but disappointed post on their fbk pg which was very beneficial in getting the situation rectified and the person was very kind and very helpful. Many people say to post on twitter to get the attention of someone to address concerns. Didn’t do that.