I beg to differ. Go visit any Mercedes, BMW LR, etc. forums and see how much owners bitch and moan about how much it costs to get something fixed out of warranty, Nut.
Manufacturers (especially high end ones) to try to make cost of ownership as low as possible within reason. They don't want you to buy one of their cars only to have it in the shop more than it's on the road. If that's the case, people will go buy brand Y instead of brand X. They also don't want you to pay through the nose if at all possible. Of course, you end up doing so, especially on specialty parts.
Now, is it all relative? Sure. An oil change on say, a Mercedes is right at 120 dollars. But you do get a 10,000 mile service interval, a nice fleece filter, a thorough go-over the car and a nice car bath with that.
Most people change the oil every 3,000 miles (this I don't understand why people change it so often, but eh..), for a cost of what, about 40 dollars? 3 oil changes and 9,000 miles later, you're at 120 dollars. Again, all relative.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
