[NitroNutter]

The real truth is your average household PC owner is really out of their league.
They have driven profit margins to a minimul low, and many really do not have a clue but are not willing to pay the price for their lack of knowledge.
PC maintenance can and generally is more time consuming than that of your car. The expertise and knowledge required to perform it to a respectable standard is way above.

Heres a prime example you average PCWorld health check cost £50 but that would not cover the cost of a full scandisk check on a lonesome 160GB hard drive which can take hours alone.
Garages charge by the hour, the majority would not pay that towards their PC.

This time round the fault is down to consumer demand, by demanding over and above what a market can provide for the prices offered.

In reality this is more what the PC market should look like

Base system bare minimum £3000
Hardware is covered by a warranty but the consumer would have to subscribe to a maintenance contract, which would then include a quartely visit to perform a health check that will take at least an entire day.

You cannot get this level of service in todays PC market prices so dont expect it.

Else the other option is know your system inside out, build it from scratch, know what its all about and what you dont know but think you need to know find it out.