206 Jock:
I can see your point of view but I'm afraid it misses the point entirely. No-one is surprised that a Helicopter takes more regular maintenance than a car and I dont think that is the complaint which started the thread.
Indeed the arguement about cars becoming more reliable having a direct impact on the cost per hour that you pay doesnt even make sense when surely in the car industry it is a question of quantity and throughput. I'm sure if you phone your Audi dealer today they will need about two weeks to fit you in for a service!!
So we are back to a labour cost per hour issue and on that basis the Aviaition industry struggles to survive on the poor margins available based on labour rates that are half that of the motor industry.
Aviation maintenance providers all hover (excuse the pun) on the edge of a loss on a regualr basis and even in the good times would rarely generate much more than a 5% return on investment.
Add all this up and I think most companies do a great job providing the level of support that they do.
Also if you can provide me with Engineers that cost me £20 per hour to employ then I'll take a dozen please!!