Car maintenance has got to be one of the least fun things you can do with your free time, right behind going to the dentist and filing your taxes. However, depending on the brand you buy, your time spent at the shop could be much more than you bargained for. Consumer Reports’ new study on the most- and least-expensive-to-maintain car brands found that European car companies are most likely to break your wallet with costs nearly five times that of the automakers at the other end of the spectrum.
Land Rover had the highest ten-year maintenance costs, at an average of $19,250. Porsche was second worst with $14,090 in costs.
10 car brands most expensive to maintain over 10 years:
- Land Rover: $19,250
- Porsche: $14,090
- Mercedes-Benz: $10,525
- Audi: $9,890
- BMW: $9,500
- Volvo: $9,285
- Infiniti: $8,500
- Acura: $7,800
- Mini: $7,625
- Subaru: $7,200
The Euro brands at the “top” of this list aren’t all that surprising. Land Rover has consistently landed as one of the most expensive vehicle brands to maintain for years now, though Porsche is generally viewed as being one of the more solid performance brands. That could suggest that some models don’t always require more repairs, but the fixes they do need are significantly more expensive.
Tesla, Buick, and Toyota were the three cheapest to maintain car brands, with 10-year maintenance costs of $4,035, $4,900, and $4,900, respectively. Consumer Reports noted that these numbers could be slightly skewed due to the fact that some automakers offer free maintenance for the first few years of ownership, and all companies cover their new vehicles for at least a few years after the purchase.
Routine maintenance is a great way to avoid costly repairs over time, as it’s much cheaper to catch a problem before it starts causing other issues. Check your oil, rotate your tires, and avoid driving like a wild person, and you’ll likely fare much better than others, even if you own one of the scarier-to-maintain brands.
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