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America, these are your top 10 most expensive cars to own

  • 1. Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG cost of ownership: $245,469

  • 2. Audi R8 5.2 true cost of ownership: $193,429.

  • 3. Alpina B7 true cost of ownership: $153,150

  • 4. Mercedes-Benz CL-Class true cost of ownership: $142,558.

  • 5. Mercedes-Benz SL-Class true cost of ownership: $129,588

  • 6. Lexus LS 600h L true cost of ownership: $129,542.

  • 7. Mercedes-Benz G-Class true cost of ownership: $108,900.

  • 8. BMW ActiveHybrid 7 true cost of ownership: $122,076.

  • 9. Land Rover Range Rover true cost of ownership: $118,158.

  • 10. Nissan GT-R true cost of ownership: $117,892.

Picking up a used luxury car is a great way to save some coin. Letting the previous owner take the fall on depreciation is a smart move, but it's worth remembering that high-end autos carry with them high-end maintenance and repair costs. Using Edmunds.com data, 24/7 Wall Street has compiled what it says are the 10 most expensive vehicles to own, and the list is populated by some not-so-surprising names. BMW and Mercedes-Benz soak up the lion's share of the offenders, though other manufactures make a showing as well. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG takes top honors as the most expensive of them all with a "true cost of ownership" of $245,469. That's in addition to the gullwing supercar's $210,875 MSRP.

The calculations not only factor in deprecation, but also things like fuel, maintenance and insurance costs.

All told, Mercedes-Benz models takes four of the 10 spots on the list. That's twice as many as BMW, and the rest are split between makes like Land Rover, Audi and Nissan. If that last one seems a bit out of place, keep in mind Nissan makes the mighty (and mighty complex) GT-R. Check out our gallery below for a full list of the biggest offenders.
Featured GalleryTop 10 Most Expensive Vehicles to Own
Earnings/Financials Ownership Audi BMW Land Rover Mercedes-Benz Nissan Car Buying Luxury Performance activehybrid 7 acura cl audi audi r8 bmw bmw 7 series bmw alpina b7 cost of ownership gt-r land rover land rover range rover lexus ls ls600h mercedes mercedes cl-class mercedes g-class mercedes sl-class mercedes sls amg most expensive car nissan
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    • 1 Second Ago

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    • 63 Comments
      tamaca1

      tamaca1

      • 2 Years Ago
      People always assume someone is rich when they own these cars. The truth is, the owners of these cars don't have a lot of money...they HAD a lot of money.
      10

        [blocked]

        • 2 Years Ago
        @tamaca1
        [blocked]
        -1
      sniperhunter2001

      sniperhunter2001

      • 2 Years Ago
      Has anyone mentioned the fact that supercars and exotics like the GTR, R8 V10, and SLS aren't even driven more than 3-4 times a month? I sure know my brother doesn't drive his V10 more than that, which also throws the whole fuel efficiency argument out of the window - one tank of gas lasts a whole month for many exotic owners. Also things like financial interest does not affect the people who buy these cars, again, my brother being an example - they bring with them a certified check for the full amount of the car, as opposed to financing $200k for 5 years. Insurance companies also give massive discounts on supercars, as they know they are typically not driven often and are driven, parked, and handled very carefully by their owners - this I know of as first hand knowledge not just because I handled insuring the R8, but also because I know a ton of people over the age of 30 who own exotics - few of them pay ridiculous amounts mentioned in this article. Then they fail to mention that all of these cars have warranties that cover anywhere between 3-5 years, bumper to bumper. I really can't believe someone went through all of the trouble to write such an awful article.
      9
        Phil T

        Phil T

        • 2 Years Ago
        @sniperhunter2001
        Agreed. It should be called a relative comparison as its based on the assumption all cars do the same mileage per year. A true comparison would reflect the real world usage of the vehicle for which very few exotics do 15000 miles per year. I work with a guy that has a 2003 996 turbo and he averages less than 4000 miles per year. His resale when he's finished with it will not be far off what he originally paid for it.
        1
      Jonathan Arena

      Jonathan Arena

      • 2 Years Ago
      Depreciation is factored in on the R8 and the SLS? When was the last time you saw one of those sell for anything less than 75% of it's original MSRP? Yea.. didn't think so. What a crappy article.
      5
      Chase

      Chase

      • 2 Years Ago
      Ugh, the referenced article is written by an author who knows too little about the subject of finances to be writing about it.
      4
      Nathan

      Nathan

      • 2 Years Ago
      lol why are they including both the MSRP and depreciation in their calculations? Isn't that double counting the same money? If i buy a $200k car and it ends up being worth $0 in a few years, i've lost $200k, not $200k in MSRP + $200k in depreciation.
      3
        Joe

        Joe

        • 2 Years Ago
        @Nathan
        The definition here for cost of ownership is "purchase price + costs of ownership + loss in value" At the extreme you describe it doesn't make sense, but in a realistic example is does, at least for comparative purposes: Say you and I purchase 200k cars, we have the sames costs (gas, insurance, etc), mine depreciates 10k and your 20k, you have sustained 10k more costs. We now want a formula that compares our costs of ownership (which intuitively should include what we paid for the car) *AND* shows the differences in depreciation mentioned, hence we use the formula above.
        2
      jstevens74

      jstevens74

      • 2 Years Ago
      i dont get it there are way more expensive cars just for purchase let along own....
      3
      Ricky Sdrenka

      Ricky Sdrenka

      • 2 Years Ago
      The Cl picture has a CLS.
      2
        Arch

        Arch

        • 2 Years Ago
        @Ricky Sdrenka
        Yes, I cant believe Autoblog mad that mistake. Not acceptable for a car blog!!!!!
        0
      Shawn

      Shawn

      • 2 Years Ago
      Shocking. The $210,000 car is more expensive to own than the $100,000 BMW when MSRP is factored in. Mind blown.
      2
      Big Squid

      Big Squid

      • 2 Years Ago
      Next February, I'm going to send a big valentine and a huge heart-shaped box of chocolates to depreciation. Wait a year or two and some seriously prestigious rides start becoming affordable.
      1
      rmkensington

      rmkensington

      • 2 Years Ago
      The BMW 7 series would definitely take the worst hit just based on depreciation, since maintanence is covered for 50k or 4 years. They drop $40,000 in value in 1 year.
      1

        [blocked]

        • 2 Years Ago
        @rmkensington
        [blocked]
        0

      [blocked]

      • 2 Years Ago
      [blocked]
      1
      Chase

      Chase

      • 2 Years Ago
      Not impressive editing from Autoblog! The price of a vehicle is not a true cost and thus is not something "in addition" to consider. The price affects cash flow, but does not cost anything in the long run if the asset does not depreciate. Thus Edmunds' number is the final estimate for 5 years of ownership at 15,000 miles per year.
      1
      • Load More Comments
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