Most Expensive Cars to Maintain and Repair
What are the most expensive cars to maintain and repair? That’s what we’re going to find out.
I’m gonna share the car brands which have the highest maintenance and repair costs over the first 10 years of ownership that are most likely going to empty your bank account.
And right after, I’m gonna share the top five brands that have the lowest costs.
With a few surprises, this data comes from both Car Edge and Consumer Reports, and everything will be in US dollars.
So let’s start with the worst and most expensive car brand,
Lincoln
Starting with the first one in the number 10 spot, which is Lincoln.
According to Car Edge, Lincoln’s have an average 10 year cost of just over $12,000 for maintenance and repairs.
They aren’t too bad for the first four to five years, but the costs quickly escalate beyond that point.
A pattern that you’re going to see with many luxury brands on this list.
And all of Lincoln’s vehicles, including the Navigator, the Corsair, and the Aviator are all around the same in terms of maintenance and repair costs, So not too good.
Audi
Next up in the number nine spot we have Audi, Audis have an average 10 year cost of just over $13,000 for maintenance and repairs.
Again, the cost quickly escalates beyond the five-year point surpassing $2,000 per year once they’re more than seven years old.
Consumer Reports does have their 10 year cost a bit lower at just under $10,000.
But even so this is a perfect example of why they’re best to lease for three to four years and then just dump them before the warranty expires.
Cadillac
And next up in the number eight spot we have Cadillac. Cadillacs have a 10 year cost of just around $13,400 for maintenance and repairs.
Their graph looks more or less identical to Audi with the cost of repair surpassing $2,000 per year by year seven, and the probability of serious repairs getting pretty high by that point as well.
Volvo
And it’s the same story with the next brand in the number seven spot, which is Volvo.
Volvo’s 10 year cost for maintenance and repairs is more or less the same as Cadillac at around $13,500.
They do seem to hold up a bit better until they’re older with the likelihood of serious repairs getting high by the eighth or ninth year.
And Volvo’s most expensive models, those would be the XC 60 and the XC 90 Consumer reports rates Volvo a bit better, but not by much claiming that their mains and repairs after 10 years is just under $10,000, so not so great for Volvo.
And next up at number six, we have Mercedes-Benz.
Mercedes has a 10 year cost of just under $16,000 for maintenance and repairs with
Costs surpassing $2,000 per year by year seven and $3,000 per year By year 10.
Not counting its commercial vehicles, which are the most expensive.
The most expensive regular Mercedes models are the GLS, the GLE and the G Class.
Consumer reports rates Mercedes 10 year costs lower at around $10,500, which still puts them in the bottom three.
Ram
The next car brand that came in, the number five spot is the only one that’s from a non-luxury brand and that is Ram.
Ram has a 10 year cost of around $16,800 for maintenance and repairs.
With the cost of serious repairs quickly soaring by year seven and beyond, surpassing $3,000 per year in repairs.
This makes Ram the most costly truck maker on the market.
Jaguar
Next up at number four, moving back to luxury, we have Jaguar.
Jaguar has a 10 year cost of around $17,600 for maintenance and repairs.
Again, with serious repair costs skyrocketing by year seven and by year eight, Jags have over a 30% chance of requiring serious repairs on a regular basis.
Their worst vehicle, that would be the F-Pace, SUV.
Land Rover
And now for the top three worst and most expensive car brands, and the one that comes in the number three spot is Land Rover.
This one should come as a surprise to no one.
Land Rover has a 10 year cost of around $18,500 for maintenance and repairs according to Car Edge.
And Consumer Reports actually rank them at number one with a 10 year cost of $19,250.
By the time they reach five years old, they already have over a 20% chance of requiring serious repairs.
It reaches over 40% by year 10 and over 80% by year 12.
Frankly, I would’ve actually expected even worse from Land Rover.
And you really don’t need to ask, which is the worst model because you likely already know that it’s the Range Rover.
BMW
Now for the brand that we have at number two, which is BMW has an average 10 year cost of around $19,300 for maintenance and repairs.
They get especially expensive by year seven and by year eight have over a 35% chance of requiring serious repairs costing over $3,000 annually.
Their most expensive models to own are the big SUVs, especially the M versions.
Interestingly, consumer Reports doesn’t rank their costs quite as high, claiming that the average 10 year cost to be around $9,500, which is still enough to put BMW in the bottom five based on their data.
I’d say Consumer Reports is being too kind to BMW and Car Edge is a lot more accurate on this one.
Porsche
And with that, that brings us to the number one car brand, which came in the number one spot and that is Porsche.
Porsche has a 10 year cost of just over $22,000 for maintenance and repairs.
Consumer reports puts Porsche at number two with a 10 year cost of just over $14,000.
Their cost quickly soar by year seven, and by year 10 you’ll be spending over $4,000 per year on repairs.
Now all European brands are very expensive to maintain and repair, but Porsche’s prices are on an even higher level than most others.
So as nice as they are, they’re not gonna be kind to your bank account in the long run.
Lowest cost of ownership car brands
Now getting into the top car brands that have the lowest cost of ownership.
What’s interesting is that the vast majority of mainstream car brands are actually very similar when it comes to their 10 year cost of maintenance and repairs.
According to Car Edge, most brands are roughly in the range of eight to $9,000 for maintenance and repairs over the first 10 years of ownership.
It’s really when you only look at the top five car brands when you notice those costs are dropping significantly.
Honda
And the first of those five brands that we have in the number five spot is Honda.
According to Car Edge, Honda has a 10 year cost of around $7,800 for maintenance and repairs.
Now we see a completely different type of graph when compared to the worst brands, don’t we?
The annual cost for maintenance and repairs remains below a thousand dollars for Hondas until year seven, but even after that point, it remains fairly consistent and low and not too expensive.
Consumer reports predicts Honda’s 10 year cost to be even lower at around $5,800.
Honda’s regular cars such as the Honda Civic and Accord are its least costly ones, but it’s small crossovers like the hr-v and cr-v are quite low for main center repairs as well.
Lexus
And the next brand that came in, the number four spot is a luxury brand, which is Lexus.
Lexus has a 10 year cost of around $7,700 for maintenance and repairs with a graph very similar to that of Honda.
And the polar opposite of almost every other luxury brand.
Consumer reports predicts Lexus 10 year cost to be around $6,700.
The least costly Lexus is the ES sedan, both the regular version and the hybrid Lexus is known for reliability.
So if you want a luxury vehicle that doesn’t have luxury like repair costs, Lexus is the one to get.
Mitsubishi
And the next car brand that came in, the number three spot is one that seriously surprised me and that brand is Mitsubishi.
According to Car Edge, Mitsubishi has a 10 year cost nearly identical to Lexus at around $7,700.
Mitsubishi was one of the brands which Consumer Reports did not have enough data on to make a verdict. So this one is a little up in the air.
Now what does help Boost Mitsubishi’s ranking is the fact that they do come with a 10 year powertrain warranty.
So major repairs with the engine and transmission are not gonna be put on the owner or at least unlikely to for the first 10 years.
Toyota
The next car brand though, that came in the number two spot is one that’s likely not gonna be a surprise to anyone and that car brand is Toyota.
According to Car Edge, Toyotas have an average 10 year cost of just under $6,000 for maintenance and repairs.
Incredibly, their annual costs stay below a thousand dollars all the way up to year 10 and remain low.
Even beyond that, even by the time they’re 10 years old, they still only have a 13% chance of requiring serious repairs.
Not perfect, but no car brand is. And if you remove Toyota’s trucks from the equation, which are the most costly models, the 10 year cost drops far lower.
The least expensive models to own are the Camry, the Corolla, and the Prius.
Consumer reports ranks Toyota even better with a 10 year cost just under $5,000.
So the consensus is in on this one and Toyota nails it.
Tesla
And that brings us to the car brand that came in the number one spot, which is sure to be a controversial one, and that is Tesla.
Both Car Edge and Consumer Reports rank Tesla at number one.
Car Edge predicts a 10 year cost of around $5,800, and Consumer reports predicts it to be around $4,000.
Interestingly though, Tesla’s annual cost of maintenance and repairs is very similar to Toyota remaining below a thousand dollars per year up to the 10 year point.
There are a few very important things to remember though.
Teslas don’t require maintenance such as oil changes, belts or spark plugs, and they rarely even need breaks.
They also have an eight-year warranty on the drivetrain, all of which helps boost their ranking.
And it needs to be said that Tesla’s two most popular vehicles, the Model Y and the Model three have not been around for 10 years yet.
Final Word
So these results are largely based on predictive modeling and the maintenance or repair data that’s already available for the Model S, which has been around for 10 years.
So the data seems to be very clear if you wanna buy a luxury vehicle aside from Lexus or maybe Tesla, if you consider them luxury, a short-term purchase such as a three to four year lease is likely the safest way to go.
That’s especially true given that most of these vehicles can depreciate rapidly.