The more and less expensive to keep cars

The more and less expensive to keep cars

Luxury cars, like BMW, are the most expensive and Toyota are the most profitable. Driving style also affects car maintenance costs.

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The most expensive most Americans have, after their home, is their car. On average, Americans spend 5% of their income on buying a car. Another 5% is intended in the course of maintenance and insurance costs.

But not all cars cost the same to keep it running. and different cars have different risks of leaving their drivers suddenly immobilized.

In YourMechanic, we have a massive set of data of the brand and model of the cars that request service and the type of maintenance performed. We decided to use our data to understand that the cars break the majority and have the highest maintenance costs. We also look at which types of maintenance are more common to certain cars.

First of all, we look at the one that the main brands cost more to maintain during the first 10 years of life of a car. All the models of the brand were grouped every year to calculate their average cost per brand. In order to estimate the annual maintenance costs, we find the amount spent in every two oil changes (as oil changes are usually made every six months).

What car brands had the highest cost to maintain?

Based on estimates of total car maintenance of more than 10 years

Range Auto-brand cost

1 BMW $17,800

2 Mercedes-Benz $12.900

3 Cadillac $12,500

4 Volvo $12,500

5 Audi $12,400

6 Saturn $12,400

7 Mercury $12,000

8 Pontiac $11,800

9 Chrysler $10.600

10 Dodge $10.600

11 Acura $9.800

12 Infiniti $9,300

13 Ford $9,100

14 Kia $8,800

15 Land Rover $8,800

Sixteen Chevrolet $8,800

17 Buick $8,600

18 Jeep $8,300

19 Subaru $8,200

20 Hyundai $8,200

21 GMC $7,800

22 Volkswagen $7,800

23 Nissan $7,600

24 Mazda $7.500

25 Mini $7.500

26 Mitsubishi $7,400

27 Honda $7,200

28 Lexus $7,000

29 Stem $6,400

30 Toyota $5,500

Luxury imports from Germany, such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz, together with the luxury Cadillac domestic brand, are the most expensive. A Toyota is about $10,000 less expensive than 10 years, only in terms of maintenance.

Toyota is by far the most economical manufacturer. Scion and Lexus, the second and third cheapest brands, are subsidiaries of Toyota. Together, the three are 10% below the median cost.

Most national brands, like Ford and Dodge, are in the middle of the board.

While the luxury cars call for the most expensive maintenance, many relatively high budget vehicles range. Kia, an entry-level mark, surprises with maintenance costs 1.3 times the median. In this case, label prices do not represent maintenance costs.

Knowing the relative maintenance costs of brands can be informative, but it is also important to consider how car costs change with age. This graph is seen in the average annual cost of maintenance on all brands.

How do car costs change with age

Maintenance costs increase as car ages. A steady and consistent increase of $150 per year in costs exists for the 1 to 10 years. After that, there's a different jump between 11 and 12 years old. After 13 years, the costs of plateau around $2,000 per year. This is probably because people repudiate their cars if maintenance costs are higher than the penalty of their vehicles.

Even within the brands, not all cars are the same. How to make specific models compare directly to each other? We have drilled down through the division of all model cars to see the maintenance costs of 10 years.

What car models had the highest cost to maintain?

Based on total automobile maintenance costs of more than 10 years

Range Auto-brand cost

1 Chrysler Sebring $17,100

2 BMW 328i $15.600

3 Nissan Murano $14.700

4 Mercedes-Benz E350 $14.700

5 Chevrolet Cobalt $14,500

6 Dodge Caravan $14,500

7 Dodge Ram $1500 13,300

8 Audi A4 Quattro $12,800

9 Mazda $6 12,700

10 Subaru Forester $12,200

11 Acura TL $12,100

12 Nissan Maxima $12,000

13 Chrysler $300 12,000

14 Ford Mustang $11.900

15 Audi A4 $11,800

Sixteen Volkswagen Passat $11,600

17 Ford Focus $11,600

18 Chevrolet Impala $11,500

19 Honda Pilot $11,200

20 Mini Cooper $11,200

The 20 most expensive car models in terms of maintenance cost require at least an astonishing $11,000 to maintain more than 10 years. These estimates include high one-time costs, such as a transmission rebuild, which skews the highest mean.

Based on our data, Chrysler Sebring is the most expensive car to maintain, which is probably one of the reasons why Chrysler renovated at 2010. German imports (such as BMW 328i and Mercedes-Benz E350), along with many luxury manufacturers or life-size models (such as the Audi A4 Quattro) are quite expensive too.

Now we know that cars are money wells. So the vehicles are a saver, reliable option?

What car models have the lowest maintenance cost?

Based on total automobile maintenance costs of more than 10 years

Range Auto-brand cost

1 Toyota Prius $4,300

2 Kia Soul $4,700

3 Toyota Camry $5,200

4 Honda Fit $5,500

5 Toyota Tacoma $5,800

6 Toyota Corolla $5,800

7 Nissan Versa $5.900

8 Toyota Yaris $6.100

9 Scion XB $6,300

10 Kia Optima $6,400

11 Lexus IS250 $6,500

12 Nissan Rogue $6,500

13 Toyota Highlander $6.600

14 Honda Civic $6.600

15 Honda Accord $6.600

Sixteen Volkswagen Jetta $6,800

17 Lexus RX350 $6.900

18 Ford Fusion $7,000

19 Nissan Sentra $7,200

20 Subaru Impreza $7.500

Toyota and other Asian imports are the less expensive cars to maintain, with the Prius height of its reputation well known for its reliability. Along with many Toyota models, Kia's soul and Honda Fit keep close to lead low cost of Prius. Tacoma and Toyota Highlander are also in the low-cost leaderboard, despite the fact that the list is dominated by compact and medium-sized sedans. Toyota completely avoids the list of most expensive models.

So what, specifically, makes some brands more expensive than others? Some brands have a higher incidence of routine maintenance. However, some cars tend to have problems at the same time over and over again.

We have looked at that brands have maintenance requirements that are often produced unusually for that particular brand. For each brand and theme, the frequency was compared with the median in all the cars that attended.

Unusually common automobile problems

Based on the problems encountered by YourMechanic and compared to the median car

Car brand emission frequency emission

Mercury Replacement Fuel Pump 28

Chrysler recirculating Exhaust Gas Replacement valve/EGR 24 x

Infiniti 21 position Sensor replacement Camshaft

Cadillac 19 Intake Manifold GASKET REPLACEMENT

Jaguar Check motor light is in inspection 19

Pontiac 19 Intake Manifold GASKET REPLACEMENT

Dodge Gas recirculating Exhaust Replacement valve/EGR 19

Plymouth Not start inspection 19

Honda 18 Valve Set Adjustment

BMW replacement Window Regulator 18

Ford Replacement VALVE PVC Hose 18

BMW Replacement Idler Pulley 18

Chrysler Overheating Inspection 17

Saturn Replacement Wheel Bearing 17

Oldsmobile Don't start inspection 17

Mitsubishi Replacement Timing Belt 17

BMW 16 x Belt tensioner replacement unit

Chrysler 16 x position sensor replacement Camshaft

Useful Jaguar 16 x battery

Cadillac refrigerant escapes 16 x

Jeep Replacement Crankshaft 15 position sensor

Chrysler Replacement Engine Mount 15

Mercedes-Benz Crankshaft Position Sensor 15

Mercury is the most chronically experienced brand of a design flaw. In this case, mercury cars most often had fuel pump problems (Mercury was suspended by the Ford parent company in 2011).

We can see some issues cross from one brand to another within the same manufacturer. For example, Dodge and Chrysler, who are both part of the Fiat Chrysler auto Conglomerate (FCA), seem unable to get their exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) working properly. Your EGR needs to be set at about 20 times the national average rate.

But there is a problem customers worry more than any other: the one that the cars will be simply refuse to start? This question is answered in the table below, limiting the comparison to cars of 10 years of age or less.

Car brands most likely to start

On the basis of service by YourMechanic and in comparison with the median model

Range Auto Frequency mark

Cars not started

1 Hummer 9 x

2 x 6 Mercury

3 Chrysler 6 X

4 x 5 Saturn

5 five X Dodge

6 Mitsubishi 4 x

7 BMW 4 x

8 Suzuki 4 x

9 Pontiac 4 x

10 Buick 4 x

11 Land Rover 3 x

12 Mercedes-Benz 3 x

13 Chevrolet 3 x

14 3 x Jeep

15 3 x Ford

Sixteen GMC 3 x

17 Acura 3 x

18 Cadillac 2 x

19 Stem 2 x

20 Lincoln 2 x

21 Nissan 2 x

22 Mazda 2 x

23 Volvo 2 x

24 x Infiniti

25 Kia 2 x

Although this could be a reflection of some diligent owners as much as the cars build quality, the results of this list are quite blunt: three of the top five brands were interrupted in recent years.

In addition to the already missing brands, the premium segment (such as Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, and BMW) is represented in this list. Notably absent are many of the less expensive list brands: Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai.

But the brand doesn't reveal everything about a car. We immerse ourselves in the particular models that do not start with the most frequency.

Car models very likely not to start

On the basis of service by YourMechanic and in comparison with the median model

Model range of Auto frequency

Cars not started

1 Hyundai Tiburon 26

2 Dodge Caravan 26

3 Ford F-250 Super Duty 21

4 Ford Taurus 19

5 Chrysler PT Cruiser 18

6 Cadillac DTS 17

7 Hummer H3 11

8 Nissan Titan 10 x

9 Chrysler Sebring 10 x

Ten Dodge Ram 1500 10 x

11 BMW 325i 9 x

12 Mitsubishi Eclipse 9 x

13 Dodge Charger 8 x

14 x 8 Chevrolet Aveo

15 Chevrolet Cobalt 7 x

Sixteen Mazda MX-5 Miata 7 x

17 Mercedes-Benz ML350 6 x

18 x 6 Chevrolet HHR

19 Mitsubishi Galant 6 x

20 Volvo S40 6 x

21 x 3 BMW x 6

22 Pontiac G6 6 x

23 Dodge Caliber 6 x

24 Nissan Pathfinder 6 x

25 Saturn Ion 6 x

The worst cars could not be started 26 times more than the average, perhaps to explain why some of these models have the axe: the Hyundai Tiburon, Hummer H3, and Chrysler Sebring (all in the top 10) were discontinued. Some top quality models make on the shameful list as well, like BMW and several Mercedes-Benz models.

During the time that cars have existed, Americans have discussed car ownership and cost and reliability issues. These data reveal that companies honor their reputation for reliability (Toyota), which makes reliability sacrifice for prestige (BMW and Mercedes-Benz), and that the models deserved to be discontinued (the Hummer 3).

Still, the maintenance of the car is much more than the average cost. Factors such as how well a car is maintained, how often it is driven, when it is driven, and how it is driven affects all maintenance costs. Your experience may be different.