When you start shopping for a car, your first consideration is usually the price of the car. While you are frantically looking for the greatest bargain on a vehicle, you may have forgotten to think about how much will it cost you to maintain the vehicle.
What may appear to be a deal, could potentially be a money pit. A little research allows you to find the most and least expensive cars to maintain.
Using some research done by CarEdge, I looked up the vehicles that are going to cost you the most maintenance, and which are truly bargain-basin maintenance vehicles.
10 Most Expensive Cars to Maintain
It is clear that both FCA and BMW are manufacturers committed to not keeping your maintenance costs down.
Between the two manufacturers, seven of the ten most expensive cars to own are manufactured by those two companies. My list ranks the vehicles based on maintenance costs versus new prices.
The most expensive cars to maintain:
#1. Ram 1500.
In general, light duty trucks are cheap to maintain, so, the Ram 1500 is an outlier. In the light duty truck market, the Ram is going to cost the consumer the most amount of money, over ten years of ownership.
- Ram 1500 MSRP: $32,795
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Cost: $18,072
- Maintenance Cost as Percent of New Price: 55.1%
#2. BMW X1.
Most people who drive a BMW X1 aren’t doing so to be frugal but the cost of repairs & maintenance. In total, you’ll pay nearly half of what you originally paid for the car, in repairs, in a 10 year period.
- BMW X1 MSRP: $35,400
- 10-Year Average Repair/Maintenance Costs: $17,691
- Repair & Maintenance Costs vs New Price: 49.9%
#3. BMW X2.
Following this closely behind is the BMW X2. High service rates and exorbitant parts costs. The only reason that this car is rated lower is because its starting price is higher than the X1.
- BMW X2 MSRP: $36,600
- 10-Year Average Repair/Maintenance Costs: $17,764
- Repair & Maintenance Costs vs New Price: 48.5%
#4. Jeep Renegade.
Getting service for the Renegade isn’t going to come cheap. It costs more to be serviced than a Ford Expedition. As a small SUV, owners are just not going to feel the bang for their buck.
- Jeep Renegade MSRP: $22,850
- 10-Year Average Repair/Maintenance Costs: $10,177
- Repair & Maintenance Costs vs New Price: 44.5%
#5. Chevrolet Spark.
When you get in a Chevy Spark, you probably don’t think it will be near as expensive to operate (although not as bad as other options) and seems like a huge ratio compared to the cost to buy.
- Chevrolet Spark MSRP: $13,600
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $6,038
- Maintenance Cost vs. New Price: 44.3%
#6. Dodge Journey.
The Journey has never won any awards of significance due to the fact that nobody honestly wants to drive it even though it doesn’t matter what model year you are looking at. If you are going to buy one, you will be discouraged by the maintenance.
- Dodge Journey MSRP: $23,675
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $10,133
- Maintenance Cost vs. New Price: 42.8%
#7. Hyundai Venue.
The Venue is a new offering from Hyundai as of 2020 and the maintenance costs are already crushing owners. Vehicles that are larger that are more expensive don’t usually experience this type of a cost for maintenance.
- Hyundai Venue MSRP: $18,750
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $7,834
- Maintenance Cost vs. New Price: 41.7%
#8. BMW X3.
It’s evident BMW hire people to think of ways to purposefully make ownership expensive and yes consumers are paying for it to. The X3 is consistent expensive maintenance as part of the same lineup.
- BMW X3 MSRP: $43,000
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $17,878
- Maintenance Cost vs. New Price: 41.5%
#9. Jeep Compass.
The Compass is less expensive than the Renegade and so will the maintenance be as well. The normal class of SUVs are about a 20 to 25 percent life of costs associated to the purchase price, however the Compass is nothing like the normal class SUV.
- Jeep Compass MSRP: $24,495
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $10,127
- Maintenance Cost vs. New Price: 41.3%
#10. Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class.
The luxury brands come with expenses as well. When you think of cost of parts for Mercedes vehicles you will also be paying a good price to have a trained mechanic work on your vehicle.
- Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class MSRP: $34,250
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $13,911
- Maintenance Cost vs. New Price: 40.6%
10 Least Expensive Cars to Maintain
The cheapest vehicles to maintain as compared to expensive ones. I would like to put together a list of the cheapest vehicles to maintain over a 10-year period, as opposed to just one year cost of maintenance.
The cheapest vehicles to maintain are as follows.
#1. Toyota Yaris.
The Yaris line is going away in the U.S., but that won’t change the fact that it was a cost-saving vehicle. Customers that were looking to save money are still going to the Toyota dealership because of this vehicle.
- Toyota Yaris MSRP: $17,750
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $4,033
- Maintenance Cost Vs New Price: 22.7%
#2. Toyota Corolla.
Again. Toyota giving cost conscious customers reliable options. The Corolla remains just as popular as one of the lowest cost vehicles that people own.
- Toyota Corolla MSRP: $20,025
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $4,083
- Maintenance Cost Vs New Price: 20.3%
#3. Toyota Prius.
You have the original hybrid, and we are going to discard your vehicle as just “the first hybrid.” Owners are saving on gas and also on 10 year costs of maintenance.
- Toyota Prius MSRP: $24,525
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $4,098
- Maintenance Cost Vs New Price: 16.7%
#4. Toyota Camry.
Big brother to the Corolla considering these maintenance costs. Actually, you could own the Camry for 10+ years, and spend about the same to maintain as the Corolla.
- Toyota Camry MSRP: $25,045
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $4,211
- Maintenance Cost Vs New Price: 16.8%
#5. Toyota Avalon.
Luxury sedan. Close to the same maintenance costs. In fact, you are not going to spend much more to maintain this type of car than with any other Toyota vehicle.
- Toyota Avalon MSRP: $36,125
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $4,409
- Maintenance Cost Vs New Price: 12.2%
#6. Honda Fit.
There are many reasons for all the praise the Honda Fit has received for its small car size, feature-packed spaciousness, and pure comfort while driving. The low cost of ownership can also be considered among the major highlights.
- Honda Fit MSRP: $16,190
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $5,033
- Maintenance/Repair Cost vs. MSRP: 31.0
#7. Mitsubishi Mirage.
Actually, called Mitsubishi Mirage, the Mirage is considered to be one of the lowest-priced vehicles a budget-modified driver could own, but the good news does not stop there as it keeps costs low for maintenance and repair over the years.
- Mitsubishi Mirage MSRP: $14,295
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $5,062
- Maintenance/Repair Cost vs. MSRP: 35.4
#8. Honda Civic.
The Honda Civic has been a very popular vehicle for decades, most likely for good reason, as there is just no comparing it’s long-term value with cost-effect maintenance and repairs.
- Honda Civic MSRP: $21,250
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $5,250
- Maintenance/Repair Cost vs. MSRP: 24.7
#9. Honda Insight.
The purpose of creating the Honda Insight was to minimize costs from your local gas station. In addition to the savings for fuel as well, you will not pay an excessive amount for its upkeep.
- Honda Insight MSRP: $23,130
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $5,310
- Maintenance/Repair Cost vs. MSRP: 22.9
#10. Nissan Versa.
Nissan is another award winning automotive brand that we find may be worth your money. In fact, the Honda Versa is the only vehicle listed.
- Honda Versa MSRP: $14,980
- 10-Year Average Maintenance/Repair Costs: $5,340
- Maintenance/Repair Cost vs. MSRP: 35.6