Top New Vehicles With The Lowest Maintenance Costs

Republished By Plato

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When people are buying a new car, most tend to focus on the monthly bill. That means we pencil out the payment, the insurance, and maybe the likely fuel bill in the current market. However, that leaves out an important factor.

2022 Toyota Camry XSE Hybrid driving REL — The Toyota Camry will cost owners just $2,510 over a 10-year period on average.

The other expense we should be taking into consideration — maintenance. It’s generally pretty low through a car’s warranty period; just oil changes and maybe a set of tires. Anything pricier than that will be covered under warranty, and sometimes the dealer handles the oil changes, too.

But over time, larger scheduled maintenance charges as well as unexpected repairs and parts can make up a significant chunk of your car’s Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). For example, scheduled maintenance at about 50,000 miles on the ordinary late model Mercedes-Benz sedan in TheDetroitBureau.com stable runs well over $1,000. That’s not even a big service like changing the timing belt, either.

Ask the Experts

When you start thinking about maintenance costs, the experts at Consumer Reports have a great set of resources. The magazine tracks these things through the life of a vehicle, and the editors can tell you what to expect down the road. Unsurprisingly, their research has yielded solid data to estimate the costs of repair and maintenance for all the popular cars on the market, and the fact that repair and maintenance costs can vary widely based on what you buy.

2023 Lexus ES 350 driving REL — Like its Toyota sibling, the Lexus ES is a low-cost maintenance titan at just $3,015 for a decade.

We’ll skip to the punchline. CR reports that for cars from 6 years to 10 years old, Toyota offers the lowest maintenance and repair costs. The most expensive options were Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW and Porsche.

What are the best options to save money?

So let’s answer the next obvious question. What should you buy today if you want to minimize your maintenance and repair charges down the road? According to Consumer Reports, here are the winners:

The 2023 Nissan Leaf made the top of the list. The purchase price ranges from $28,040 to $36,040, but maintenance costs are just $1,190 for the first 10 years. That makes sense because as an electric vehicle, oil changes and other problems related to a gas engine are simply not relevant.

2022 Buick Enclave Avenir champagne front — The Buick Enclave also made Consumer Reports list of least expensive to maintain over 10 years.

But if you’re not ready to go electric, CR also recommends the venerable Toyota Camry. The 2023 Camry can be purchased for as little as $26,320, and maxes out at $36,745. Average costs to maintain the Camry come in at about $2,510. If you want a more luxury version of the same basic car, the Lexus ES Hybrid costs $41,020 to buy, and then $3,015 to maintain for 10 years.

The Toyota RAV4 also makes the good list, with purchase prices from $27,975 to $39,030. Maintenance will run you about $2,970, so if your taste runs to an SUV, this is a solid choice for low long-term costs. Compare that to the larger Ford Edge, which also made the list with a purchase price range from $37,945 to $46,485. Maintenance and repair costs on the Edge should be about $3,190. The midsize Lexus RX is a bit more, ranging from $47,400 to $61,600 in purchase price, and costing about $4,065 to keep it going strong.

The last vehicle on CR’s best value list for repair and maintenance may surprise you. It’s the Buick Enclave midsize three-row SUV. The Enclave beats the Lexus RX on purchase price with a range of $44,800 to $59,470, and it comes close on maintenance costs with an estimate of $4,365.

If you’re planning to pencil out your new car purchase to really track down the best value for your dollar, investing in a membership in Consumer Reports will give you access to all this data and much more. Give it a look and see what you think.