Top 9 Most Expensive Car Brands To Maintain
Chris is Head of Content for FindTheBestCarPrice and is based out of Philadelphia, PA. As a seasoned automotive industry analyst and car enthusiast, he ensures the highest level of quality across all our content and curates our picks for the best deals each month.
Chris studied information systems and marketing at Drexel University and writes about a wide range of topics ranging from car buying tips to troubleshooting common mechanical issues.
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There’s no denying that a lot of auto brands produce cars that are very expensive to maintain. This is mostly experienced among luxury brands.
Irrespective of the fact that you are getting premium comfort, performance, and even safety from these cars, the extra features come at the expense of the increased cost of ownership. The increased maintenance cost of most car brands is influenced by the high cost of labor and replacement parts, the complexity of the engine design, and lots more.
You must understand that the high cost of maintenance is not restricted to luxury brands. There are lots of unreliable car brands that are expensive to maintain, and they are not luxury brands.
Some of the expensive car brands to maintain include BMW, Mercedes, Cadillac, Volvo, and Audi, just to mention a few.
In this article, we will be looking at the most expensive car brands to maintain and how to determine the maintenance cost of a car.
Table of Contents
Most Expensive Car Brands To Maintain
| Car Brands | Cost to Maintain |
| Land Rover | |
| Jaguar | |
| Audi | |
| BMW | |
| Mercedes Benz | |
| Cadillac | |
| Volvo | |
| Jeep | |
| Dodge |
1. BMW
BMWs are sporty cars that are always fun to drive, rewarding you with the pleasures of sophistication, enhanced performance, and ‘premium’ value for your money. However, these extra benefits come at the expense of increased maintenance costs.
According to Repairpal, BMW has an annual average of $968. This is higher than the average $652 repair cost across all models. Your Mechanic estimates that BMW has an average maintenance cost of $17,800.
Aside from the expensive maintenance cost of BMWs, they also have a higher tendency to severe damage. BMW records 15% severe damages and a 0.9 chance of visiting the repair shop.
BMW’s increased maintenance cost is also due to the complexity and ‘premiumness’ of its parts. The BMW engineers adopt principles of exclusivity and innovation, ensuring that their technologies and designs are one of a kind. Although this offers the benefits of having new systems in the market, the disadvantage is that reliability is not guaranteed on their cars.
2. Mercedes
It shouldn’t surprise you that Mercedes is amongst the most expensive car brands to maintain. The maintenance cost of Mercedes isn’t as high as what is obtainable on BMW, but the cost of maintaining a Mercedes can force you to abandon your vehicle in a repair shop and vow not to come back for them again.
The module and sensor errors are expensive to fix. You are expecting a service bill of $3,000 with $200 per hour labor rates. There’s no way an average driver will afford the cost of owning.
According to Repairpal, Mercedes has an annual repair/maintenance cost of $908. Your Mechanic estimates that you should expect a 10-year maintenance cost of $12,900. With Mercedes, you are getting a 13% chance of severe damage and a 0.7 chance of visiting a repair shop.
The thing about Mercedes maintenance cost is that you might not immediately feel its impact until your warranty period expires. That is when reality dawns!
You’ll notice the complexities in their design, labor charges are high, and you’ll get to understand that the ‘Prestige’ of Mercedes cars also reflects in their maintenance fees. You’ll spend up to $1,400 trying to fix the controller, $1,600 to replace the OVP relay, and new windshield wiper blades that cost up to $138. These aren’t costs that just anyone can handle.
3. Cadillac
Cadillacs aren’t popular again, but that doesn’t imply that you should jump on them out of assumptions. Cadillacs are cheaper to maintain than BMWs, but they are also more expensive than most regular vehicles.
According to Repairpal, Cadillac has an average repair/maintenance cost of $783. Your mechanic estimates that Cadillac has a 10-year maintenance cost of $12,500.
The probability of severe damage on Cadillacs is 17%, which is way higher than the 12% average percentage of major issues. Cadillac is a luxury car brand, so it’s expected that they are costly to maintain. You’ll spend so much money handling transmission problems, electrical issues, and even engine problems.
4. Volvo
Volvos are built like rocks, highly durable, with high safety standards and ratings. However, this doesn’t neglect the fact that Volvos are expensive to maintain.
According to Repairpal, Volvo has an average annual repair/maintenance cost of $769. This is cheaper than the maintenance cost of BMWs, Cadillacs, and Mercedes.
Volvos don’t have a great tendency for severe damage, but there are a few factors that influence their high maintenance cost. Volvos are very durable cars, but their software is very expensive, just as expensive or even more expensive than Mercedes’. For instance, Volvo has software for scanning modules and specific codes for the anti-lock braking system, airbags, and other safety systems.
This software costs more than $8,000/year to purchase. This is super expensive for DIY car owners, and when mechanics finally purchase them, the exorbitant price will reflect on their fees when charging users. This is without failing to mention that Volvo parts are expensive, and most of these parts are attached to software which is also expensive.
5. Audi
Just like most car brands, Audis are very expensive to maintain. Audi’s high maintenance cost stems from its unreliability, scarcity of parts, and the high cost of replacement parts.
With Audi, you have a high chance of dealing with cars whose parts are costly, with a great chance of breaking down. The electrical components will always fail, and the labor and parts are always overpriced.
According to Repairpal, Audi has an average annual repair/maintenance cost of $987. This is even higher than the repair cost of BMWs. Your Mechanic estimates that Audi has a 10-year maintenance cost of $12,400.
6. Jeep
The cost of maintenance for Jeeps is a mixed game. They are not as expensive as BMWs, Audis, Mercedes, and Cadillacs, but they are quite expensive to take a few bucks from your pocket.
According to Repairpal, Jeep has an average annual repair/maintenance cost of $634. The chances of severe and minor damages are low on Jeep. Your mechanic estimates that Jeep has a 10-year maintenance cost of $8,300. This is cheaper than what BMWs and other luxury brands offer.
However, Jeeps will put you in a tough spot that will demand you spend so much money to get them running again. You might get stuck during an offroad ride, and you’ll need to spend thousands of dollars to tow your vehicle out of there.
The increased cost of oil changes, tire rotations, engine tune-ups, spontaneous breakdown, and electrical failures all contribute to the high maintenance cost of Jeep.
7. Dodge
Just like Jeeps, we wouldn’t be quick to consider Dodge as a super expensive car brand to maintain. However, they are quite expensive, but not enough to classify them as high maintenance.
According to Repairpal, Dodge has an average annual repair/maintenance cost of $634. Your Mechanic estimates that Dodge has an average maintenance cost of $10,600 in 10 years.
Most times, the maintenance cost of Dodge is dependent on the model and trim level that you choose. For instance, the Dodge Grand Caravan and Dodge Ram 1500 are among the most expensive cars, with estimated maintenance costs of $14,500 and $13,300, respectively.
The Dodge Caravan’s expensive maintenance cost is due to its bad transmission. This is also a similar case to the Ram 3500.
8. Jaguar
Jaguar is a very expensive car brand to maintain. According to Repairpal, Jaguar has an average annual repair cost of $1,123.
The Jaguar brand does not only have high maintenance costs but also has a high tendency for major or minor repairs. You get a 0.6 chance of visiting a repair shop. This is high compared to the 0.4 average range for unscheduled repairs across all brands. Jaguar also has a 14% probability of severe damage.
9. Land Rover
Land Rovers' cost of maintenance is actually on the high side. According to Repairpal, the average annual repair cost of Land Rover is $1,174. Your Mechanic has an estimated maintenance cost of $8,800 for over ten years.
The probability of severe damages is high as it goes as high as 16% for severe damages and 0.7 chance of visiting the repair shop for unscheduled repairs. The parts and service fees of Land Rover vehicles are costly. The problems of Land Rovers are too much, so costly that you’ll spend so much on replacement parts.
There are some other car brands that are also super expensive. These are brands like; Porsche, Aston Martin, Bugatti, Ferrari, McLaren, Rolls Royce, Bentley, and Lamborghini.
Why Do Luxury Cars Require So Much Maintenance?
Luxury cars require so much maintenance because they are considered premium vehicles. These cars are made of premium materials that are usually expensive and hard to find, and the complexities in their designs make them prone to problems.
Which Brand of Car Is Most Expensive To Maintain?
The most expensive car brands to maintain are BMW, Mercedes, and Land Rover. According to Your Mechanic, BMW has a 10-year maintenance cost of $11,800, Mercedes has $12,900, and Land Rover has $8,800.
Although Volvo gets a higher $12,500 maintenance cost, Land Rover gets an annual average repair cost of $1174, according to Repairpal.
Conclusion
It is important to establish that the maintenance cost and frequency of a car greatly depend on your driving habits and conditions. Irrespective of the fact that we’ve offered you a list of the most expensive car brands to maintain, it is necessary that you learn not to mount much pressure on your vehicle to avoid breakdowns.
