What car brands are typically expensive to maintain?

Question

Ones that are Popular in the U.S., they dont have to be american based

Answer 1

Land Rover, Volkswagen, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz (2003+), Kia, Hyundai, and ANYTHING from the Chrysler family.

Answer 2

It depends on a lot of factors - plus cars are like any other elaborate machine.  Unpredictable.

You could buy two identical cars off a lot right next to each other, and even with regular maintenance, oil changes, etc. - one will go 100K+ flawlessly, and the other one will break down every time you look at it wrong.

Factor in driving conditions like bad roads - or driving habits like jackrabbit starts and slamming on the brakes to stop - along with the way a lot of people slack off when it comes to keeping up with maintenance, and just about any car can be expensive to maintain.

Obviously some of the higher end vehicles out there (jaguar, porsche, mercedes, bmw, etc.) are going to be expensive to maintain, since the parts by themselves cost an arm and a leg, plus you generally have to take them to specialized repair shops (you do not want billy-bob working on your jag).

I've been fortunate to have been exposed to car maintenance and repair since before I can even remember - from handing wrenches to my dad, to helping him restore a '64 Buick Wildcat convertible, to all of the work I have done on my own '65 Mustang Coupe.  Older cars tend to be much easier to work on since they are less elaborate, so if something messes up - it's usually obvious.

I've worked on quite a few newer ones too - although depending on the problem, you might need to find someone with a computer diagnostic machine to determine the problem (although I'm pretty adept at finding issues without one - purely out of necessity).  Not to mention that a lot of problems with cars tend to be intermittent - like cam/crank position sensor failure - where the computer won't catch it unless it just happens to do it while it is hooked up.

Obviously a lot of people don't have the desire, or the ability to work on cars themselves - so they are at the mercy of mechanics, some of whom are (to put it nicely) completely crooked and useless.

I've had to break down and take a few cars in, but it helps considerably when you know what you are taking it in for, that way they can't play games with you (not that it stops them from trying - I've d**n near taken a lug wrench to a few guys skulls over the years).

Answer 3

Usually the more expensive the car, the more it'll cost if you go to a repair shop. For example, if you want an oil change, it'd cost a typical old car like $30 for example, but for a Mercedes, they'll want $100 or more.

Also another thing to take into account is how well (or lucky) you maintain your vehicle in good shape. I know that two people have the same car, but one person has no trouble with his Volvo and it has never broke down, but the other person has spent a lot of money fixing his. So, luck has a place too.

Answer 4

Jags are notorious for breaking down, the lighting system is made by lucas the prince of darkness, the induction is under the grill so it picks up all kinds of c**p, and the engine needs a tuner to ride in the trunk with you.

Answer 5

most european makes. stuff like bmw, audi, porsche are very expensive to maintain. the reason for this is because european cars can be so complicated. with so much advanced technology with things like dual-clutch transmissions and engine cylinder management, there's a higher chance for something to go wrong. and since european cars use a lot of "unique" parts, it can be very hard to find a good repair shop that has everything you need

Answer 6

Mercedes, Lexus, and most high end foreign cars will require you to have deep pockets when it comes to service or repairs.