Cost of Ownership a Consumer Report

Repair and Maintenance expenses are at least 4 percent of cost of ownership in a five years period on average, according to data from Consumer Reports subscribers who responded to the online version of our Annual Car Reliability Survey.

Consumers gave their estimated expenses for 12 months-excluding tires-and the responses provided information on almost 300 models of vehicles up to eight years old. Consumer Reports used estimates based on like models when data was unavailable. The majority of the costs are covered by the factory warranty during the first couple years, but for some vehicles it can still add up. On average, we found that the Porsche Cayenne SUV is the most expensive vehicle to own for maintenance and repairs, costing more than $4,000 over the first five years. But the Toyota Land Cruiser is also luxurious and very capable off-road and costs just over half that.

Now days consumers are owning their vehicles for longer periods to help overcome the depreciation costs.  All studies have shown that maintenance and repair cost increase significantly after the first 3 years of ownership.  More and more consumers are turning to extending service and warranty contracts to help offset the cost of ownership increases after the first 3 years of ownership.

The data below is from Consumer Reports and shows the cost of ownership for all major vehicle classes.  Notice Toyota and Scion are predominantly in the top 10 and even number one in 5 of the 9 classes.

Lowest cost		Highest cost
Make & Model	Cost/year over 5 years	Make & model	Cost/year over 5 years
Small cars
Toyota Prius C	$5,000	Mitsubishi Lancer ES	$7,000
Toyota Corolla Base	5,250	Mazda3 Hatchback	7,000
Honda Fit (base)	5,250	Nissan Sentra 2.0 SL	7,000
Smart ForTwo	5,500	Ford Focus Hatchback	7,000
Honda Fit Sport	5,500	Kia Soul	7,000
Mazda2 (MT)	5,500	Kia Forte Hatchback	7,000
Scion xD (MT)	5,500	Kia Forte Koup	7,250
Toyota Yaris Hatchback	5,500	Chevrolet Cruze 1.4T	7,250
Scion xD (AT)	5,750	Suzuki SX4 Hatchback	7,500
Toyota Corolla LE	5,750	Chevrolet Cruze ECO	7,500
Family sedans
Toyota Camry Hybrid	6,500	Toyota Camry (V6)	8,250
Volkswagen Passat TDI	6,500	Ford Fusion (V6, FWD)	8,250
Toyota Camry (4-cyl.)	6,750	Chevrolet Impala (3.6)	8,250
Hyundai Sonata Hybrid	6,750	Nissan Altima (V6)	8,500
Hyundai Sonata (2.4)	6,750	Subaru Legacy 3.6R	8,500
Honda Accord (4-cyl.)	6,750	Chrysler 200 (V6)	8,500
Ford Fusion (4-cyl.)	7,000	Kia Optima 2.0T	8,750
Mazda6 (4-cyl.)	7,000	Ford Fusion (V6, AWD)	8,750
Nissan Altima (4-cyl.)	7,250	Mazda6 (V6)	9,000
Subaru Legacy 2.5i	7,250	Volkswagen Passat (V6)	9,250
Upscale & luxury cars
Lexus CT 200h	7,750	Lincoln MKS AWD	13,000
Buick Verano (2.4)	7,750	BMW 535i	13,250
Audi A3 2.0T	8,000	Mercedes-Benz E350	13,500
Buick Regal (2.4)	8,000	Jaguar XF	13,500
Acura TSX (4-cyl.)	8,250	Hyundai Equus	14,000
Buick Regal (turbo)	8,500	Lexus LS 460L	16,000
Buick LaCrosse eAssist	8,750	Jaguar XJL	19,000
Infiniti G25 Sedan	9,000	Audi A8 L	20,000
Toyota Avalon	9,000	Mercedes-Benz S550	20,500
Volkswagen CC 2.0T	9,000	BMW 750Li	21,500
Lowest cost		Highest cost
Make & Model	Cost/year over 5 years	Make & model	Cost/year over 5 years
Small SUVs
Toyota RAV4 (4-cyl.)	$7,000	Subaru Forester 2.5XT (turbo)	$8,250
Honda CR-V	7,250	Nissan Xterra	8,750
Nissan Juke	7,250	Mitsubishi Outlander (V6)	9,000
Mitsubishi Outlander (4-cyl.)	7,500	Kia Sportage (2.0T)	9,250
Hyundai Tucson (2.4)	7,500	Volkswagen Tiguan	9,750
Midsized SUVs
Hyundai Santa Fe (4-cyl.)	8,000	Dodge Journey V6)	10,750
Chevrolet Equinox (4-cyl.)	8,000	Nissan Pathfinder (V6)	10,750
GMC Terrain (4-cyl.)	8,000	Ford Explorer (V6)	11,250
Kia Sorento (4-cyl.)	8,250	Jeep Grand Cherokee (V6)	11,250
Jeep Liberty	8,500	Jeep Grand Cherokee (V8)	12,750
Upscale/luxury SUVs
BMW X3 (3.0)	10,250	Mercedes-Benz ML350	14,250
Land Rover LR2	10,500	Land Rover LR4	14,250
Infiniti EX	10,500	Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTec	15,000
Audi Q5 3.2	11,250	Porsche Cayenne (V6)	15,250
Lexus RX 350	11,250	Infiniti QX56	15,500
Buick Enclave	11,250	Lincoln Navigator	15,750
Volvo XC60	11,500	Toyota Land Cruiser	16,000
Mercedes-Benz GLK350	11,500	Land Rover Range Rover Sport	16,250
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque	11,500	Mercedes-Benz GL450	16,500
Acura MDX	11,750	Cadillac Escalade (base)	17,250
Lowest cost		Highest cost
Make & Model	Cost/year over 5 years	Make & model	Cost/year over 5 years
Minivans & wagons
Toyota Prius V	$6,000	BMW 328xi Wagon	$10,000
Volkswagen Jetta Wagon TDI	6,250	Dodge Grand Caravan SXT	10,250
Volkswagen Jetta Wagon SE	7,500	Kia Sedona	10,500
Mazda5	7,750	Nissan Quest	10,500
Subaru Outback 2.5i	8,000	Chrysler Town & Country	10,750
Sporty cars & convertibles
Mini Cooper Hatchback Base	5,750	Lexus IS 250 Convertible	11,000
Honda CR-Z	6,000	Subaru Impreza STi	11,000
Fiat 500 Sport	6,000	Chevrolet Camaro Convertible SS	11,000
Volkswagen Beetle 2.5	6,500	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution	11,250
Fiat 500 C	6,500	BMW 328i Convertible	11,750
Mini Cooper Hatchback S	6,500	Audi A5 2.0T	11,750
Scion tC	6,500	Infiniti G37 Convertible	11,750
Hyundai Veloster	6,750	Chevrolet Corvette Base	12,750
Kia Forte Sedan	6,750	Chevrolet Corvette Z06	14,500
Honda Civic Si	7,250	Jaguar XK	19,000
Pickup trucks
Toyota Tacoma (V6)	8,500	Chevrolet Avalanche	13,000
Chevrolet Colorado	9,250	Dodge Ram 2500 Turbodiesel	13,750
Nissan Frontier	9,250	Ford F-250 Turbodiesel	14,000
GMC Canyon	9,500	GMC Sierra 2500HD Turbodiesel	14,250
Honda Ridgeline	9,500	Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD Turbodiesel	14,250

Check out The Weiss Promise and watch your long term cost of ownership decrease.