Which Cars Cost Us the Most and the Least to Maintain, and Why?

Not all automakers offer free scheduled maintenance, and prices vary. So, some of our 40,000-mile long-term test cars cost us $0 and others totaled over $3000.

Michael Simari|Car and Driver Buying a car is an expensive proposition, and that upfront cost is just the start of your spending journey. The car-ownership experience comes with all sorts of additional costs, and there's a wide range of how much money you can expect to pay to maintain your vehicle. When it comes to scheduled maintenance stops at your dealership, there's much to consider as you shop among different brands, such as complimentary maintenance programs and variations in maintenance costs.

Here, we've rounded up data from our extensive 40,000-mile long-term road tests of new vehicles to show our various experiences with different makes and models when it comes to manufacturer-recommended scheduled maintenance. The totals listed below only include regular maintenance stops and don't include wear items such as tires and brakes or unscheduled repairs, which we tally separately. This information is anecdotal based on our experience and doesn't cover every vehicle on the market, but we pulled from the past seven years of our long-term testing of nearly 40 different vehicles. We've highlighted notably expensive and inexpensive vehicles to maintain in different segments, and keep in mind that the costs listed below cover a wide variety of price points, from $30,000 economy cars to near-six-figure sports cars.