New research from Consumer Reports (CR) shows that the total cost of owning and maintaining a car can vary by tens of thousands of dollars over a decade depending on the brand of vehicle, a major financial factor often overlooked by car buyers.
The CR analysis, drawn from its 2025 annual member survey, looked at how much drivers paid out‑of‑pocket for maintenance and repairs over the first five and ten years of ownership for 28 different automotive brands. The results show that maintenance costs rise significantly after the manufacturer warranty period expires, usually after the third to fifth year of ownership. This often leads to dramatic increases in owner expenses as vehicles age and warranty protections lapse.
The Cheapest and Priciest Cars to Maintain Over 10 Years
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According to CR’s findings, Buick and Lincoln emerged as the most affordable brands to maintain over a 10‑year period. Both domestic marques averaged roughly one‑quarter of the maintenance and repair costs of luxury European brands such as Land Rover, which topped the list as the most expensive brand to maintain. European brands including Audi, BMW, Mercedes‑Benz, Porsche, and Volvo also clustered among the highest cost tiers.
CR’s auto data analyst Steven Elek commented that “the difference to maintain a car, on average, between some brands can be thousands of dollars over a 10‑year time frame,” and noted that luxury vehicles in particular tend to carry higher part and labor costs for repairs.
For example, over a 10‑year period Buick owners spend about $5,260, Lincoln about $5,620, Toyota about $5,950, Hyundai about $6,110, and Tesla about $6,125. These totals combine both the 1‑ to 5‑year and 6‑ to 10‑year costs, which vary significantly across brands. Tesla was actually shown to be the cheapest to maintain in the first year, averaging just $1,020.
The data highlights that mainstream brands such as Toyota and Buick remain near the lower end of the scale, while others like Hyundai and Tesla edge higher. This reinforces the broader industry trend that long‑term ownership costs differ widely depending on the manufacturer.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, several European luxury brands recorded significantly higher costs; BMW and Audi approached or exceeded $9,500 to nearly $10,000, while Mercedes‑Benz, Porsche, and Land Rover extended into the double‑digit thousands, with Land Rover’s average reaching about $19,250 over a decade. The wide range in these totals underscores how both brand and vehicle type influence long‑term ownership costs for typical drivers.
What You’re Really Paying to Own a Car
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The difference is partly due to vehicle complexity and parts pricing. Electric vehicles (EVs), which have fewer internal combustion engine components, tend to have fewer routine maintenance needs such as oil changes and spark plug replacements.
EVs’ comparative simplicity often leads to lower expenditures on regular upkeep, even though they can incur high repair costs if major components like battery packs fail outside warranty. Industry research suggests EV owners can save roughly 50 percent on maintenance and repair costs compared with internal combustion engine vehicles, though this varies by driving patterns and energy prices.
Maintenance and repair costs are just one piece of the larger cost of car ownership. According to recent AAA Your Driving Costs data, the average annual expense of owning and operating a new vehicle in the United States is about $11,577 in 2025, or roughly $965 per month when factoring in depreciation, finance charges, fuel, insurance, and taxes. Depreciation remains the most significant expense at over $4,300 per year, followed by insurance costs averaging about $1,694 annually.
Another study by Bankrate puts the average “hidden” annual cost of owning and operating a car at nearly $7,000 per year, with insurance alone topping $2,600 as the largest ongoing cost after depreciation and finance charges. Rising insurance premiums have been widely documented, with some sources reporting a near 13 percent increase year‑over‑year, pushing average annual premiums above $2,100 in 2025.
Auto shoppers do well to weigh all these factors — purchase price, depreciation, insurance, fuel efficiency, maintenance, and expected repair costs — when evaluating total ownership costs. Focusing solely on the sticker price can obscure the long‑term financial reality of vehicle ownership, especially for brands with high maintenance cost trajectories after warranties expire.
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