The 5 Luxury Brands With the Highest Maintenance Costs Could Burn a Hole in Your Budget
Luxury cars are more expensive to maintain than more workaday, sensible vehicles. It stands to reason, then, that the luxury brands on the market would cost more in maintenance than popular marques like Ford, Nissan, and Volkswagen. However, you might be paying more for one posh badge over another. In fact, the top five priciest brands to maintain, like Porsche and BMW, could demand thousands of their patrons in running costs.
Porsche, BMW, and other European luxury brands have the highest maintenance costs on the market
Porsche takes the top rank among the priciest brands to keep maintained. Moreover, the German marque takes the top spot by a wide margin.
| Luxury brand | 10-year maintenance costs |
|---|---|
| Porsche | $22,075 |
| BMW | $19,312 |
| Land Rover | $18,569 |
| Jaguar | $17,636 |
| Mercedes-Benz | $15,986 |
According to CarEdge, Porsche’s sizable maintenance costs establish it as the most expensive popular luxury brand over the course of a decade. That’s unfortunate for fans of the Zuffenhausen performance marque. It’s understandable; the most affordable 911s start at well above $100,000. What’s more, used models, like the 996 911 and 987 Cayman exhibit expensive, albeit quite rare, instances of IMS failures claiming whole flat-six engines.
Still, the Stuttgart brand isn’t alone at the top; BMW takes the No. 2 spot with an average 10-year maintenance bill of around $19,312. It’s bad news for the Bimmer faithful, and bragging rights for Mercedes-Benz fans.
Land Rover and Jaguar, both subsidiaries of India’s Tata Motors, take the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively. Surprisingly, the once-spectacularly unreliable British duo out-rank BMW and Porsche with lower average running costs. Mercedes-Benz takes the No. 5 spot, saving owners around $1,650 over a decade.
Tesla and Japanese luxury car marques have much more manageable operating costs than European rivals
On the other side of the rankings, Tesla boasts the lowest long-term maintenance costs. Shockingly, CarEdge asserts that Tesla owners will spend an average of $16,208 less than Porsche patrons.
| Luxury brand | 10-year maintenance costs |
|---|---|
| Tesla | $5,867 |
| Lexus | $7,786 |
| Acura | $10,730 |
| INFINITI | $11,830 |
| Lincoln | $12,099 |
Japanese luxury brands follow Tesla in the next three spots. Specifically, Lexus, Acura, and INFINITI take the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 rankings, respectively. In fact, Lexus’ average 10-year maintenance costs are around $11,526 less than BMW’s long-term figures. That’s great news for budget-minded luxury car buyers who don’t harbor brand loyalties for European marques. Finally, Lincoln rounds out the top five most affordable brands regarding maintenance costs.
Source: CarEdge, Endurance Warranty
