10 best and worst cars for cost of ownership (2008)

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http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/105665/Best-10,-Worst-10-Cars-for-Repair-Costs

10 Most Expensive
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Ranking
Make/Model
Maintenance
Repairs
Total
1
Dodge Viper
$8,209
$2,114
$10,323
2
Jaguar XK-Series
$5,456
$4,171
$9,449
3
Jaguar XJ-Series
$5,299
$4,150
$9,449
4
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
$4,910
$4,317
$9,227
5
Land Rover Range Rover
$4,678
$4,317
$8,996
6
Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
$5,963
$2,793
$8,756
7
Mercedes-Benz CL-Class
$5,988
$2,742
$8,730
8
Land Rover LR3
$4,424
$4,213
$8,637
9
Audi RS4
$6,164
$2,442
$8,606
10
BMW Alpina B7
$6,018
$2,516
$8,534​


10 Least Expensive
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Ranking
Make/Model
Maintenance
Repairs
Total
1 (tie)
Suzuki SX4
$2,615
$596
$3,211

Honda Element
$2,518
$693
$3,211
3
Nissan Versa
$2,587
$654
$3,241
4
Hyundai Accent
$2,724
$569
$3,355
5
Kia Sedona
$2,786
$569
$3,355
6
Honda Pilot
$2,678
$703
$3,381
7
Hyundai Veracruz
$2,786
$611
$3,398
8
Suzuki XL7
$2,794
$609
$3,403
9
Honda CR-V
$2,708
$703
$3,410
10
Mazda Tribute
$2,686
$769
$3,455​


Source: Edmonds.com
* Figures assume 15,000 miles driven per year for five years

Notice the trend? Europe = most expensive, Japan = least expensive? That is except the Viper. :lol:

Thoughts?
 
The first thing I notice: No Volkswagens?

Second: four of the top five are British. Although I guess that shouldn't be a surprise.

Fittingly, the Benzes are up at the top of the list. But the cheap Korean cars did really well. But they kind of have that "cheap and simple" philosophy that Toyota and Honda had back in the 90s. Interesting that no Toyotas and no Honda cars made it to the cheapest 10...
 
Philly
The first thing I notice: No Volkswagens?
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They're generally more expensive to insure, repair and and service over here, so I'm not surprised.

The Japanese cars being the cheapest aren't surprising either - very reliable, usually cheap to insure, fairly good service costs.
 
cheap untill something minor brakes, then the guy at the Japanese dealership tells ya "sorry, we have to order parts from Japan"...

I was kinda suprised to see Suz's XL7 on the least list. they have a rep for being POSes
also, the Tribute is on Consumer Report's number 2 (you know the word) list because of rollover potential.
 
Philly
The first thing I notice: No Volkswagens?
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That surprised me too!

Must be that Volkswagen finally figured out that if you're going to be brining people in (and keeping them!), they're gonna have to not only offer a great car at a great price, but also try to keep the parts costs down too.

I'm surprised that the Ford Panther cars weren't on there. They pretty much give them away with free parts these days...
 
Damn, that kinda makes me want to take Suzuki a little more seriously. Erm... well the SX-4 anyway.

VW...? lol, yeah... no.
 
Yahoo! article
Maintenance includes scheduled work -- like oil changes, tuneups, filter replacements and tire rotation -- and unscheduled replacements such as batteries, brakes, tires and exhaust systems. Many repairs are covered by a new car's warranty, especially in the first few years, but can mount up after the warranty expires.
Click to expand...

Who on this salty green earth needs a new exhaust system in five years...Amphicar owners?

Is the Alpina B7 exempt from BMW's four years of free scheduled maintenance? And last I checked, Jaguar still did the same thing, too. Maybe they're including warranty repairs and fuel cleaning services to the bill?

Although a four-wheel brake job on an RS4 costs about as much as my Neon was worth when it was sent to the so-called crusher.
 
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I'm also curious as to how they found these figures. Asking owners might not give you the same results because a Viper owner is far more likely to be beating their car up around a track than somebody in a Suzuki SX4.
 
Erm... could the difference in expense be that all the models "worst" to own are premium cars and all the "best" are budget cars and small 4x4s?
 
homeforsummer
Erm... could the difference in expense be that all the models "worst" to own are premium cars and all the "best" are budget cars and small 4x4s?
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That's exactly what I was thinking. There's nothing up in that top lineup worth less than about £30k, and nothing in the bottom lineup worth more than about £20k. I mean take Land Rover - only the top 3 most expensive cars in their lineup are on the list. Jag is the same - where's the X and S Types?

Having said that, there is some correlation in terms of manufacturer. I mean some of Lexus's lineup falls within a similar price range to the Jags and Land Rovers, but they're not up in the top ten most expensive. Not far away though, I would imagine.
 
I'm not surprised about the Viper... surprised to see the Veracruz listed in the "good" list... is it really that good? I'dve thought the Santa Fe would have been better.

What... No Chevy Aveo? :lol:
 
Sorry for the crappy copy/paste. I had to hastfully get off the computer--and haven't used one since.

Anyway, is it so hard to believe that Vipers are just built terribly?
 
JCE
Anyway, is it so hard to believe that Vipers are just built terribly?
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Yes, it's hard to believe that Vipers are just built terribly. They're hand-assembled by a special team of about 50 of the best autoworkers around, point tested at many stages of the assembly process (including being run on a dyno as a bare chassis with drivetrain installed but no external body panels), and they are aligned 3 ways - not only at curb height, but also at full compression and full extension. Each engine builder personally certifies the engines before they're installed.

Is it so hard for you to imagine that not all American-made cars are crap?

On the REAL subject at hand, I find it hard to believe that the cheapest yearly maintenance cost is $2500.
 
I love these insightful lists. News flash: Expensive cars are expensive to own. It has always been this way. I'm sure there is a family of five somewhere keeping a tight budget, and this Yahoo list just saved them the mistake of purchasing a Mercedes SL500.
 
Duke
On the REAL subject at hand, I find it hard to believe that the cheapest yearly maintenance cost is $2500.
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+1 WTF are they including, gas??

Also: why can Land Rover not build a decent car? Seriously. Just TRY.
 
Pupik
Who on this salty green earth needs a new exhaust system in five years...Amphicar owners?
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Well, Cali Bluetec owners need to fill their car with cowpiss every other year.
 
Duke
Is it so hard for you to imagine that not all American-made cars are crap?
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No, I just don't prefer a particular company of the three which is indeed lacking in the build quality department. GM and Ford are lightyears ahead of said company--and that's mostly due to outside influence/research/design/testing that is performed outside of the US. There aren't really very many "American" cars left--the Corvette, Viper, and the pickup trucks/vans might be the last.
 
M5Power
Also: why can Land Rover not build a decent car? Seriously. Just TRY.
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The over-ingestion of curry is causing them to spend more time in the loo than in the drawing room, which I assume means that they've hired out Albanian immigrants to not only build the trucks, but also design them as well.
 
Seriously, $10,000 per year to run a Jaguar XK? A lot of them aren't even worth that.

I call "journalistic flatulence" on this list.
 
M5Power
Also: why can Land Rover not build a decent car? Seriously. Just TRY.
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I can only assume you mean reliability, in which case it's presumably because Solihull still thinks it's building rubbish. Having said that, we had a BL-era Discovery (1989 model) and, aside from needing a new clutch, absolutely nothing went wrong in the 12 years that we owned it. I bet most new Disco owners wish they could say that.
 

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