When you’re shopping for a new car, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and sexy looks of a car. But you need to keep in mind repair costs - some cars may be cheap, but if the five-year repair cost is high you might be better off buying your second choice in that vehicle’s class.
In some cases there’s a big difference for vehicles by the same maker. In any case, the last thing you want to do is buy a repair nightmare.
I’m using the figures from Edmunds.com, which has a True Cost to Own feature that measures the five-year cost of each vehicle, including financing, depreciation, gas, insurance and repairs.
The difference can be a lot of money. Among luxury convertibles, the Lexus SC 430 had a five-year repair cost of $742 — about one-third that of the Porsche 911. Edmunds.com identified the vehicles below as the least and most expensive to fix, based on five-year repair costs as measured by warranty providers.
|
Highest and lowest repair costs
|
| Description |
Make |
Model |
Style |
Repair cost |
| Compact truck |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Nissan |
Frontier |
2dr King Cab Standard RWD SB |
$701 |
| Worst: |
Nissan |
Frontier |
4dr Crew Cab SVE-V6 4WD SB |
$1,011 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Luxury convertible |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Lexus |
SC 430 |
2dr Convertible |
$742 |
| Worst: |
Porsche |
911 |
Turbo AWD 2dr Cabriolet |
$2,067 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Midrange Convertible |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Mitsubishi |
Eclipse Spyder |
GS 2dr Convertible |
$701 |
| Worst: |
BMW |
Z4 |
2.5i 2dr Roadster |
$1,156 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Luxury coupe |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Chevrolet |
Corvette |
Z06 2dr Coupe |
$920 |
| Worst: |
Porsche |
911 |
Turbo AWD 2dr Coupe |
$2,067 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Midrange coupe |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Toyota |
Camry Solara |
SLE V6 2dr Coupe |
$701 |
| Worst: |
Mercedes-Benz |
C-Class |
C230 Kompressor RWD 2dr Sport Coupe |
$1,328 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Large truck |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Nissan |
Titan |
4dr Crew Cab LE RWD SB |
$701 |
| Worst: |
Cadillac |
Escalade EXT |
4dr Crew Cab AWD |
$1,010 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Minivan |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Kia |
Sedona |
EX 4dr Minivan |
$632 |
| Worst: |
Oldsmobile |
Silhouette |
GLS AWD 4dr Ext Minivan |
$869 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Luxury SUV |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Ford |
Excursion |
Limited 4WD 4dr SUV |
$860 |
| Worst: |
Porsche |
Cayenne |
Turbo Tiptronic AWD 4dr SUV |
$2,067 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Low-priced SUV |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Kia |
Sorento |
EX RWD 4dr SUV |
$632 |
| Worst: |
Honda |
Element |
LX AWD 4dr SUV |
$889 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Midrange SUV |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Suzuki |
XL-7 |
EX III RWD 4dr SUV |
$653 |
| Worst: |
Land Rover |
Freelander |
SE3 2dr AWD SUV |
$1,897 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Luxury sedan |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Lexus |
GS 430 |
4dr Sedan |
$742 |
| Worst: |
Jaguar |
XJR |
4dr Sedan |
$1,937 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Midpriced sedan |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Hyundai |
XG350 |
L 4dr Sedan |
$632 |
| Worst: |
Jaguar |
X-Type |
2.5 4dr AWD Sedan |
$1,897 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Luxury wagon |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Audi |
Allroad Quattro |
AWD 4dr Wagon |
$1,205 |
| Worst: |
Audi |
S4 |
Avant Quattro AWD 4dr Wagon |
$1,668 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Midpriced wagon |
|
|
|
|
| Best: |
Saturn |
L300 |
4dr Station Wagon |
$702 |
| Worst: |
Audi |
A4 |
1.8T Avant Quattro AWD 4dr Wagon |
$1,368 |
|
Source: Edmunds.com
The above chart doesn’t include many low-priced vehicles because the lower-priced car and truck repair costs in the Edmunds.coms survey were similar. For example, the Honda Civic technically had the worst five-year repair cost among low-priced coupes, but its tab of $724 wasn’t much higher than the $632 price tag run up by the best-ranked coupe, the Hyundai Accent.
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