When you are car shopping, do you consider how much it will cost to keep the vehicle running well? Maintenance costs and repairs need to be factored into a monthly vehicle budget, but they can be tough to gauge. Thankfully, a new study from YourMechanic.com analyzed the most and least expensive cars to maintain over a 10-year period.

Costs of Car Ownership

Car Maintenance Costs
Car shoppers tend to focus only on the sticker price when budgeting out how much a vehicle costs. However, they would be wise to consider how much a vehicle costs to own as well. That's where maintenance and repair expenses come in, and YourMechanic's study shows just how varying this cost of ownership can be.

YourMechanic, a car repair service that sends certified mechanics on house calls directly to consumers who need work done, decided to use their data to identify which cars have the highest and lowest maintenance costs over a 10-year period. According to their findings, the difference in maintenance costs over a 10-year period between the most and least expensive car model was nearly $13,000.

Because maintenance costs can vary so greatly, consumers can save themselves money over time by selecting a vehicle that requires less upkeep. If you are car shopping on a budget and want to buy a reliable car that's inexpensive to own, this YourMechanic study can teach you a lot of useful information.

The Cars with the Least Expensive Maintenance Costs

Because YourMechanic performs car repairs and services, it was able to look at its database of service records to analyze which cars cost the least to maintain over a 10-year period.

Here are the top 10 models that are the least expensive to maintain:

  • Toyota Prius
  • Kia Soul
  • Toyota Camry
  • Honda Fit
  • Toyota Tacoma
  • Toyota Corolla
  • Nissan Versa
  • Toyota Yaris
  • Scion xB
  • Kia Optima

The study also analyzed what major brands cost the most and least to maintain on average. Here are the brands that cost the least to maintain on average over a 10-year period:

  • Toyota
  • Scion
  • Lexus
  • Honda
  • Mitsubishi
  • Mini
  • Mazda
  • Nissan
  • Volkswagen
  • GMC

What Can We Learn From This Study?

Buying a car that is inexpensive to maintain can help consumers save money over the entire period of ownership. YourMechanic's data is certainly helpful and insightful in regards to that.

However, it should be noted that they do not have the final say when it comes to maintenance costs. While it is a helpful tool from a service with a lot of inside information to analyze, it is just one of many. Buying a car requires careful research and consideration, and this is just another helpful tool to learn from in that process.

How much a person ends up spending on maintenance and repairs is going to vary, even for people who own the same car model. This is because factors such as how much a car is driven, where it is driven, how it is driven, and how well it is maintained will play a role in how much an individual spends.

Auto Financing for those with Bad Credit

If it is time to buy your next car and you are ready to use the new information you learned from the YourMechanic study, you don't have to let your damaged credit keep you from getting approved.

Drivers Lane can help consumers with bad credit get connected to a dealership in their area that can help them get their best chance of being approved for an auto loan. Our connections even have programs for little or no money down. Get the process started by completing our free and easy online application today.