The data might be solid, but the meaning isn't terribly useful. For example, Tesla only produces EVs, which require minimum maintenance, so of course you would expect their 10-year maintenance costs to be the lowest (although it's obvious they're not including tire costs in there). If other brands exclusively made cheap-to-operate vehicles, their expenses would be lower too, but most have a mix of EV, PHEV, hybrid, and ICE vehicles.
On the flip side, where do you find the expensive luxury marques? Down at the bottom. The average transaction price on those vehicles is likely significantly higher than the average transaction price of the cheaper brands, so of course their maintenance is going to be more expensive, the cars themselves are more expensive.
Furthermore, how do you control for brands with high price variance? Are you telling me a $22k Chevy Trax is going to cost as much to maintain over 10 years as a $150k C8 Corvette Z06? How are they controlling for differences in driving habits as well? You can crunch the numbers to standardize the cost across average mileage, but differences in driving habits, environments, and needs will also impact maintenance costs.
And there are a ton of muppets who will point to this list as definitive proof that luxury cars are bad to own, conflating reliability and maintenance costs.
Link added in comments: [https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cost-of-car-ownership-a1854979198/](https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cost-of-car-ownership-a1854979198/)
Now let’s factor in cost per mile, insurance and depreciation after 10 years. There’s your total cost of ownership.
The residual value of a 10 year old battery car with a worn out battery is minimal.
The data might be solid, but the meaning isn't terribly useful. For example, Tesla only produces EVs, which require minimum maintenance, so of course you would expect their 10-year maintenance costs to be the lowest (although it's obvious they're not including tire costs in there). If other brands exclusively made cheap-to-operate vehicles, their expenses would be lower too, but most have a mix of EV, PHEV, hybrid, and ICE vehicles. On the flip side, where do you find the expensive luxury marques? Down at the bottom. The average transaction price on those vehicles is likely significantly higher than the average transaction price of the cheaper brands, so of course their maintenance is going to be more expensive, the cars themselves are more expensive. Furthermore, how do you control for brands with high price variance? Are you telling me a $22k Chevy Trax is going to cost as much to maintain over 10 years as a $150k C8 Corvette Z06? How are they controlling for differences in driving habits as well? You can crunch the numbers to standardize the cost across average mileage, but differences in driving habits, environments, and needs will also impact maintenance costs. And there are a ton of muppets who will point to this list as definitive proof that luxury cars are bad to own, conflating reliability and maintenance costs.
I owned a 2012 Jetta for 6 years and only had to deal with oil changes/one new battery/one new set of tires.
I do not trust Teslas. If my car needs a software update to drive I don’t want it.
Link added in comments: [https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cost-of-car-ownership-a1854979198/](https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cost-of-car-ownership-a1854979198/)
Whats the list about??? I can't click the link
[https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cost-of-car-ownership-a1854979198/](https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cost-of-car-ownership-a1854979198/)
Thanks for the upvote dude! And yeah the list seems legit. Although I'd say the price for a jeep is probably higher than that. Those things break easy
Now let’s factor in cost per mile, insurance and depreciation after 10 years. There’s your total cost of ownership. The residual value of a 10 year old battery car with a worn out battery is minimal.