Premium brands that make cars that are cheap to maintain?

[Deutsch]

I've done some pretty extensive research on the topic, knowing already that none of them are inherently "cheap", quite the opposite for the industry in general, for obvious reasons. For the German premium sector though, it looks as if Audi takes the cake for making cars that are relatively cheap to maintain compared to the other premium brands, MB being the most expensive(hence the reason many owners opt to lease). BMW's "free maintenance" program seems to have been put in place as a marketing tool, to somewhat clean up the correctly held notion that BMW's are not cheap to maintain, but it's gone overboard in BMW sacrificing durability through the use of cheap parts in construction(things you can't see, like some of the "lightweight" materials used for construction of some of the mechanics). In the end it's a fact of life that any car you buy, regardless of brand or origin, is going to cost you something. Point is to minimize the financial impact on servicing when the car needs it, if that's your priority.

Looking ahead though, pondering the thought of potentially buying a brand new C300 Sport(one day) I'm somewhat put off by the high cost of maintenance MB's typically incur. I'm not one of these trendy consumers that switches cars every 1,2,3,4 years, my family typically keeps cars for about several years(8-10) and I don't plan on doing any different myself, though I only see myself keeping the S60 until it's fully paid off(5 more yrs) at which point I'll be looking at either a VWAG or MB product, new of course. All that said I don't want to shell out new car money for parts, servicing and labor after the warranty goes out. At that point you should just buy another car.

 

[Zafiro]

in sweden both Audi and bmw are expensive to maintain, not much of a difference actually.

 

[Deutsch]

in sweden both Audi and bmw are expensive to maintain, not much of a difference actually.

Whats MB? Through the roof? I know that sounded pretentious, not my intent.

 

[Zafiro]

MB isnt a carbrand I've planning on buy so I dont know much but I doubt its cheap. There was a swedish survey long ago stating Volvo spare parts are more expensive than a BMW. Crazy!

 

[siko]

I lease and change every 3 or 4 years so my maintenance is 0$... only tires & brakes, typically change each once per lease.

The main reason I lease is to avoid any repair/maintenance.

 

[ZicZachZo]

My dad has been a long time MB certified mechanic and he always told me, If you can't afford to fix it you can't afford to have it. Can't say I agree with him completely. But if you plan on keeping your Mercedes maintained properly, you had best keep in mind it will cost money to do so. The same is true for any car. But if you want something that is cheaper to maintain through out the ownership - buy japanese.

 

[Deutsch]

My dad has been a long time MB certified mechanic and he always told me, If you can't afford to fix it you can't afford to have it. Can't say I agree with him completely. But if you plan on keeping your Mercedes maintained properly, you had best keep in mind it will cost money to do so. The same is true for any car. But if you want something that is cheaper to maintain through out the ownership - buy japanese.

Japanese is most definitely the way to go for overall low cost of ownership, but I'm focusing on German/European cars. The Japanese make very few cars that hold my interest. While they're built well and are quite durable I have issue with the lack of passion in their designs and their incredibly poor aging. However I think cars like the current Z, LS, Miata, forthcoming LFA and Skyline all have a chance at being lookers after several years have past. Would I buy any of them? Probably not. Think I'll just have to bite the bullet and shell out the extra cash for keeping my Deutsch mobile for several years.

Good news is that MB seems to have gone back to making cars like the W124 yet once again with it's latest, and the new C feels built to last FOREVER. That's one thing that never escaped me during my time with the W204 on my first go round several weeks ago. Can't wait to get behind the wheel again!

 

[Centurion]

My dad has been a long time MB certified mechanic and he always told me, If you can't afford to fix it you can't afford to have it.

I'm with you man a 100%! Used bimmers and Benzes are very pretty expensive to maintain and service. MB is probably highest up on a list and they are pretty thirsty well. New cars a a bit different since you have warranties and most likely a good insurance to covering you.

 

[ZicZachZo]

As a W201 (190E) owner I know first hand how damned expensive an old Merc cost to maintain. It's always something it seems. Old mercs were built to last forever, and last a long time - just passed 230k miles on the little 190. But that doesn't mean I haven't poured at least what she is worth into her to keep her running like she's supposed to. But Duetch, I agree. There is nothing like the way a german car drives. And so my love hate relationship continues with our legendary german brands!

 

[Monster]

As a W201 (190E) owner I know first hand how damned expensive an old Merc cost to maintain. It's always something it seems. Old mercs were built to last forever, and last a long time - just passed 230k miles on the little 190. But that doesn't mean I haven't poured at least what she is worth into her to keep her running like she's supposed to. But Duetch, I agree. There is nothing like the way a german car drives. And so my love hate relationship continues with our legendary german brands!

My friend and forum member asd01 also has a 190E as well. He has spent a lot of money on the car's maintenance cost, but the car still feels and drives like brand new.


I have a Subaru and a Mercedes in the family, and I can say the initial servicing cost for the Subaru is much cheaper than the Mercedes. For example a simple engine oil and filter change cost me $150 AUD for the Subaru, but it cost me $370 AUD for the Mercedes. However the Mercedes does not require servicing for another 14000km or 700 days according to the car computer, but the Subaru require servicing every 5000km or 6 months.

So I guess at the end the Mercedes will be cheaper.

 

[Gullwing]

I find that my 190E and my moms ML320 are both pretty fair to maintain. I do all the work myself and I check the employee price for parts at work and then check the online prices,and then go with the cheaper. If the 190E needs something it gets it because I like the car, if the ML needs something it gets it "rent". Everything is expensive for my Audi, because I dislike the car. I had the dealer tell me it would be $2000 to fix the "3" bad front suspension arms. I replaced the two bad arms for less them $300.
My 2007 E350 is great. Broke the headlamp washer cover in a collision, repaired under warranty. Windshield was cracked by a rock, repaired under warranty. In a few months the brakes will squeal, replace the front pads under warranty. Now the rear tires just need to last until the lease is up

 

[Deutsch]

That's too bad you're getting rid of the E350, I really like that car! My cousin has one with Brabus wheels on it(forgot the style) all chromed out(yuk!).

 

[Merc1]

Any and all European cars are expensive to maintain, it is the nature of the breed. In my experience you're really just splitting hairs as which is more expensive over the long run. Of course there are exceptions. I'm sure Saabs won't be as horrid to maintain now as they used to be with their DNA being that of a common GM car in a lot of cases now.

My Mercedes (a 2003 CLK430 Cabrio) is expensive to maintain. A Service A or Service B can run anywhere from $200 to $600 depending on what else they find during their various checks. The first one, a Service A I think was relatively cheap, about $275. However I recently had a service B done and it was over $600. The service itself is cheap, but the thing is with Mercedes dealers they give the entire car the once over and when you get up in mileage there are bound to be things that need attention. Here is where the fabled expenses come in at. I needed new front brake pads, brake fluid flush and a new poly/V-belt. Mind you I'm at 60K miles already!

Another thing I've noticed about having a Mercedes is that you really don't like driving it unless it is in perfect running order. Things I would have let go unattended on my old Mitsu I simply won't let stand on this car. It just somehow doesn't "feel" right.

One expense unique to my car and other summer-tired Benzes is just that, tires. Many they cost and they go fast. You'll be lucky to get 15K miles out of a set of summer tires. We're talking about $1200 a set! Then there is the issue of winter tires. So yes whoever said if you can't afford to maintain it you can't afford it was right. It has made a difference, but I wouldn't part with Ursla for anything short of another Mercedes-Benz as there is nothing like driving one.

That said, my old Mistsu Spyder was nearly as expensive to maintain (minus tires, it wore all-season rubber), it was always $300-400 per visit anytime things went wrong. The difference was that routine service was much cheaper, things like oil changes and what not were not a 100 bucks like they are at MB. Thing is a Mercedes only needs about 2 a year for the typical driver, I've only had 2 since I got the car on Oct 3rd of last year, and it will be past Oct before I need another one.

A new C-Class I would imagine would be much cheaper to maintain than my old-era CLK430 is. For one you don't have the summer tires to worry about, secondly it should just plain be built better. Remember my CLK a W208 model was built during the "dark era" of Mercedes quality. Yet nothing has fallen off or melted. The only thing outside of normal service/wear and tear that I had an issue with was a rear speaker rattling and the central light switch (above) going out. Both taken care under warranty (extended) . Oh I do have a side marker light out, which it tells me everytime I start up, "LAMPS DEFECTIVE". Talk about annoying.

M

 

[Deutsch]

Well, any self respecting automaker should be in the pursuit of not only increasing value to the shareholder, but even more so to the end user: the car buyer. So it behooves automakers to build as dependable and reliable cars as they can and to reduce repair costs through thoroughly developed and durable mechanics(this really seems to be the case w/ the W204, but only time will tell). In the end, if the product is good, reputation spreads and automakers can sell more cars to even more people, and even more jobs are saved from cost cutting measures that are used to correct adverse scenarios that typically occur when product is having problems(basically it's a ripple effect, as we have observed from recent happenings in the auto industry). Beyond that, w/ all the world governments clamping down on industrial waste produced by manufactures of various industry, parts content is something else to take into consideration. How well those parts are designed determines the environmental impact they have later on, and the whole idea is to minimize the latter. This will be an interesting trend to observe, and one with far reaching impact in the long run.

At this point, cost means something, but very little; the less something breaks down or needs attention the less money spent.

 

[Gullwing]

Im not getting rid of the E350 until early 09, and I still have 19,200 miles togo, I have 7800 on it right now. I just hope the tires will last that long, but I highly doubt it. I will probably have to put new rear tires on it with only a few thousand miles to go , but then I will be able to smoke the hell out of those so the dealer has to put new ones on to sell it

If you want to save money on maintance, don't go with an A or B service, just get the oil changed, same thingish.

I have noticed (unfortunatly for my type) that the newer cars have much less maintance type items that need to be done. I could easily sell 20 plus hours of work on a W210-208-140-129... but now struggle to find 6 hours or so on the new models. Man I could really use a good W210 tomorrow, I haven't made any hours this week at all

 

[Giannis]

Very nice topic Deutsch. I've been thinking of the same for quite some time now.

From personal experience, i see that new cars, no matter their starting price, are relatively cheap to maintain, considering what you paid to buy them. In the first years you only need fuel and the standard services, one per year. Since the car is new, then you don't need to change any mechanical parts, which cost much enough. But as the car olds then many mechanical parts need to be replaced, which costs a lot (for all european car makers). Then you get to a point when with the money you pay to maintain your car, you can afford to buy a new one.

Again from personal experience, for my 2.5yo Volvo i have paid only for two services and to have some scratches and a badge replaced. The last two costed me ridiculusly expensive. Other than that, no problems.

When it comes to my clio, which is 18yo i have to say many things. The first 5 years were faultless. Then the car needed some mechanical stuff to be replaced from time to time, like all cars do after some years. This continued up until this year that the car costs hell a lot more than it should. Other than that, the costs were almost as high as Volvo's.

What i see is that no matter the kind of car you want to have, you will need hell a lot money to mentain it... So think of it..

 

[Deutsch]

I have noticed (unfortunatly for my type) that the newer cars have much less maintance type items that need to be done. I could easily sell 20 plus hours of work on a W210-208-140-129... but now struggle to find 6 hours or so on the new models. Man I could really use a good W210 tomorrow, I haven't made any hours this week at all

Excellent news for a W204 prospect then!