Loan Adviser

Drive a Car for Cheap Price

With owners keeping their cars longer than in the past, maintenance costs are playing a larger role in the car’s overall cost long-term and should be factored in when making a new car purchase.

For new car buyers who are looking to drive their autos for as long as possible, car maintenance costs can figure prominently into their decision-making process. Buyers who want to be able to trade their cars in after a few years also need to consider another large factor in ownership costs — depreciation — since a brand that has a higher resale value will help offset any additional maintenance costs.

Recently, auto research website Edmunds.com looked at the car maintenance costs for the top 10 best-selling autos and found some surprising results.

The Edmunds.com study looked at the national average costs for regularly scheduled car maintenance at 75,000 and 100,000 miles, or about 6.3 years and 8.3 years respectively, based on the average of 12,000 miles of driving annually. Of the 10 best-selling cars studied, costs ranged from $973 to $2,028 for 75,000 miles and $1,490 to $2,821 for 100,000 miles. Even with the wide range of costs, the dollar figures are still relatively low since cars are built to last these days and can easily exceed 100,000 miles without major repairs. (continue reading…)