Four of the Five Least Expensive Car Brands to Maintain Are American | Hacker News Reader

Four of the Five Least Expensive Car Brands to Maintain Are American

consumerreports.org

5 pointsgnabgib6 comments

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From a tweet:

Consumer Reports has named Tesla the cheapest car brand to maintain over a 10 year period:

1: Tesla: $4,035

2: Buick: $4,900

3: Toyota: $4,900

4: Lincoln: $5,040

5: Ford: $5,400

6: Chevrolet: $5,550

7: Hyundai: $5,640

8: Nissan: $5,700

9: Mazda: $5,800

10: Honda: $5,850

The cost breakdown is in TFA (including 5 and 10 year costs)

#10 is Honda but the cost is $5835 (#11 is Kia at the pasta $5850).

#-1 is Land Rover at $19250

I have a few reservations about the method of data collection, the fact that this is mentioned as out of pocket at the beginning. Also driving style and driving environments might also factor in this. But on the face value, I think the 5 and 10 year costs are much Important and shows the reliability of the car. On another note if we had, 15 and 20 year breakdown, adjusted for inflation, we can get a much better idea about that. But yes, some people change car in short time, and that might not be relevant to them.

A very decisive factor will be the type of powertrain. Tesla is pure EV. If we were to get a breakdown with the powertrain type, we can have some more useful inferences.for example, should wecknow Tesla maintenance vs the cost for EVs of Volkswagen, then reliability of the company could really be put into perspective. Also a breakdown for comparable cars in EV, ICE and hybrid would be really helpful. I think that would skew things towards EVs. Yet, in the long term, if there was a battery replacement, then the cost will be more for EVs.

* for the first 10 years

I've noticed one problem is that say 20-year old cars are different animals from current cars.

Newer cars not only have backup cameras, but lots of them have all kinds of driver assist features that make the cars easier to drive or (almost) drive themselves.

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