Cost of maintenance.

[OneEyeJack]

I'd like to know what you're spending on routine maintenance for your specific vehicle. There's always lots of information on how a vehicle performs, what it costs to purchase and how much the value depreciates but for some vehicles there are routine maintenance procedures that are very expensive but you don't discover this until you get stuck with a bill you did not expect. This kind of information would be especially useful when buying a used car or pickup. In other words what you may have learned the hard way might be useful to someone else.

An example of the differences in expenses. My local mechanic at 100K miles on my 03 V8 4Runner did the timing belt, serpentine belt, water pump, seals, air filter, coolant flush and replacement with Toyota pink, thermostat and spark plugs for $900.00. My neighbor's V6 Audi for just the timing belt, seals, water pump and coolant flush spent $2,800.00. If I were buying a used Audi that kind of knowledge would be useful.

 

[raytseng]

http://www.edmunds.com/tco.html

 

[Wolf359]

The problem is that there's lots of different ways to do routine maintenance. What's the cost if you do it yourself? How do you value your own time? Lots of stuff can be done DIY. For instance, on a Mercedes, you could take it in to the dealer to do what is basically an oil change and because they use synthetic 0w40, they feel fine to stick you with a $300 bill, but you could buy the oil and filter and do you yourself for around $50 or less if you got Autozone oil at $1/quart, and if you went to an indy, it could be somewhere in between.

And of course even at dealers and indy's, there's some pressure to upsell on stuff you might not need so that can also add to the cost of maintenance if it's not needed.

 

[Barkleymut]

I don't spend much since I do almost everything myself and do not like to spend over a buck for a quart of oil. Heck I don't pay over $2 each for windshield wipers!

Contrast that to a guy at my work whose wife has a new BMW suv. Over $400 PER tire! And she doesn't get more than 20k out of a set of tires.

 

[Lapham3]

I do most myself as well. Audi has a rep as a car that can eat you up. There are about 6 indy shops in my area that cater to them-vs one dealership.

 

[Turk]

Anyone else know the "7 P's"??

Prior
Proper
Planning
Prevents
Pxss
Poor
Performance

This is how I run my cars AND my life.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

How do you want it broken out? By the last 12 months, or average per year over the vehicle's life?

Averages on our vehicles which includes all parts and fluids, but does not include fuel, registration or insurance:

Our 2006 Subaru averages $162/year. This year was $388 because it included a set of new tires. We've owned it since 2008.

Our 2006 Durango averages $168/year so far. We purchased it in July of 2013 and did a complete fluid change, belts, hoses and brakes shortly after it was purchased. This year (2014) was $16 for an oil change.

Our 2006 Elantra averaged $102/year while I owned it. I sold it 3 months ago and owned it for 4-1/2 years.

Our 1999 Dodge 2500 averaged $138/year for the 5 years I owned it. I sold it earlier this year.

We also own a 1999 Dakota and a 2002 Buick (they replaced the 1999 2500 and 2006 Elantra), and both had some maintenance before being put into service. I have not owned them for a full year so I don't have an annual average yet. So far I've spent $92 on the Dakota (which included new rear brakes and drums) and $76 on the Buick (which included belts, hoses, fluids and coolant elbows).

We currently budget $1,100/year in annual maintenance costs for all my vehicles, tractors, lawn and garden equipment. Most years there is some left over in the budget which gets rolled over to the next year's budget and allowed to accumulate in case there is an unexpected expense.

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
My local mechanic at 100K miles on my 03 V8 4Runner did the timing belt, serpentine belt, water pump, seals, air filter, coolant flush and replacement with Toyota pink, thermostat and spark plugs for $900.00.


Most of that could be done by any half competent DIY'er for a whole lot less than $900.

 

[Dufus2]

Assuming the maintenance is performed per the OEM schedule, you could expect to pay $500 per year with 15K annual usage. If you ask the service writer what needs done, its their position to sell you the moon.

Oil change on a typical vehicle runs $35 every 5-6K miles. Belts, tune up, brakes, tires, inspections also add to the cost and reflect back upon driving habits and environmental exposure.

 

[chestand]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
I'd like to know what you're spending on routine maintenance for your specific vehicle. There's always lots of information on how a vehicle performs, what it costs to purchase and how much the value depreciates but for some vehicles there are routine maintenance procedures that are very expensive but you don't discover this until you get stuck with a bill you did not expect. This kind of information would be especially useful when buying a used car or pickup. In other words what you may have learned the hard way might be useful to someone else.

An example of the differences in expenses. My local mechanic at 100K miles on my 03 V8 4Runner did the timing belt, serpentine belt, water pump, seals, air filter, coolant flush and replacement with Toyota pink, thermostat and spark plugs for $900.00. My neighbor's V6 Audi for just the timing belt, seals, water pump and coolant flush spent $2,800.00. If I were buying a used Audi that kind of knowledge would be useful.


My ex brother in law had a clutch put in his Porsche 928 many years ago. $3500.00.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Lets see how this works for the Focus. A lot of it depends on how long before you ditch the car, it seems. If I were to get rid of the Focus today, the maintenance is $4 a month less than once I do all of the stuff this spring / summer.

The Focus had 4 oil changes in its first year , 2 a year afterwords. We'll say it averages 2.5 a year. Roughly $25 a pop.

I threw a set of spark plugs at it when it hit 35000 miles for about $20.

Had to replace the OE tires at ~300 (3 years old at the time) - I won't include snow tires in this calculation.

Alignment at 3.5 years old, since it was destroying rear tires
+ camber bolts = $120

Changed the MT fluid at 2.5 years old $50

This is going to be my last "short" oil change - the car is out of warranty soon and I'm going to be extending the OCI to 1 year / 10-12K miles. So oil will run around ~32 a year after that. However, it's going to need front pads/rotors and end links in the spring. Along with a new battery before the next winter.

I don't expect to do any maintenance until this spring/early summer. So - I'll calculate for 4 years old.


$62.5 / year - Oil Changes
$5 / Year - Spark Plugs
$75 / Year - Tires
$30 / year - Alignment
$12.5 / year - Transmission fluid
-------
$185 / Year Total Maintenance
$15.42 / Month Total Maintenance

So, I'll add in the Brakes/Endlinks and tires for 4.5 years:

$61 / year - Oil Changes
$4.44 / Year - Spark Plugs
$66.67 / Year - Tires
$26.67 / Year - Alignment
$11.11 / Year - Transmission Fluid
$28.88 / Year - Brake Maintenance ($~130 for good pads and rotors)
$11.11 / Year - Endlinks ($50 total for two Moog end links, greaseable)
$22.22 / Year - Battery ( $100 for new battery)
-----
231.77 / Year Total Maintenance
19.31 / Month Total Maintenance

 

[Johnny2Bad]

You can use a smartphone app to track maintenance & fuel. Best way (or use a notepad in the vehicle). It varies so much you really need to track it versus broad generalizations.

 

[supton]

If I was smart I would have kept records on it over the years, in excel, but originally I used quicken then let my wife take over bills, then there was some snafu with old records not importing. So I'm clueless.

Until this year I bought tires at local shops, and it was about $500 every 40k. Oil changes every 10k for about $50. Timing belt was $700 and that is every 3-4 years. I did coolant drains on my two Toyotas and that was maybe $30 per vehicle.

I'm not sure but true mainance is maybe a grand a year. That is for 50k total per year.

I will say that on my VW the mainance cost is trivial compared to depreciation and repairs. Almost not worth tracking. Which is probably true on all my vehicles, if I own long enough repairs will long outweigh mainance. Although since I tend to buy new and then drive a lot depreciation trumps that.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
I'd like to know what you're spending on routine maintenance for your specific vehicle. There's always lots of information on how a vehicle performs, what it costs to purchase and how much the value depreciates but for some vehicles there are routine maintenance procedures that are very expensive but you don't discover this until you get stuck with a bill you did not expect. This kind of information would be especially useful when buying a used car or pickup. In other words what you may have learned the hard way might be useful to someone else.

An example of the differences in expenses. My local mechanic at 100K miles on my 03 V8 4Runner did the timing belt, serpentine belt, water pump, seals, air filter, coolant flush and replacement with Toyota pink, thermostat and spark plugs for $900.00. My neighbor's V6 Audi for just the timing belt, seals, water pump and coolant flush spent $2,800.00. If I were buying a used Audi that kind of knowledge would be useful.


I will not get another vehicle with a timing belt if I can help it.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
You can use a smartphone app to track maintenance & fuel. Best way (or use a notepad in the vehicle). It varies so much you really need to track it versus broad generalizations.


I keep a logbook in my vehicles but very often forget to write down purchases. Especially when I am driving something else when I make the purchases.

I also had an incident where my logbook was about destroyed when I left a sunroof open at night.

As much as I'd like to use a smart device I'm concerned with the software going obsolete. Paper and pencil followed by excel is my future plan.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: raytseng
http://www.edmunds.com/tco.html


+1 on the TCO. Its about the best average you are going to find. Some people do more themselves, some less. In a timing belt change, the parts are low percentage and labor high percentage. In a tire change, the parts are very high percentage and labor is low percentage.

And a mechanic in NYC will cost more than one in Timbuktu.

 

[bepperb]

That's what annoys me about timing belts. Every time I look at something with a Honda V6 I add 1000 to the purchase price in my head because that's what it's going to cost to have that work done when it's due. Am I actually going to do it in my garage for 1/4 of that, yes. But that's almost a full day and my time has some value too.

But your Audi example really shines. I'm sure the AWD is great and it handles awesome and has a better interior... but... after shelling out 3 grand on routine maintenance I'd be tempted to buy a Lexus/Acura/Infinity the next time around. Simply because (in a lot of their vehicles) they put a sugarcoated V6 and transmission from the Toy/Honda/Nissan lineup in and you don't need to worry about costs above what a value-brand buyer pays.

I also think in the value and midpriced market the gap probably isn't that wide. Everyone needs brakes and tires and they don't differ much. The luxury and truck market is where things really get interesting.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Donald


I will not get another vehicle with a timing belt if I can help it.


I got a used neon with a timing belt and stick shift for a bargain price. Wonder if either, or both, kept other buyers away.

What's funny is once I gingerly drove it home I pushed it around my garage by hand, without starting it, until I could do the overdue belt.

FWIW my BIL has blown up 2 or 3 cars with timing chains through chain troubles of one sort or another.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: Donald

I will not get another vehicle with a timing belt if I can help it.


I have to agree. I had a '95 Neon, it was a great car until the bearing on the idler pulley froze around 140k. When I pulled the head, every valve was bent. Cost me about $650 to have the head redone and replace everything needed to get it back on the road. I had paid to have the belt and timing belt replaced around 100k, but no one mentioned the idler or tensioner, and I didn't know any better!

 

[CT8]

Most people aren't wise enough to at least try to figure out the cost of maintenance.

 

[CBR.worm]

I can say without a doubt that we spend more a year on maintaining our cars than anything that has been mentioned in this thread. I bought 12 tires in 2014 and 2 sets of four brake rotors and pads. 20 spark plugs and 6 coils (one failed in the BMW). We put a lot of miles on our vehicles, but it is just my wife and I that drive.

I didn't think our costs were excessive, but maybe they are. I guess the good news is that we haven't had to spend much on repairs...yet.