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The Street

Laura Rodini

Consumer Reports: Cheapest cars to maintain over 10 years

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Malcolm Gladwell may have theorized that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert at a chosen task, but if you devoted 10,000 hours toward buying your next new car, people would think you’re nuts.

That’s because most smart car buying decisions can actually be broken down into a few simple steps:

Reading online articles and reviews to figure out the right vehicle for your family’s needs
Taking a prospective new car out for a test drive
Giving it a point-by-point inspection
Working with a dealer to reach the most affordable price
Taking care of your new vehicle through maintenance and repairs

This last one may come as a surprise since, well, you just bought a new car, but despite every best intention, maintenance issues can and typically do arise.

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Instead of banging your head against the steering wheel, a smarter idea may be to gain a basic understanding of the most common car problems so you can budget and be as prepared as possible.

(Mr. Gladwell is cheering you on.)

What are the most common maintenance issues with cars?

Carfax, one of the most trusted names in the automotive industry, put together a list of the top 12 maintenance issues vehicles tend to have, as well as the estimated costs to repair them.

This company creates detailed vehicle history reports by collecting data from insurance companies, police departments, and DMVs — and with over 31 billion vehicles analyzed over its 40-year history, you can be pretty sure it knows what it’s talking about.

Carfax’s list of common vehicle maintenance Issues

Carfax
Problem	Reason	Cost to repair
Car won’t start	Dead battery	$50 and up
Brake problems	Brake pads, shoes, hoses, need replacing, etc.	$300–$800
Rough engine idle	Worn-out spark plugs or other mechanical issues	$150-thousands
Leaks under car	Low engine coolant or transmission fluid	$0–1,000
Overheating	Leaky water pump or radiator, low engine oil, or cooling system issue	$20–$10,000
Paint or finish problems	Weather damage, scratches, and dents	As much as $2,500
Stability or "tipsy" issues	Worn shocks and struts	$450–$900
Tread wear indicator	Worn tires	$300–$400 per axle
Unpredictable noises or odors	Damaged automatic transmission	$1,100–$3,000
Broken windshield	Weather or debris in road	$100–$400
Wheel alignment issues	Driving over objects or potholes	$100–$200
Check Engine light is on	Low tire pressure, fuel system, transmission problems	Varies

The great news is, most new cars come with a complimentary maintenance plan that covers basic servicing for a set time period, like 1–2 years, or a certain number of miles driven. This can include oil changes, tire rotations, multi-point inspections, and other routine maintenance tasks.

But what happens when the coverage period ends, or the problem you’re having doesn’t fall within its parameters?

If only car buyers had a crystal ball that could predict which vehicle models would give them the least amount of trouble over their lifetimes ...

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Consumer Reports' methodology explained

Actually, they do, and it comes from the bright minds at Consumer Reports.

While some maintenance costs (like oil changes) are just plain unavoidable, there are certain car models that have been proven to experience the fewest problems over their lifespan.

Consumer Reports (CR), whose entire existence is geared toward helping consumers make informed purchase decisions, researched a decade’s worth of data to figure out the average repair and maintenance expenses for each new car on the road today (although it notes that collision repairs are not included in its estimates).

More automotive content:

The models that topped CR’s list not only boast low repair and maintenance costs; they also score high on reliability and other factors, like fuel economy. What's more, several of these vehicles fall within the budget category, making them an even bigger win for price-conscious new car buyers.

Here are Consumer Reports' findings, categorized by car type: