Maintenance costs for "luxury" badge

[Anonymous]

Always have driven Toyotas in the past, currently in a VW Golf. Thinking about going bigger into a compact SUV and interested in a more of a luxury brand, specifically Audi, BMW (open to others). Is maintenance really THAT much more expensive, or is it all overblown? I've been tedious with keeping maintenance up to date with my VW (3 years old) and have had zero issues, but also everything's been under warranty so far. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Always have driven Toyotas in the past, currently in a VW Golf. Thinking about going bigger into a compact SUV and interested in a more of a luxury brand, specifically Audi, BMW (open to others). Is maintenance really THAT much more expensive, or is it all overblown? I've been tedious with keeping maintenance up to date with my VW (3 years old) and have had zero issues, but also everything's been under warranty so far. Thanks!

Like you, I grew up having "Hondas and Toyotas" only. By 2006, I was ready for my first "luxury" brand vehicle. Since then, I've owned BMWs, Mercedes, and Maserati. BMW used to offer free maintenance for the warranty period, which both of the two I owed enjoyed. So I've never done any maintenance on a BMW. These days, however, maintenance is no longer free. As for doing the maintenance, most of these cars follow an A/B alternating service schedule. Service A is just an oil change with some general inspections and likely costs between $200 to $300. Service B usually involves an oil change, plus brake fluid flush, and maybe other things like cabin air filter change. This runs anywhere from $400 to $800 depending on the car.

You can, of course, do all of this yourself at significant cost savings, but this is not for everyone. Just for comparison, doing the oil change on my wife's C300 costs about $50 in oil and $15 for a filter. It takes me about 30 minutes. Doing the oil change on our Odyssey costs $25 in oil and a $6 filter, about exactly half. Other than the cost, maintenance really only happens once a year, so it is not a lot "to do". I guess one nice thing with luxury car maintenance is that they will usually provide you with a loaner. I've not known a Honda/Toyota dealer to do this just for an oil change, for example.

[Anonymous]

What is covered by your current warranty?

[Anonymous]

And how much did you originally pay for warranty and how long is warranty.

[Anonymous]

If you need to ask about maintenance costs, you dont need to buy one of these cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Always have driven Toyotas in the past, currently in a VW Golf. Thinking about going bigger into a compact SUV and interested in a more of a luxury brand, specifically Audi, BMW (open to others). Is maintenance really THAT much more expensive, or is it all overblown? I've been tedious with keeping maintenance up to date with my VW (3 years old) and have had zero issues, but also everything's been under warranty so far. Thanks!

Like you, I grew up having "Hondas and Toyotas" only. By 2006, I was ready for my first "luxury" brand vehicle. Since then, I've owned BMWs, Mercedes, and Maserati. BMW used to offer free maintenance for the warranty period, which both of the two I owed enjoyed. So I've never done any maintenance on a BMW. These days, however, maintenance is no longer free. As for doing the maintenance, most of these cars follow an A/B alternating service schedule. Service A is just an oil change with some general inspections and likely costs between $200 to $300. Service B usually involves an oil change, plus brake fluid flush, and maybe other things like cabin air filter change. This runs anywhere from $400 to $800 depending on the car.

You can, of course, do all of this yourself at significant cost savings, but this is not for everyone. Just for comparison, doing the oil change on my wife's C300 costs about $50 in oil and $15 for a filter. It takes me about 30 minutes. Doing the oil change on our Odyssey costs $25 in oil and a $6 filter, about exactly half. Other than the cost, maintenance really only happens once a year, so it is not a lot "to do". I guess one nice thing with luxury car maintenance is that they will usually provide you with a loaner. I've not known a Honda/Toyota dealer to do this just for an oil change, for example.

I have a Toyota and a Mazda and they've always provided loaners. I agree about doing the easy work oneself. It's such a hassle driving to a garage. We recharge batteries, put air in our tires, change the wipers, do all kinds of small repairs, all at home.

[Anonymous]

For Land Rover Discovery Sport (small SUV) - we bought a 4-year maintenance plan for about $2,700 which covered general - oil/filter/brake fluid/air cleaner/inspections/front pads, rotors, brake wear sensor/rear pads/rotors/sensors.

We have a much older LR and general maintenance is out of pocket costs anywhere $1,300-$1,800 yearly depending on replacements.

We maintain religiously. Older car still runs like new and have had no major issues which is probably a combination of luck and staying on top of maintenance.

[Anonymous]

Discovery sport poster here - as a side note since you said you were looking for a compact SUV, what I like about this vehicle is the large space in second row (have kids) and still large storage space in back of car, and handles extremely well in bad conditions. It does NOT have spunk, however, if that is of interest...but it is a safe, reliable, comfortable drive for a smallish SUV. Interior space is very well designed. FWIW.

[Anonymous]

Just lease. The cheap versions of luxury cars are meant to be leased not kept for years. So basically you’ll probably have to pay for 1 set of tires and 2 oil changes. Probably an extra 2000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Discovery sport poster here - as a side note since you said you were looking for a compact SUV, what I like about this vehicle is the large space in second row (have kids) and still large storage space in back of car, and handles extremely well in bad conditions. It does NOT have spunk, however, if that is of interest...but it is a safe, reliable, comfortable drive for a smallish SUV. Interior space is very well designed. FWIW.

lol at Land Rover being considered reliable (and safe for that matter)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Discovery sport poster here - as a side note since you said you were looking for a compact SUV, what I like about this vehicle is the large space in second row (have kids) and still large storage space in back of car, and handles extremely well in bad conditions. It does NOT have spunk, however, if that is of interest...but it is a safe, reliable, comfortable drive for a smallish SUV. Interior space is very well designed. FWIW.

I have not read further down the thread but you are going to get some flack for calling a Land Rover "reliable". I myself am not brave enough to own an LR but I understand the people who are drawn towards them. It's one of the few brands left on the market with a real story to tell and can stir real emotion for its owners and drivers. It doesn't do this for everyone, of course, and for those people, they should get something like a Lexus RX350, which is the automotive equivalence of a very high-quality bowl of oatmeal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Discovery sport poster here - as a side note since you said you were looking for a compact SUV, what I like about this vehicle is the large space in second row (have kids) and still large storage space in back of car, and handles extremely well in bad conditions. It does NOT have spunk, however, if that is of interest...but it is a safe, reliable, comfortable drive for a smallish SUV. Interior space is very well designed. FWIW.

I have not read further down the thread but you are going to get some flack for calling a Land Rover "reliable". I myself am not brave enough to own an LR but I understand the people who are drawn towards them. It's one of the few brands left on the market with a real story to tell and can stir real emotion for its owners and drivers. It doesn't do this for everyone, of course, and for those people, they should get something like a Lexus RX350, which is the automotive equivalence of a very high-quality bowl of oatmeal.

a discovery sport has as much in common with a classic defender as a jeep compass does with a Willys. Land Rover is great at selling that connection, but most range rovers will never go off road.

[Anonymous]

Discovery sport pp here and to pp “not brave enough”, if you ever decide to jump in, enjoy, and definitely take it at least on a Land Rover sponsored off roading excursion. We’ve done several of those - not in the discovery sport though I’ve seen others in it in limited coursework but you could have fun in a LR3/4, sport, LR, or new defender or older. Only then would you really have some idea of what the vehicle is capable of, which is pretty amazing. The enthusiasts are a fun bunch.

OP, hope the actual information I provided is helpful. Was interested myself to see if others might provide similar maintenance costs for other vehicles for context. Good luck with your search.

[Anonymous]

Anyone who can speak to maintenance costs for Audi or Volvo?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who can speak to maintenance costs for Audi or Volvo?

Epensive