Luxury cars often come with an unspoken cost beyond the sticker price: maintenance. Premium badges may promise upscale cabins and refined driving dynamics, but keeping them on the road can be surprisingly expensive. According to CarEdge, BMW owners can expect to spend an estimated $5,145 on maintenance during the first five years of ownership, a figure that quickly adds up when compared to some of its rivals.
Fortunately, not every luxury brand follows the same script. CarEdge’s maintenance estimates show that several premium automakers deliver the comfort, technology, and prestige buyers want while costing thousands less to maintain over the same period. From established reliability leaders to rising luxury contenders, these five brands prove that owning a luxury vehicle doesn’t have to mean bracing for hefty service bills every time you visit the dealership.
In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources. Maintenance estimates were sourced from CarEdge. Models are ranked based on their estimated maintenance costs, from most expensive to most affordable.
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5
Volvo
Average 5 year maintenance costs: $3,240
Volvo is a brand that initially established itself through its innovations in the realms of safety. While this might be a core reason why they stand out, the Swedish brand has continued to make some of the most comfortable and stylish luxury cars on the road. While sporting verve may not be high on their list of priorities, those looking for a comfortable ride and a plethora of modern tech features will find themselves at home inside a Volvo.
Volvo’s reputation for being sensible is helped by their generally low maintenance costs. Some might assume that their growing lineup of EVs is why their average repair costs are so low, but CarEdge currently only has data for their gas models. Whether you’re in the market for a sedan or a crossover, Volvo keeps repair costs low.
Cheapest models to maintain:
|
Model |
Average cost of maintenance in first 5 years |
|---|---|
|
S60 |
$3,095 |
|
S90 |
$3,233 |
|
XC40 |
$4,001 |
|
XC60 |
$4,079 |
|
XC90 |
$4,199 |
4
Alfa Romeo
Average 5 year maintenance costs: $2,802
Yes, you read that right. CarEdge ranks Alfa Romeo as the fourth most affordable luxury brand on the market in terms of maintenance costs. The Italian automaker has garnered somewhat of an unfair reputation. While, yes, there are a lot of models that have experienced some issues, especially if you look back through their history, their current lineup is actually considered to be pretty solid.
The data that CarEdge has regarding what owners are paying for maintenance on their Alfas showcases that the Italian automaker isn’t as expensive to own as you might expect. They currently only have three vehicles in their lineup, the Giulia sedan and the Stelvio and Tonale SUVs. CarEdge doesn’t have specific 5-year estimates for individual models, but you can expect their maintenance to be pretty close to the $2,802 average for the brand.
3
Acura
Average 5 years maintenance costs: $2,715
Acura is the first brand to feature in the top three, and it isn’t a particularly surprising entry. The automaker exists, essentially, Honda’s luxury wing. A lot of their existing vehicles are based very heavily on mainstream Honda models. While some see this as a negative, we think that Honda is making fantastic vehicles, and that Acura doesn’t charge a particularly steep premium for the sharper design and plusher materials that they bring to the table.
Because of the mechanical similarity between Honda and Acura models, maintenance and repair costs for the luxury wing’s vehicles are pretty low. CarEdge also estimates that in your first ten years owning your Acura, there is only a 26 percent chance that any individual repair will cost more than $500.
Cheapest models to maintain:
|
Model |
Average cost of maintenance in first 5 years |
|---|---|
|
TLX |
$2,546 |
|
RDX |
$3,252 |
|
MDX |
$3,386 |
2
Genesis
Average 5 year maintenance costs: $2,547
Despite being a pretty young brand, Genesis has established themselves as a top player in the market. Since they launched their first car back in 2015, they have quickly disrupted the luxury car space. Despite being generally cheaper than rivals like BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz, Genesis delivers some of the finest interiors on the market, as well as a driving experience that is genuinely engaging and entertaining.
On top of simply being nice cars, they excel in a number of other areas too. They are considered to be pretty reliable, and they rank among the safest car brands out there right now. CarEdge also claims that their vehicles are some of the most affordable to maintain. Because of how new they are, though, this estimate should be taken with a grain of salt. Maintenance costing for individual models wasn’t available, but expect their sedans to be slightly below the outlined average and their SUVs to be slightly above it.
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1
Lexus
Average 5 year maintenance costs: $2,377
It isn’t all that surprising that Lexus tops this list. The Japanese brand has a well-established reputation for affordability and reliability. For as long as they have been around, a core part of the Lexus identity has been building vehicles that are meant to last. Their current lineup definitely reflects this, with vehicles like the RX and IS having some of the best track records for reliability of any luxury vehicle.
As well as being built to be reliable, a lot of effort goes into making the Lexus ownership experience an affordable one. The Japanese brand leverages a number of proven parts used throughout the broader Toyota umbrella to keep costs down and reliability high. The long-term maintenance estimates for Lexus are lower than the estimates for some mainstream brands, let alone luxury brands.
Cheapest models to maintain:
|
Model |
Average cost of maintenance in first 5 years |
|---|---|
|
IS 350 |
$1,944 |
|
ES 350 |
$1,961 |
|
RX 350 |
$2,566 |
Luxury cars have the potential to drain your bank account, but these brands break that stereotype
A lot of buyers looking to get behind the wheel of a luxury car don’t truly understand how expensive they can be to maintain. For instance, CarEdge estimates that the average maintenance costs for a BMW in its first five years is $5,145. This is thousands of dollars more than what you can expect to pay to maintain a similar Lexus or Genesis. As the years go on, this gap only compounds.
While there are luxury brands that have a reputation for draining your funds, even when they are working, there are a handful of brands that stray from this norm. If you’re stepping into your first luxury vehicle and you don’t want to deal with the headache of huge maintenance bills, we’d pick from the above automakers.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
