The most low-maintenance cars ever made
Cars are great—they get us where we need to go, and they can also be fun toys or even collectors’ items. But no matter their purchase price, it’s the ongoing maintenance and repair bills that really add up over time. Here are 20 cars whose annual maintenance costs are remarkably low, for a variety of reasons.
Toyota Prius
The Toyota Prius hatchback, which the website Repair Pal says will cost you about $408 a year to maintain, is a great example of why hybrids can be cheaper to maintain than traditional gas-powered cars: they have a regenerative braking system built into the drivetrain, which means less wear and tear on the wheel brakes, so they won’t need replacing as often.
Toyota Tacoma
This midsized pickup truck is surprisingly cheap to maintain, at about $478 annually. The Tacoma has a well-known reputation for reliability, which makes it one of the more sought-after used vehicles out there, so not only will you pay less to keep one running, but you’ll get a better price when and if you choose to sell it.
Toyota Yaris
The subcompact hatchback with the funny name is the cheapest subcompact car to maintain, according to Repair Pal. You can expect to shell out an average of just $333 a year, and owners report that any issues the car does have tend to be small and easy to diagnose and fix, which translates to a lower bill from your mechanic.
Toyota Corolla
The Corolla is the world’s best-selling car, and for good reason: this compact vehicle, available as either a sedan or a hatchback, has an average annual maintenance cost of just $362. Its popularity actually contributes to the low cost of maintenance, as parts are widely available and therefore inexpensive to obtain. Its smaller wheels and tires also drive down replacement costs.
Toyota Camry
You may have noticed a lot of Toyotas in this slideshow. That’s because this Japanese automaker’s vehicles are so reliable that they cost the least to maintain of any major brand. The Camry midsize sedan is no exception, with expected annual costs of around $388, and like other Toyotas, the frequency of required repairs is extremely low.
Toyota Highlander
The Highlander midsized SUV is, like many other Toyotas, solidly built with well-made components that are likely to last longer than average, leading to a low average annual maintenance cost of $489. In 2019, J.D. Power gave the Highlander 3.5 stars out of a possible 5 for reliability, making it another one of Toyota’s steady performers.
Lexus RX350
Lexus is Toyota’s high-end brand, and this midsized SUV shares its mechanical underpinnings with the similar Highlander. Luxury vehicles usually cost more to repair, but the RX350’s annual average maintenance costs ring in at just $550, according to Repair Pal, probably due to the speed and ease with which needed repairs can be done.
Honda Fit
Using clever design, the Fit subcompact hatchback offers a ton of interior space for its small size. Honda’s great reputation for reliability holds true, with annual repair costs coming in just under $400 and no major issues reported by most reviewers. If you need to fit a crowd into a car, this one’s cheaper to maintain than even a small SUV.
Honda Civic
The Civic is nearly as popular worldwide as the Toyota Corolla. Because Civics are built in huge numbers, it’s easy to get parts and they’re not expensive, so you won’t be out a pretty penny or stuck without a car for ages when it does need the occasional fix. Repair Pal says annual maintenance costs average $368 in a year.
Honda CR-V
Like other Hondas, the CR-V is renowned for its reliability, and it’s one of the cheapest compact SUVs to maintain, costing owners an average of just $407 a year for repairs. No car is perfect, but the CR-V’s few issues are well known and tend to be easy both to identify and to repair.
Nissan Versa
According to Repair Pal, this reliable subcompact sedan has an average annual maintenance cost of about $450. It gets a four-star reliability rating from that and several other reputable sources, and the website Nissan Problems notes that even the most common issues, like transmission problems, are pretty rare occurrences.
Nissan Rogue
All versions of this compact crossover SUV use a straightforward engine with no turbocharging, so as a Rogue ages, there’s less chance of its under-hood components needing pricey repairs. That’s a contributor to its four-star reliability rating and reasonable average annual maintenance cost of $467, which is below average for the segment.
Nissan Sentra
This one’s reliability rating largely depends on which model year you buy: older Sentras have a history of being more problematic, but the 2020 model apparently turned over a new leaf and is very impressive. Over the course of a year, you’re likely to spend about $491 maintaining a 2020 Sentra.
Kia Optima
Kias are famous for having a really, really great warranty, covering issues both minor and major for five full years or 100,000 kilometres (60,000 miles) (and, in Canada, a legendary eight years for hybrid and EV components). Consequently, you’ll spend less on that stuff for the first half-decade, so the midsized Optima sedan has a below-average annual maintenance price tag of $471.
Kia Soul
That awesome Kia warranty also applies to the boxy Soul subcompact SUV, which despite its size and interior space, can be purchased with smaller wheels and tires that cost less to replace when the time comes. Expect to cough up about $437 a year to keep your Soul healthy and happy.
Kia Rio
This South Korean subcompact scores an “excellent” reliability rating on Repair Pal, which says you can anticipate spending about $434 on annual maintenance for this little sedan. The excellent Kia warranty helps keep that number down, but Carbuyer UK says owners were fine with the costs of having the car serviced by a dealer.
Honda Odyssey
A cheap-to-maintain minivan? Well, if you need one, you need one, and this one is both reliable and inexpensive to repair, since many of its mechanical components are shared with the Pilot and Ridgeline. The Odyssey’s average maintenance cost of $547 per year is about $100 below the average for minivans, according to Repair Pal.
Mitsubishi Mirage
We won’t lie to you: this car is tiny. It has a three-cylinder engine. But if you can live with that, the good news is it also has an extremely low repair frequency according to Repair Pal, so it shouldn’t need much maintenance. Over a year, you can expect to shell out about $457 to keep a Mirage from fading away.
Lexus IS250
Lexus is owned by Toyota, so that legendary durability’s on your side here. The IS250 has remained much the same, mechanically, for the past 10 years and has used many of the same parts, so they’re easy to get. If you must have a small upscale sedan, this one’s pretty economical to take care of, at about $487 a year.