10 Best Car Brands to Buy if You Hate Spending Money on Maintenance

When you're buying a car, the cost goes way beyond just the sticker price. To keep your vehicle on the road, it will need regular upkeep and maintenance, and those costs can vary by thousands of dollars depending on the brand. One of the financial mistakes you want to avoid while car shopping is buying a lemon that will need nonstop repairs. It may even help you save on car insurance in the long run.

According to CarEdge, which has analyzed millions of automotive data points to rank brands by 10-year maintenance and repair costs, the industry average sits at roughly $8,256 per brand. But the brands below beat that average, sometimes by a wide margin.

Here's a countdown of the 10 car brands with the lowest long-term maintenance costs, ending with the most surprising winner of all.

Mazda

Average 10-year maintenance cost: $7,381

Mazda's SKYACTIV engine runs a high compression ratio without turbocharging, squeezing efficiency from simplicity. Owners routinely hit 200,000 to 250,000 miles on basic maintenance, a track record earned through disciplined engineering rather than complexity.

That approach translates directly into fewer breakdowns: only a 20.83% chance that a major repair will be needed during that time, which is 3.80% lower than comparable brands. Plus, no unnecessary parts drive up service bills.

Kia

Average 10-year maintenance cost: $7,321

Kia's shared platform engineering with Hyundai keeps parts costs competitive, but the real secret to its ownership is its warranty. An industry-leading 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain coverage protects the engine and transmission at no cost to original owners, nearly double what most competitors offer.

That kind of long-term protection keeps surprise repair bills off the table and signals genuine confidence in the vehicles' durability. According to CarEdge, the 10-year maintenance costs beat the industry average by $935.

Subrau

Average 10-year maintenance cost: $7,291

Subaru's boxer engine is shared across its entire lineup, keeping parts standardized and widely available across a vast service network. That's the key to reliability and low repair costs. The flat design lowers the center of gravity, reduces vibration-related wear, and simplifies assembly.

Throw in independent mechanics who know these engines inside out, and long-term costs can stay predictably low ($965 less than the industry average over the course of 10 years, in fact).

Hyundai

Average 10-year maintenance cost: $7,024

Hyundai's growing EV lineup is a major factor in its low maintenance profile. Models like the Ioniq 6 eliminate oil changes, reduce brake wear through regenerative braking, and have fewer drivetrain components that can fail. Combined with two decades of investment in manufacturing quality across its gas lineup, Hyundai now posts a 23.46% 10-year major repair probability, making it one of the most reliable mainstream choices available.

Mitsubishi

Average 10-year maintenance cost: $6,822

Mitsubishi's no-frills lineup keeps things simple, and simple means cheap to fix. The flagship Mirage's three-cylinder engine has minimal electronics and basic components any mechanic can service affordably, earning it a 4.5 out of 5 reliability score from RepairPal.

That reliability-by-simplicity philosophy carries across the brand, bringing the chance of a major repair over 10 years to 19.83%, which is 4.80% better than comparable manufacturers.

Honda

Average 10-year maintenance cost: $6,799

Honda's VTEC engines are built to run deep into six-figure mileage with routine upkeep. The brand ranks highly in reliability, with shop visits averaging just 0.3 times per year, well below the industry norm.

A 19.95% 10-year major-repair probability, better than that of comparable brands, confirms that Honda's reputation for dependability is grounded in real-world performance. It's actually 4.68% better when compared to the other auto manufacturers in the same segment.

Volkswagen

Average 10-year maintenance cost: $6,764

The German brand's secret weapon is its MQB platform, which is a shared architecture that standardizes the front axle, pedal box, and engine positioning across the Jetta, Golf, Tiguan, and other models. The parts' commonality makes components easy to source and repairs more consistent at independent shops.

The result: a 20.90% probability of major repair over 10 years, which is 3.73% better than comparable brands.

MINI

Average 10-year maintenance cost: $6,706

The European badge might suggest expensive upkeep, but the ownership data tells a different story for MINI. BMW's global supply chain standardizes parts across the lineup, and MINI's lightweight, compact models put less stress on components over time. It's a big departure from the old pre-BMW MINIs.

Only 13% of repairs turn out to be severe, which is significantly better than many mainstream brands, making MINI a genuinely affordable long-term ownership proposition that most buyers never see coming. CarEdge reports that the 10-year maintenance cost for the brand is $1,550 better than others in the industry.

Toyota

Average 10-year maintenance cost: $5,470

Toyota's low ownership costs start before you ever pay a repair bill. Every new Toyota comes with ToyotaCare, which means free scheduled maintenance for the first 2 years or 25,000 miles, covering oil changes, tire rotations, and multi-point inspections.

Add in a 14.97% 10-year major repair probability (the best of any brand on this list), and decades of obsessive manufacturing discipline, and the numbers speak for themselves.

Fiat

Average 10-year maintenance cost: $3,518

Yes, Fiat. The reason is the 500e, now FIAT's sole U.S. model. As an EV, it requires no oil changes, no timing belts, and no exhaust system, which strips out most of what makes cars expensive to service.

With an 18.14% major repair probability over 10 years, which is 6.49% better than comparable brands, the "Fix It Again, Tony" joke is officially retired.

Bottom line

Brand choice matters more than most buyers realize. Every car on this list beats the industry average by hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars over a decade, and that gap compounds over time. The difference between the cheapest brand to maintain and the most expensive is much bigger than people realize at the time of purchase.

Car maintenance and repair costs have risen by 43.6% since January 2019, meaning every dollar of built-in reliability is worth more than it used to. Choosing a low-maintenance brand is one of the most effective ways to offset the rising cost of ownership and keep more cash in your wallet.