5 Expenses to Consider When Purchasing a Luxury Vehicle
Owning a car can be incredibly expensive. Car repair costs can sometimes end up costing you nearly as much. Around 77% of cars are in need of maintenance or repairs. While 18% of vehicles have simple fixes, such as contaminated or low brake fluid, many have larger problems. If you need to fix any engine or transmission problems, you’ll be facing the two most expensive repairs in the United States. If you happen to own a luxury car, you could be spending even more. Most people realize that luxury cars cost more than the average car, however, few take into account that the maintenance costs of a luxury car are higher as well. If you’re thinking about buying a luxury car, make sure you consider these higher costs first. Below are just a few of the things that may cost more with a luxury car.
Oil changes
While oil changes are typically not that expensive, oil changes in a luxury car are usually more expensive. While this may not seem like much at first, these extra costs add up to quite the difference. If you own a German made luxury car, for example, your oil change can cost you double the cost of a domestic vehicle.
Cost of parts
Replacement parts for cars are already expensive. So, if you own a luxury car and need to get it repaired at a luxury vehicle center, you could be looking at relatively high luxury vehicle repair costs. A luxury vehicle center will typically order the parts specific to your make and model, even if they are the same part as a lower model within your brand of cars. While you can ask your luxury vehicle center to order you the least expensive part, they may not always be able to comply.
Labor costs
Similar to the higher cost of parts in luxury cars, the cost of labor to repair luxury cars can be more expensive as well. Since luxury vehicle repair centers must deal with luxury cars, they need to charge a higher cost of labor to ensure quality and reduce errors. So, when looking at the repair costs of a Chevy in comparison to Porsche repair costs, you could be looking at a difference of $15-30 per hour in labor costs.
Warranties
Since luxury vehicles are worth more money than other vehicles, and their parts and labor cost much more, the cost of warranties follow suit. So, if looking to purchase an extended warranty for your luxury vehicle, you could be looking at relatively high costs compared to typical warranties.
Insurance
Depending upon the type of luxury vehicle, your insurance costs may be higher than they would be for a typical vehicle. It is best to budget what you want to spend on insurance each month and consider that when purchasing a new vehicle.
So, before purchasing a luxury vehicle, take into account these extra costs and ensure that they fall within your budget. While luxury vehicles cost more upfront and can cost more to maintain, if you can afford them, they are worth it.