Maintenance costs - your tolerance

[OVERKILL]

Some "interesting" comments in my scheduled maintenance musings thread brought to my attention that there seems to be some significant variance in the tolerance for maintenance costs for our vehicles.

Referenced thread: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/dealership-scheduled-maintenance-musings.336280/

Clearly, different vehicles will have different items that need to be addressed as part of what is considered "regular" maintenance. I know on BMW's that suspension components are something that are expected to be changed somewhat regularly, on other vehicles, they may last significantly longer, sometimes the duration of ownership.

My first SRT Grand Cherokee surprised me a bit when the front brakes only lasted 35,000Km. A front brake job was on the order of ~$800 dealer cost for just the parts, which Chrysler covered 50% of. My current 2020 was ordered with the High Performance brake option, which includes 2-piece rotors which are even more expensive:
https://www.jeeppartsoverstock.com/...d-for-Right-and-Left/66785843/68256679AC.html

so hopefully they last a bit longer. I also ordered the "summer" tires option, which I expect will wear rapidly. Both of these items contribute significantly to the driving experience this vehicle provides but there's clearly a cost associated with that performance.

It seems the spectrum is pretty broad. I was asked whether I was collecting bulk PYB and OEM filters, for what purpose it wasn't quite clear. The cost of a brake service was also called into question because apparently dealer labour rates shouldn't factor into that cost somehow

So this is a bit of a rabbit hole of personality and psyche insight that accompanies what each of us consider acceptable for "normal" maintenance costs.

So, if you feel comfortable, share your perspective, I'm curious more than anything.

 

[Andrew1972]

Spend a few thousand every 80k or move on.I buy vehicles in the $20k-$30k range sllightly used so selling not a big loss.

 

[Zee09]

It is what it is.
Nothing in life is free.

 

[KGMtech]

Generally I have no problem with $600-800 CAD per year for brakes, tires, wipers, battery, oil & filters with me doing most of this work.

 

[01rangerxl]

It is what it is.
Nothing in life is free.

Yep. I am more tolerant of maintenance costs than I am driving something I don't want to.

 

[supton]

I think I have a low tolerance. Granted, in the scheme of things, that is to say, compared against gas or depreciation, maintenance is typically cheap.

But for me, I drive boring cars, so if it costs more than a trivial amount than whatever is the cheapest car in class would require, then I'd complain. For example: most cars have timing chains, so if a TB job were to more than a couple hundred dollars, it is "expensive", since the competition doesn't have one. My cars have "good" tire options at less than $100 per tire, so anything with tires over $100 per is "expensive", since it is arguably not necessary. Pads, rotors, etc. Transmission fluid perhaps.

A very relative and subjective thing, but that's what's in my head. The price for a service or component is set by whatever is cheapest in segment, plus maybe a bit since no two cars are alike, nor apt to have the exact same servicing costs.

 

[JC1]

I used to use dealers and independent shops for most maintenance work. Then I decided to invest in more tools and do it myself.

I usually shop around for parts to see what my options are. It pays to do your homework most of the time.

A guy I know had an old 3 series BMW. When he went to his mechanic for a 4 wheel brake job the cost was $2000. I dont know what parts would cost but I'm guessing you could do it for $1000 in parts of you didn't shop around and DIY the repair.

 

[SZR48207]

It's one thing to throw good money after bad, and another to willingly spend money on keeping a high performance vehicle at its peak.

But I think a lot of the miserly types will refuse to ever own a high performance vehicle because it would require higher than usual maintenance costs. I also think the proliferation of this mindset is what turned cars into boring appliances.

 

[wdn]

People who think their cars make them more interesting tend to not be the most interesting people in the first place.

 

[Gimpy1]

Part of the research I do when buying a car is checking what maitenence needs to be done and when. 90% of maitenence I can do myself so I already know what I'm getting into. For me working on my personal vehicle is theraputic. I have all my supplies and if needed any specialty tools before I tackle the project especially if its my daily driver. I also have the FSM ready and start early on Saturday. I take my time, and I try to be methodical, for me I take it as a challenge becase only having 1 arm presents different challenges and requires a creative approch to meet them. I'm usually done by Saturday afternoon. Yes I could pay someone to do it but I take pride in knowing I did it despite my handicap and I use better parts and fluids. My up coming maintenance project isa drain and fill on the Kia which has a sealer trans and has "lifetime" fluids but I'm following the severe service schedule. I'll try to post pics.

 

[ripcord]

I don't do car payments and refuse to eat 10K's of depreciation every few years just to have the latest and greatest, so I pay cash for vehicles with the expectation that I'll have make some repairs on occasion. If I have to pay a few months worth of car payments in repairs in a year (though most years I don't), then I figure that's OK.

 

[GSCJR]

I don't do car payments and refuse to eat 10K's of depreciation every few years just to have the latest and greatest, so I pay cash for vehicles with the expectation that I'll have make some repairs on occasion. If I have to pay a few months worth of car payments in repairs in a year (though most years I don't), then I figure that's OK.

This

 

[samven]

I dont have a high tolerance for maint. costs. There are the things we all know, filters, fluids, brakes and tires. But if rotors are $800 ea that is out of my comfort zone, If a $1000 turbo service needs to be done every 30k I am out. Just because I might be able to afford to buy something does not mean I can afford to own it, and that is always an overwhelming concern. My vehicles are tools not art and they need to pay for themselves.

 

[2EHA]

A guy I know had an old 3 series BMW. When he went to his mechanic for a 4 wheel brake job the cost was $2000. I dont know what parts would cost but I'm guessing you could do it for $1000 in parts of you didn't shop around and DIY the repair.

you could do it for $100-250 depending on normal aftermarket vs premium products

labor is everything and some people don’t care, they just want to know when their car will be ready

 

[cpayne5]

I pay several times more in personal property taxes on my vehicles than I do on maintenance. That's my biggest issue with owning cars. I can deal with maintenance and depreciation, but paying 4% tax each year on them bugs me.

 

[wdn]

I paid $1.60 apiece for 8 spark plugs at the Toyota dealership and that will be the most I have spent on engine parts in the past 70,000 miles since I bought the truck, that now is 162K miles.

 

[RamFan]

Do I enjoy the car I'm driving? If yes, then my tolerance for maintenance costs goes up exponentially. Of course, the type of car also has a lot of bearing on what I'm willing to spend on maintenance.

The hand me down Monte Carlo I used to drive got the cheapest priced maintenance parts I could find that weren't complete garbage. Nothing worse than doing a job twice because you went too cheap.

Would I spend $1k on brakes for the Mazda? Nope. Would I spend $1k on brakes for the Alfa? Yes.

 

[IndyIan]

I hate stupid stuff where the manufacturer cheaped out on part quality or choose a poor design where regular part quality won't last. Brakes lasting 35k in road use would be annoying to me for sure, I'm not on the autobahn daily scrubbing down from 130mph to 70 so what's wrong with them? I guess in our rural highway usage miles should go pretty easy and so far we haven't had a car wearing parts out but we are buying low performance regular cars. Even running autocross I don't find the brakes really wear prematurely. Tires are a wear item but that's not from street mileage.

 

[Chris142]

I an frugal. I try not to spend over $2 for a qt of oil. I always shop around for the best price when it is Apples to Apples.

I do prefer name brands when possible.

 

[AutoMechanic]

First I should say thanks for posting about the two piece rotors. I like expanding my knowledge on other brands other than Ford and Toyota and had never seen such design.
And as for the costs everyone should know by now I’ll fix an old car till it falls to the ground literally lol. We have a lot of older cars the ones we have spent the most on are my Beetle which is my project and our 2004 Camry with 279,000 we spent over $1000 rebuilding the front suspension on the Camry and we still drive it in fact it is doing great and rides like it rolled off the showroom floor now. Just have to do the dog bone motor mount. We don’t plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. It’s also been hit four times and fixed each time so it’s lived kind of a rough life. Other than that it’s been great and very reliable only had to do general stuff we don’t really have limits on costs. Our Ford Escape has been great besides brake calipers and hoses. Have to do valve cover gaskets on it this week because both are seeping but no issues other than that. The Ford van has a major vacuum leak but I can’t find where hose goes still and ball joints it blows through those all the time which is a common Ford thing for that time period. Haven’t had any major issues still has original parts like water pump and starter and alternator. Moms 2017 Camry nothing other than the serpentine belt started fraying shortly after we bought it and they denied fixing it so I had to do it with my own money which made me angry. The Jeep we plan to get a new engine for because simply one reason it’s old and has real keys because my dad was ready to scrap it otherwise . Sorry for the lengthy reply about my costs I like everyone knowing about my extensive collection of parts and vehicles. And my dads truck it gets fixed all the time because he relies on it for work and is on his own if it breaks down.