Home

News

Trending

Expert Investigates Which Brand Is The Cheapest To Maintain. He’s Shocked By What He Finds: ‘Extremely Underrated’

“Do with it what you will.”

Photo by: Sherwood Cooke & Enis Yavuz

Alexandra Samuels

By: Alexandra Samuels

Mar 8, at 8:00am ET

Add Motor1.com as a preferred source in Google

Comment

A car mechanic and his son say they’ve figured out which car brands they say are the least expensive to maintain, based on data from their own repair shop.

Sherwood Cooke, who runs a shop in Georgia, walked viewers through the findings in a recent Facebook Reel. Before revealing the list, he cautions that the top results might catch people off guard.

Cooke tells viewers the first two spots in particular were going to “surprise a lot of people.” He adds that the results even surprised him, noting the margins between brands were tighter than he expected.

The rankings were pulled from roughly two years of repair data from the shop, giving Cooke and his son what they describe as a practical snapshot of what customers are actually paying to keep their vehicles running.

The video quickly sparked debate among viewers who had their own opinions about which brands are cheapest to maintain. As of this writing, the clip has racked up more than 630,000 views.

How Did The Brands Stack Up?

Cooke says Toyota landed in the fifth spot, which caught them off guard.

“That was a surprise for us,” Cooke says.

Honda followed in fourth place, prompting an immediate reaction from his son, who speaks off camera.

“I thought that’d be one and two,” Cooke’s son states, clearly surprised by the ranking himself.

Nissan took the third spot in the shop’s breakdown. Subaru came in second, leaving Mazda at the top of the list.

“I like Subarus,” Cooke’s son says.

Cooke stresses that the results are not based on a quick guess or a single month of repairs. According to him, the shop went back through its records to make sure the numbers held up.

“We did the numbers a few times just to be sure,” Cooke explains, noting that the rankings came from about two years of their shop’s data.

Even so, he admits he would not have predicted that lineup if someone had asked him beforehand.

And in the end, Cooke left viewers with a simple takeaway: “Do with it what you will.”

Is Cooke’s Ranking Legitimate?

In many ways, his findings line up with broader industry data. Vehicles from brands like Toyota, Honda, and Mazda regularly rank near the top of lists measuring long-term reliability and maintenance costs.

According to Ciocca Automotive, models such as the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic are often cited as among the cheapest to maintain over time. Studies looking at a decade of ownership frequently estimate maintenance and repair costs at roughly $4,000 or slightly above.

Hybrid models like the Toyota Prius also perform well in those rankings. Despite the added technology, the vehicles are known for durability and relatively predictable upkeep.

Mazda, meanwhile, has quietly built a reputation for being fairly inexpensive to own. Plus the parts aren’t hard to find, which can help keep repair costs from getting out of hand.

Subaru tends to come up in those conversations, too. Cars like the Outback are often pointed to as examples of vehicles that strike a decent balance between reliability and versatility, according to GOBankingRates.

Some electric vehicles also score well on maintenance spending, in part because they have fewer moving parts than gas-powered cars. As a result, they generally require less routine work beyond tires, filters, and brake components.

Of course, rankings can vary depending on the data set. One shop’s repair records will reflect the vehicles that happen to come through its doors. Driving habits may also affect whether a car is considered “cheap” to maintain. And keeping up with basic preventative maintenance (e.g., regular oil changes and tire rotations) often makes a bigger difference than the badge on the hood.

Still, Cooke’s results are not wildly out of step with what larger studies tend to find. Brands known for reliability usually end up near the top when long-term maintenance costs are tallied.

People Are Not Exactly Shocked

Commenters who watched Cooke’s video brought their own opinions about which cars are cheapest to maintain, though many said the shop’s ranking generally made sense.

One viewer pointed to their own experience. “In my shop, Toyota and Honda are always recommended for their extreme reliability,” they said.

Another person highlighted Mazda’s position on the list. “Mazdas are extremely underrated,” they wrote. “But they can stay that way, so the price doesn’t skyrocket lol!”

Another commenter suggested that the rankings reflect how common certain vehicles are on the road. “Doesn’t surprise me. That’s comparing apples to oranges. Toyota is the #1 selling car across the world. So the ratio is like 50:1 [compared] to Mazda. That’s why Mazda came in #1, less people drive them.”

For at least one viewer, the takeaway was straightforward. “All Japanese,” they observed. “We can learn something.”

Not everyone was convinced the numbers told the full story, however.

One person questioned whether the results were skewed by the vehicles that most often show up at the shop. “But is it because you don’t see [other brands] often?” they wondered.

What do you think?

View

Comments

Another wanted more details about the methodology behind the ranking. “For clarification, is this ranking based on cost of parts [or] amount of repairs required?” they asked.

Motor1 has reached out to Cooke via a direct message on Facebook. This article will be updated if he responds.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motor1.com?

Take our 3 minute survey.

- The Motor1.com Team

Share this Story

GO TO COMMENTS

(

)

Got a tip for us? Email: tips@motor1.com

View all comments ( )

Popular

Driven: The Revuelto SV Is All Bull, No BS

Toyota's Next Mid-Engined Coupe Is Going Racing This Weekend

Alfa Romeo Has Had It With Huge Screens

Subaru Teases A New Manual WRX, But Only For Japan