Love_00_Max

I would like to know what is considered a resonable maintenance cost over the life of the vehicle as a percentage of the actual cost of the vehicle.

On my 2000 maxima my expenses are $7700 (including 2 rounds of tires) till date when the cost of the vehicle was $26500 with 150,000 miles on the odometer.

The actual cost of ownership in maintenance is 30% on this vehicle.

--------------------------------------------------------
Item Mileage Cost
--------------------------------------------------------
15K,30K,tires and regular maintenance until 40K 1000
45K maintenance + Battery (oil change) 49500 375
Changed drive belts 48650 115
Changed Front Rotor and Pads 61500 280
Changed Ignition Coils 64000 450
Ignition Switch Failure 77500 200
Changed Tires 87200 420
Changed drive belts 97650 115
Changed Front Struts, tokico 99830 210
Changed O2 sensors 100100 330
Changed rear struts, tokico 110000 150
CV boots 110500 330
Replaced Radiator, Cap and OEM flush 111500 850
Changed Tie Rods and Sway endlinks 129300 120
Changed Alternator 131170 300
Changed LBJs 131700 125
Wheel Bearings 137150 180
Changed Tranny gasket and magnets 139000 80
Changed Water pump, tensioner,belts 147800 680
Tranny flushes 465
Oil changes, UOA's etc 700
Misc, PCV valve, hoses etc ~500
-------------------------------------------------------
Total 7760
--------------------------------------------------------

nsnrider

iTrader: (59)

$7760 is not bad but could have been much lower especially id you DIY.

$850 for a radiator and flush???? I think thats crazy.

I don't but new cars and don't keep such a detailed maintanance log. I do all work myself too so its just a matter of buying parts at a discunt to save money.

How much do you think your car is worth if you would to trade it in or sell it? How would the numbers equal out as far as yearly maintanance budget?

$7760/80.3 months = $96.04 a year for maintanance.

Thats much better than I imagined.

Love_00_Max

Well I do most of the maintenence myself, many thanks to the folks on this forum who have helped me throughout the years. I can call myself self-sufficient in many aspects of basic maintenance of a automobile.

I maintain a metriculous speadsheet on my expenses (a must do from my wife, she thinks I pamper my maxima). She now appreciates all the pampering I do to her new Highlander, thx to my learning on my maxima.

BTW, it turns out to be $855/yr on maintenance costs ($7700/9yrs).

denny_1986

iTrader: (1)

i know its an old thread but i wanted to ask a similar qs and hence, the bump.
^^^ $855 is a lot of money in my opinion just for maintenance specially if you pamper your car...

how much have other users here have spent on maintenance to date?
I bought the car in January and have thus far spent around $70 on a transmission pan drop+ filter change service and a regular oil change. Soon to come are struts/shocks replacement and while im at it, i would probably lower the car to give it a custom look.

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

I'd have to look at my store receipts but I think $800 to $1000 a yr on maintenance is pretty usual. I've had my 03 since Mar of 07 and I've bought rims, tires twice a few cabin and air filters, did numerous oil changes, the leaking 5th cylinder valve cover fix and so on. The car runs great so I basically find myself looking for things to spend money on. I recently bought a cold air kit that I'll put on next weekend, an aluminum battery tie down, wheel spacers, and a dremel tool to touch up a few rust spots under the hood that have been bothering me. Car enthusiasts, (nuts) tend to not care what it costs to keep their babies looking and running good. I think for the most part maybe 80% or more of the visitors to this site fit that bill.

twiggy144

Fully agree with maxgig. About $1000 per year for a car between 4 and 10 years old. Older than 10 years, maintenance is more random, one can be lucky, or not.

edited: I meant $1000 per year, not $100.

Feldman

iTrader: (1)

you have to remember he is including tires in that which tacks on about $250 a year if they last 2 years. I almost spend $100 on oil and filters in a year alone but i put on more miles than average. If i was spending less than $200 i would start finding things to replace (plugs filters etc) just to prevent future issues

CoolMax

iTrader: (7)

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/cto/CTOintroController

Kaane

nice mainteance log, I need to start doing that with my cars.

tapeworm48

I'm at the 60K mile mark. What type of maintenance is recommended here? What are people paying for it?

I got a quote from Midas I think, they were charging about $105 near Chicago. He said he would check air and cabin filters,, and if they needed changing, he would charge $35 for each.

Is this reasonable?

FWIW it is a 2003 GLE. Thanks in advance.

twiggy144

$105 to check the engine air filter and cabin filter is a rip-off.

LA02MAX

iTrader: (3)

That price is outrageous. Do it yourself. the microfilter is a couple screws away and the engine air filter is one clip....

To the OP: I know this thread is old, but that's a really nice maintenance log. I wish I would have done something like that from the beginning. I think I started writing everything down around 40k miles...I think my average maintenance costs including tires is maybe $500 a year or so. I change my oil with amsoil + mobil 1 filter every 3000 miles and I put about 12-15k a year on my car, so just the oil changes cost me quite a bit.

tapeworm48

sorry I should have clarified. the 60K mile checkup is:

air cleaner replacement
oil change
rotate tirescoolant flush
32pt inspection

That is $105, and then engine air filter and cabin filter will be replaced (and charged for) only if needed.

Any feedback would be appreciated.
thanks.

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

Man why don't you check your air and cabin filters? I just replaced my cabin filters, they cost me $45 dollars from DaveB and the air filter is even cheaper, and its a straight drop in job. Definitely should not cost $35 dollars for the air filter change, it should take less than a minute to do tops. Actually, everything you're getting done, at least for me is a DIY job. I would only consider taking my car to a shop for a coolant flush because I would be getting my serpentine belt changed at the same time.

MichMaxFan

I can say that (using my Quicken program):


1996 Caravan repairs & maint: $5,500 (1/2001 thru 2/2009)
**75,000 miles during this time period.
Ave: $0.073/mile BUT mostly done by mechanic shops.

2000 Maxima repairs & maint: $1,500 (4/2005 thru 2/2009)
**40,000 miles during this time period
Ave: $0.0375/mile BUT nearly ALL done by me.


And additionally I have some $600 in unallocated expenses that I haven't pinned down to any one vehicle such as oil since they both are on the Castrol 5w30, and washing stuff, etc. Minor things.

One thing to keep in mind is that don't blame the car on things such as fluids and tires and such...those things that you have to replace no matter what you own. Also, only compare to logical people who actually replace things and not the guy that does the oil once in 5 yrs and says he's never had to repair anything else!

I primarily would focus on engine/trans jobs or lots of high cost electrical/fuel components when weighing repairs. All cars will need shocks and stuff and maybe even an alternator, too, so don't get too sidetracked on the normal stuff---- just the non-typical repairs.

Overall, I'd have to say my caravan has been cheaper to operate since had I paid a garage for the stuff I've had to do on my max, I'd be furious. Maybe it has settled down now for a while, but it had its moments for sure!

blueridge

I drive my 2000 SE for work averaging around 50,000 miles per year. Car presently just turned over 295,000, previously had a 97 which I traded in at around 278,000. Having just done my taxes and reviewed my statements from my awesome mechanic who does every bit of my work, I decided to do a quick summary of the last two years.

First I go thru a set of tires a year, presently have a set of wore out Yokohomas with right at 55,000 miles, previous was a set of Goodyears also got about 55,000 miles on them.

2008 mileage total: 49,249 miles. Tires: $477, all else $1072.00
total $ 1549.00

2007 mileage total: 55,799 miles. Tires: $520, all else $1,055
total $1575.

Since the thing still runs well I'm going to keep it but I expect maintenace costs to be at less $500 higher this year as it's due for all belts, hoses, plugs, CV boots etc. Hopefully I can then retire it to local 10-12K per year status.

jss

iTrader: (1)

haha uuhh...thats per month..not year.. which is kinda turnin me off about buying one.. anyone have a different story??...