If you’re considering purchasing a Toyota, you might be wondering about the cost of maintenance and repairs. Is Toyota expensive to maintain?
Toyotas tend to be more affordable to maintain than other car brands due to the relative availability of their parts as well as the fact that many mechanics are qualified to work with them. The average cost of maintaining one of their vehicles is about $450 per year, which is pretty cheap.
Of course, there’s a lot more to know about maintaining a Toyota than just the average cost, so we’re going to take a closer look at exactly why Toyotas are so affordable to maintain compared to other car brands. We’ll also explore how the maintenance cost may differ between various Toyota models.
Let’s take a look at the numbers.
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Is Toyota Expensive to Maintain?
Compared to something like an Audi, Tesla, or BMW, it will be a lot more affordable to maintain a Toyota for a wide range of reasons. These reasons include the fact that Toyotas are a lot more common than cars made by these other manufacturers, and that’s where supply and demand comes into the equation.
Since there’s a lot more demand for Toyota parts because the average customer is more likely to have one, there’s a larger supply of parts for them available from auto shops. This means that the parts will be more affordable because the auto shop won’t have to search far and wide or specially order them.
Of course, this is also due to the fact that Toyota parts aren’t made to the same exacting standards like parts for those other types of cars. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that Toyota makes poor-quality parts for their vehicles, it simply means that Toyotas usually aren’t made for high performance.
Toyotas Are Reliable Cars
Toyotas are designed to be convenient daily drivers so that people can get around and get to work. When you compare them to cars like Mercedes, which are designed for performance and luxury, you’ll obviously have more affordable parts because Toyotas aren’t expected to reach the same exacting standards.
As we mentioned, reliability is one of the main advantages of owning a Toyota, and it also indirectly means that you’re going to spend less money on maintaining the car. This is because you won’t need to take the car into the shop for repairs as frequently as you would otherwise.
A car that spends less time in the shop is a car that will cost you less money over the time that you own it because it will function well without needing constant maintenance. Toyotas are famed for their reliability, being considered some of the most reliable Japanese cars alongside Hondas.
The Cost Itself
As we’ve stated, the average cost of maintaining a Toyota will be about $450 per year, but the cost of repairing a Toyota will be a little bit higher. You can find yourself paying between $1000 and $2000 to repair your Toyota if you have a pretty major breakdown. If you get into a severe enough accident, the car may even get written off.
ToyotaCare
If you’re trying to save money on maintaining your Toyota, you have a few different options. One of the most popular choices is opting for ToyotaCare. This is a program that is offered directly through Toyota in which the maintenance for your vehicle will be free over the course of the first two years that you own it.
ToyotaCare can also apply for the first 25,000 miles instead of the first two years, depending on which of the two comes first. This ensures that drivers don’t end up driving their vehicles into the ground over the course of the two year period while expecting all of their maintenance work to be free.
A great thing about ToyotaCare is that it’s not even exclusive to the primary owner of the vehicle. If you’re still under the limit imposed by Toyota, you can transfer the ToyotaCare policy to a secondary owner. You also won’t have to worry about the quality of the work that’s done on your Toyota.
This is because the ToyotaCare program ensures that your car will only be worked on by certified technicians and mechanics. It also means that you’re going to have your parts replaced by genuine Toyota parts, eliminating the concern that you may end up with lower-quality aftermarket parts in your car.
Are Aftermarket Parts Worth It?
Speaking of aftermarket parts, they may seem like a great way to make your car maintenance more affordable, but they’re more of a trap in reality. This is because you have no guarantee that your aftermarket parts are going to perform as well as the original Toyota parts that came installed in your car.
Along with the issue that your parts may not perform as well as you think, you may also end up voiding the warranty of your vehicle. Many manufacturers state that your vehicle’s warranty will be void if you install an aftermarket part because they can’t guarantee that it won’t cause issues with the vehicle’s performance.
Maintenance Cost by Model
Keep in mind that the Toyota model that you purchase will also influence the cost of maintenance. Something like a Toyota Prius will be in the middle of the pack, while a Toyota Corolla or Camry will be more affordable to maintain because of the ubiquity of these vehicles.
On the other hand, if you pick up a Toyota RAV4, you’re going to find yourself paying more to keep the vehicle maintained because of its higher level of mechanical complexity.
RAV4s also have better performance than your usual sedan from Toyota, so you’ll want to be sure that your vehicle is performing at its best possible level without any problems so that you can benefit from that performance in the first place.
