24/7 Wall St released a list about the 10 most expensive vehicles to own in America. They compiled this particular list based off of depreciation, fuel costs, and repairs. And I paraphrased off of their comments, because they looked at
every aspect of owning a vehicle, something that most lists do not take into consideration.
10. Nissan GT-R
Style: Premium 2dr Coupe AWD (3.8L 6cyl Turbo 6AM)
True cost of ownership: $117,892
Purchase price: $91,830
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 19
"The GT-R ranks among the top 10 most expensive thanks largely to two additional costs on top of its depreciation. First is the car’s maintenance costs, which average $10,043 over five years — the highest amount among all models. The GT-R also has the second-highest insurance costs, at $22,334 for the five years." Now I'm thinking back to all of those GT-Rs I saw at SEMA.
9. Land Rover Range Rover
Style: HSE 4dr SUV 4WD (5.0L 8cyl 6A)
True cost of ownership: $118,158
Purchase price: $88,862
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 14
"Compared to other models, Range Rover’s biggest expense is repairs, which cost an average $4,214 altogether for five years. This amount is the third-highest. Also expensive for Range Rover owners are fuels costs. Over five years, owners will pay nearly $22,000 to fuel the car, which gets a mere 12 MPG in the city." Most of Los Angeles and Atlanta are in trouble...
8. BMW 750i
Style: 4dr Sedan (4.4L 8cyl Turbo gas/electric hybrid 8A)
True cost of ownership: $122,076
Purchase price: $101,545
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 20
"The true cost of the car is much more than the $101,000 price tag. After five years, outside costs, including taxes and fees, insurance and financing interest, ownership of the vehicle averages more than $122,000. Sales also have been low, with only 118 registrations in the U.S. in 2011." The 750 as well as the 745 is the car people buy in Atlanta as soon as they get a little money.
7. Mercedes-Benz G550
Style: 4dr SUV 4WD (5.5L 8cyl 7A)
True cost of ownership: $126,714
Purchase price: $108,900
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 13
"The car has the third-most expensive fuel costs among all models examined, at approximately $23,500 for five years. The car gets a combined MPG of just 13, and just 11 MPG in the city. The G550 also has among the highest finance interest rates. Five years of ownership result in an average $12,000 in interest. Customers apparently do not mind paying these high costs, as the G-Class has been in production since 1979."
6. Lexus LS 600h L
Style: 4dr Sedan AWD (5.0L 8cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
True cost of ownership: $129,542
Purchase price: $119,019
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 20
"According to Edmunds, the full-size luxury sedan is the most expensive model that Lexus produces in large numbers. The car’s base price of $119,019 is the fifth-highest among all companies."
5. Mercedes-Benz SL500
Style: 2dr Convertible (5.5L 8cyl 7A)
True cost of ownership: $129,588
Purchase price: $106,718
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 17
"Although it is the seventh-most expensive when ranked by purchasing price alone, it ranks the fifth-most expensive model for overall cost of ownership because of its particularly costly financing interest and insurance. Total registrations of the car have dropped dramatically from more than 5,600 in 2007 to less than 1,500 in 2011." I never saw the big deal behind this body style. I think it's the ugliest one out of the house of Mercedes Benz.
4. Mercedes-Benz CL550
Style: 4MATIC 2dr Coupe AWD (4.7L 8cyl Turbo 7A)
True cost of ownership: $142,558
Purchase price: $121,671
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 18
"The CL550 has the fourth-highest purchase price and finance interest. It also has the third-highest cost of maintenance. Sales of the car have steadily decreased over the years. There were more than 3,200 total registrations in 2007. In 2011, there were 980." Of course, this is the best body style out of the house of Mercedes Benz.
3. ALPINA BMW B7
Style: SWB 4dr Sedan (4.4L 8cyl Turbo 6A)
True cost of ownership: $153,150
Purchase price: $133,445
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 17
"The car’s purchase price alone exceeds $133,000. It also has among the most costly interest on financing and insurance."
2. Audi R8
Style: 5.2 quattro 2dr Coupe AWD (5.2L 10cyl 6M)
True cost of ownership: $193,429
Purchase price: $170,175
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 15
"The two-door sports car also has the second-most expensive maintenance costs, reaching $7,370 over five years. It also has particularly high fuel costs, thanks to its 13 MPG fuel efficiency in the city. The R8 does relatively poorly by JD Powers’ standards, scoring a three out of five for both overall quality and design. Despite this, there were 1,173 registrations for the car in 2011 — the most of any year." I'm a little biased about this vehicle, since someone close to me bought one.
1. Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
Style: 2dr Coupe (6.2L 8cyl 7AM)
True cost of ownership: $245,469
Purchase price: $210,875
Combined (city and highway) MPG: 16
"After depreciation, finance interest, insurance, fuel costs and maintenance over five years, the car’s true cost of ownership during those years is nearly a quarter million dollars. This cost has not prevented the SLS AMG from being popular; total registrations of the automobile increased from 470 in 2010 to 707 in 2011." I'm sure that owning this vehicle isn't hurting Kanye West.
So the one thing we learned is that Mercedes Benz are the biggest car hustlers of all. If you don't believe me, look at this list again...
