Car Maintenance
On March 14 (local time), US-based Consumer Reports reported the Santa Fe as the mid-sized SUV with the lowest maintenance costs for the first 5 years after purchase.
According to the report, Santa Fe’s total five year maintenance cost was some 39 million won (US$36,425), whereas the car with the highest maintenance costs, the Grand Cherokee Limited (Jeep), was 61 million won (US$56,973).
“When buying a car, one should check not only the purchase price, but also consider the maintenance expenditures that will incur while keeping it. Therefore, we looked into 12 different categories of car maintenance costs to be referred to when choosing a car” said the report.
In the meantime, Hyundai’s Veloster was picked as the car with the highest maintenance costs among subcompacts. Its five-year maintenance cost turned out to be 34.6 million won (US$32,199). In the category of the “Lowest Maintenance Costing Car,” Toyota’s Prius was selected with 26 million won (US$24,196).
Japanese cars proved their prominence as they topped eight out of twelve categories as the most cost efficient, among which were Toyota’s Prius 4 in compact cars, Toyata’s Camry Hybrid KLE in mid sedans, and Toyota’s Avalon Hybrid in big sedans.
The report said that among the criteria were depreciation cost, fuel cost, insurance rate, and repair costs.