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Survey: Honda, Toyota Have Lowest Service, Warranty Costs
The report finds higher service and warranty costs don’t necessarily mean more problems. A vehicle can have fewer problems than others in its segment but higher overall costs based on the nature of components repaired or replaced, as well as parts and labor expenses.
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Lexus GX one of four Toyota vehicles with lowest service and warranty costs.
Honda vehicles have the lowest average actual service and warranty costs for non-luxury brands and are tied with Toyota’s Lexus brand among luxury brands, according to the inaugural We Predict Deepview True Cost Report presented at a recent Automotive Press Assn. webinar.
The Deepview True Cost report measures service and warranty costs compiled from actual service records. The report measures money spent by owners and manufacturers of 2021 model-year vehicles after three months on the road. It reveals the lowest service costs among brands and models across 21 segments, including electric vehicles.
Toyota leads all automakers with four vehicles at the top of their respective segments for the lowest service and warranty costs. They are the Lexus GX luxury midsize SUV, Lexus LC premium sports car (pictured, below), Lexus UX small CUV and Toyota Sequoia large SUV.
Lexus LC 21
Honda ranks best among non-luxury brands with $21 in service and warranty costs – the lowest total during the first three months on the road. Acura and Lexus lead premium brands, tied with the lowest service and warranty costs of $30. The average true cost among non-premium brands after three months on the road is $42, while the premium brand average is $84.
“We’re excited to launch this first report that is based on millions of actual service records, rather than on customer-reported problems,” James Davies, We Predict founder and CEO, says in a news release.
“Vehicles that have low service and warranty costs at three months tend to have low costs at three years. Our predictive analytics show that problems incurred in the first three months of service often indicate how the vehicle will perform over its lifecycle. Vehicle quality doesn’t get better with age.”
Actual service costs per vehicle for the first three months of ownership range broadly from $4 to $401. Davies notes the true cost at three months on the road is multiplied by 15 at 36 months, on average, and by 20 times at five years in service.
The report finds higher service and warranty costs don’t necessarily mean more problems. A vehicle can have fewer problems than others in its segment but higher overall costs based on the nature of components repaired or replaced, as well as parts and labor expenses.
“As expected, parts for some of the luxury import brands are more expensive than parts for non-premium vehicles,” says Renee Stephens, vice president-North American operations for We Predict. “But it’s not just parts that can drive costs up. Some vehicles are simply more challenging to repair. A $50 part that takes several hours to replace can result in a repair bill in the hundreds of dollars.”
Award-Winning Models
After Toyota’s four segment leaders, Honda, Nissan and Ford each have three.
Honda vehicles leading their segments are the Acura ILX luxury sedan (pictured, below), Honda Accord midsize car and Honda Civic compact car. Nissan’s highest-ranked vehicles are the Infiniti QX80 large luxury SUV, Nissan Murano midsize CUV and Nissan NV200 small van.
acura-ilx-21.jpg
Ford’s segment leaders are the Ecosport small CUV, F-250 Super Duty pickup and Ranger small pickup.
General Motors, Hyundai and Stellantis each have two segment-leading models. GM’s award-winning models are the Chevrolet Bolt BEV and Spark small car. Hyundai’s top models are the Genesis G80 midsize luxury car and Kia Sedona minivan. Stellantis models that top their segments are the Chrysler 300 large car and Ram 1500 fullsize pickup.
Also ranking highest in their segments are the Audi e-tron luxury BEV and BMW 8-Series large luxury car.
Report Highlights
Other key findings in the report include:
Repairs represent 77% of service visits in the first three months, while only 8% of service is for maintenance.
Luxury-vehicle repair costs in the first three months on the road average $69, more than double the $33 average for non-luxury vehicles.
Service costs for BEVs in the first three months average $123, more than twice as much as gasoline-powered vehicles ($53) and nearly triple those for hybrid vehicles ($46).
Parts and labor costs for BEVs are considerably higher than for gas or hybrid vehicles. Parts costs for BEVs average $65, compared with $28 for gasoline and $24 for hybrid vehicles. BEV labor costs average $58, while gasoline vehicles average $25 and hybrids $22.
The report covers more than 801,000 vehicles across 306 models, with results based on 1.6 million service or repair orders that totaled more than $128 million in parts and $254 million in labor costs.
Included in the calculations are maintenance, unplanned repairs, warranty and recalls, service campaigns, diagnostics and software updates. Items such as gas, local and state inspections and insurance are not included.
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