Top 10 Most Affordable Cars to Maintain

When it comes to owning a car, knowing roughly how much it’s going to cost you is pretty important, especially if you’re trying to stick within a budget.

To find out how much it costs to own a car, after you’ve purchased it, you need to find out the running costs. Assuming you’ve bought the car outright (and therefore don’t have loan repayments) there are three key areas that contribute to the running costs.

• Registration
• Insurance
• Maintenance costs

You can get car insurance quotes online from places like Youi, and registration costs are super easy to find online as well, but what about maintenance costs?

This is where AutoGuru can help! We make it easy to get instant quotes from local mechanics, so you can quickly find out how much your next service (or even repair) will cost, from the comfort of your couch!

Once you get your car and need to get it serviced for the first time, you can even book it online with us at a fixed price. Pretty good, right?

One of the most commonly asked questions is what are the most affordable cars to maintain?

Well, we’re here to tell you! Here’s our list of most affordable cars to maintain in 2022!

Note - The cars on the list must have had at least 200 bookings through AutoGuru in the past year to be listed.

1. Toyota Yaris

Coming in as the most affordable car to maintain in 2022 is the popular micro car, the Toyota Yaris. The Yaris is most commonly known as a hatchback, but also has some sedan variants.

The Yaris name was introduced in 2005 to replace the outgoing Toyota Echo, and is known for being a simple, low fuss yet very capable small car. You can visit your local Toyota dealership today and pick up a brand new 2022 Yaris, or choose from plenty of used options.

On average, Yaris drivers are paying around $230 for every visit to the mechanics. When it comes to logbook servicing, the most common interval was the 100,000km / 60 month service and the most common repair was a water pump replacement.

2. Honda Jazz

A close second for 2022 is the Honda Jazz. Since 2002, the Jazz has been the smallest car offered by Japanese car maker Honda in the Australian market.

The Jazz was only ever available as a hatchback, and unfortunately is no longer offered as a new car, with its run in Australia ending in 2021.

On Average, Jazz owners are spending $242 at the mechanics, with the most common service being the 20,000km / 12 month service. A repair to look out for is the clutch replacement, which is the most common repair for Jazz’s.

3. Honda Civic

Making it two in a row for Honda, the Civic rounds out our top three most affordable cars to maintain in 2022.

First introduced in 1972, the Civic has enjoyed a long history in Australia. It’s been seen in many variants and specs and up until 2021, was available in both a hatchback and sedan as a brand new car. Honda decided to discontinue the sedan in Australia from 2021, so you can only pick up the hatchback if you’re looking for a brand new car.

Owning a Honda Civic means you’re looking at spending an average of $252 at the mechanics. The most common service being booked is the 100,000km / 60 month service, and the most common repair is the clutch replacement.

4. Nissan Pulsar

The Nissan Pulsar has been in Australia since 1980, although back then it was under the Datsun brand. In those years you could get them in a hatchback, fastback, van or station wagon. More recently, they’ve only been available in sedan and hatchback variants.

The Pulsar is no longer available as a new car, but there are plenty of second-hand options available which are worth considering.

Pulsar owners are spending an average of $254 at the mechanics. The most common logbook service is the 70,000km / 84 month service. When it comes to repairs, clutch replacement takes the cake.

5. Suzuki Swift

The world first saw the Suzuki Swift in 2004, and by 2020 the small hatchback had sold over 7 million units. The Swift is a very affordable and very efficient car to own and drive, and is still available as a brand new car in 2022.

Owners of Suzuki Swifts were on average spending just under $260 each time they visited the mechanics. The most popular logbook service is the 100,000km / 60 month service, with the most common repair being the clutch replacement. We’re definitely seeing the trend here…

6. Kia Rio

The Kia Rio has long been one of Kia’s most affordable cars, not only to buy, but to maintain as well. The Rio is most commonly seen in the 5 door hatchback variant, although you can get a sedan, and even a wagon in older models.

Kia Rio drivers are spending an average of $260 for each trip to the mechanics, so on par with the Suzuki Swift. The most common service being booked is the 105,000 / 84 month service, with timing belt replacement being the most common repair.

7. Hyundai Accent

For Hyundai’s first appearance on our list, the Accent takes out seventh place. Since its introduction in 1994 up until 2006, the Accent was known in Australia as the Excel. In 2006 it adopted the Accent nameplate, however in 2020 the Accent was removed as a new car option from Hyundai Australia’s website.

If you own an Accent, you can expect to pay an average of $265 at the mechanics. Owners are currently booking in the 90,000km / 72 month service the most, with AC compressor replacement being the most commonly needed repair.

8. Mazda 2

The Mazda 2 has been a nameplate known in Australia since 2004. Previously, the car the Mazda 2 was based on used other names.

The Mazda 2 nameplate is still available as a new car in 2022 and is the entry-level model into the Mazda range.

It costs roughly $266 per trip to the mechanics for a Mazda 2. The 70,000km / 84 month logbook service is the most common, while the clutch replacement is the most common repair.

9. Toyota Corolla

The famous Toyota Corolla sneaks into our top 10 most affordable cars to maintain list. Coming into 2022, the Corolla was the fourth best selling new car, duking it out at the top with dual cab utes and SUVs. In a world that's seemingly favoring these bigger cars, the Corolla is definitely holding its own.

Owning a Corolla means spending an average of $267 each time you visit the mechanics. When it comes to servicing, the most common one being booked is the 150,000km / 90 month service and the most common repair is an alternator replacement.

10. Hyundai Elantra

Australia has seen the Elantra in various forms since 2001 in both sedan and hatchback form. The Elantra was discontinued in 2020, leaving the i30 as Hyundai’s exclusive small car offering.

If you’re looking to buy a used Elantra, you can expect to spend about $274 per trip to the mechanics. The most common service is the 90,000km / 72 month interval and timing belt replacement is the most common repair.

So there it is! The most affordable cars to maintain in Australia for 2022, based on average maintenance costs.

All in all, there was a difference of about $40 between the Toyota Yaris in first position, and the Hyundai Elantra in tenth, so there isn’t much difference.

Hopefully this list can help you choose which car you’d like to buy next!

If you’re looking to keep your car maintenance costs as low as possible, make sure you check out our Top 10 most expensive cars to maintain in 2022 lists so that you know which cars to cross off the list!