Top 5 expensive cars to maintain

We’ve spoken to you before about the upkeep of classic cars like Cortinas (they’re amazing) and such before and how they’ll consistently break your heart with how much they cost to run, but what about standard cars?

If you’ve been driving for a few years, you’ll be aware that some manufacturers seem to build cars that are more resilient to the elements and others that are disturbingly – and expensively – fragile

Ever had a moment when you were driving nicely around a roundabout and the track rod end suddenly broke from behind the steering wheel of your two-year old Peugeot 206? This is the sort of thing we’re talking about.

We’re going to be looking at the top five cars that, although are pretty good in terms of performance and occasionally mileage, they can pretty much be depended on to break in the most annoying of ways.

Do you, or have you had a car that’s done this and consistently left you out of pocket, yet you can’t help but defend one when someone else has a pop? Let us know and tell us your stories!

Peugeot 206

We’ve already mentioned it above, but these little nippers are surprisingly expensive to maintain!

They’re great cars really, pretty efficient, they accelerate well and the steering feels pretty light and responsive too, but the things that make them great are also what constitutes their downfall.

Overall, they’re too light and if you encounter oil in the road you’re done for, expect to pay out for really annoying things like clogged air conditioning.

New Ford Mondeos

Affectionately known as a ‘dad car’ in Britain, Mondeos are the pick of choice if you’re looking for something reliable that is guaranteed to give you a lot of miles.

In general they aren’t too expensive to maintain, but the way the new variants of this car have been built look set to change that.

Basically, if one of your front bulbs goes your hand better go scrabbling into your pocket quickly. To replace it, a repair team has to take the entire front bumper off the car to reach the bulb from the inside. You’re paying for staffing really, but it’s still expensive.

Tesla Model S

*Gasp* not the supercar fanboy/girl favourite? Even James Bond isn’t infallible folks and neither is the Tesla Model S.

You’re going to find that although these are extremely well built cars, they’re prone to chipping, particularly on the windscreen and you know what that means…

They’re specially built and can only be repaired by Tesla-approved garages and teams, so there’s no quick (cheap) fixes here folks.

Alfa Romeos

Stereotypically these are well known for breakages and other irritating damages, which is frustrating as they aren’t cheap to buy in the first instance.

We’re going to pick on the Giulietta for a specific model because it’s our least favourite: expect to continuously be taking it to the garage to get the front suspension tweaked.

This is sort of a separate point, but Alfa Romeo is famous for its odd design features; for instance, the GT 156 doesn’t actually have a handle to open the boot and you have to scrabble to get it open. This will be more expensive overall because you’ll probably get fed up and buy a different car.

Volkswagen Beetles

We’re talking about the new versions, not the cool old ones – although if you’re going to buy one of those make sure you get yourself an excellent mechanic because finding the parts to fix classic cars costs a pretty penny.

A big issue on new Beetles is the boot, they have a rather frustrating habit of breaking, so you might find yourself ceremoniously unable to put your groceries in the boot – or be able to take them out.