Beyond repairs, some vehicles simply cost more to maintain. This may be due to the way they are engineered or because they require special products (such as more expensive oil) as part of their maintenance, or both. For example, there are some vehicles that require considerably more work than others just to change the spark plugs. So unless you can afford to pay a lot for maintenance, don’t buy the vehicle that costs a lot to maintain.
Gas mileage
With the cost of fuel these days, fuel-efficiency is very important to most vehicle buyers. For example, Lets say you can afford a monthly payment of around $200 and your current car takes about $400 a month to fuel up. Under this scenario, you are spending $600 a month to drive that vehicle (excluding repairs and maintenance). On the other hand, if dump that vehicle and you buy a car that costs $250 a month to fuel up you could actually afford a higher payment (and perhaps get a better vehicle). So when you are looking at a car, make sure you check how fuel-efficient it is as well. Doing so could save you a lot over the time you own the car.
