The cheapest cars to service – and the most expensive

The Peugeot 106 is the cheapest car to service, while the Porsche Boxster could leave a dent in your wallet

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

Regular servicing and maintenance is essential if you want a happy and healthy car, but it accounts for a significant chunk of the overall running costs. Missing a scheduled service is a false economy and could lead to problems further down the line. But what is the cheapest car to service? A study by Servicing Stop, an online car servicing provider, has named the top 10 cheapest cars to service – and the top 10 most expensive. We’ll start with the cheapest, with the results presented in reverse order.

10. SEAT Mii: £210

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

Servicing Stop analysed the data of more than 250,000 online bookings to identify the makes and models with the cheapest service price year-on-year. Buy a SEAT Mii and you can budget for around £210 to cover the cost of servicing on an annual basis. With the Volkswagen Up and Skoda Citigo absent from the list, this might be one reason to choose the SEAT over its siblings.

9. Vauxhall Adam: £208

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

Oly Richmond, CEO and founder of Servicing Stop, said: “Many motorists think about the cost of the car when purchasing a new or second-hand model, but often the running costs go forgotten about. You could end up spending twice as much every single year by purchasing a more expensive vehicle to service so make sure to do your research in advance!” Buy a Vauxhall Adam and not a SEAT Mii and you could save yourself £2 a year. Don’t spend it all at once.

8. Toyota Aygo: £207

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

It’s one of the smallest cars you can buy, so it’s logical that it should come with equally small running costs. Launched in 2005, the Aygo was the result of a joint venture with Peugeot and Citroen, with the second-generation car arriving in 2014. The Peugeot 108 doesn’t make the top 10, but there’s a slot for the Citroen C1 further up the table.

7. Citroen C4 Cactus: £205

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

We’ll come to the C1 later, but in the meantime here’s the Citroen C4 Cactus. Production started in 2014, with an extensively facelifted version launched earlier this year. The C4 Cactus doesn’t tend to perform well in reliability and satisfaction surveys, but at least it should be cheap to service.

6. Alfa Romeo 147: £201

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

If you thought this list would be full of dull and worthy vehicles, here’s something to warm the cockles of your heart. Based on the results of this study, the Alfa Romeo is the sixth cheapest car to service in the UK, at an average cost of £201.

5. Citroen C1: £197

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

Here’s the Citroen C1 we promised you, which is the first car to slip below the £200 mark. Admit it, you’re still thinking about the Alfa, aren’t you? Either that or you’ve disappeared to search for 147s on Auto Trader.

4. Ford Kuga: £195

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

Crossovers and SUVs are all the rage right now, and here’s one that won’t cost the earth to service. The Ford Kuga is good to drive and offers excellent value for money when new, but feels dated when pitched against some newer rivals.

3. Nissan Pulsar: £180

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

If you’re after a hatchback with limo-like levels of rear legroom, the Nissan Pulsar is the best choice. Although production will end this summer, the Pulsar is a likeable five-door hatchback with the added bonus of being cheap to service.

2. Ford EcoSport: £176

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

You’re unlikely to buy a Ford EcoSport for its styling, but at a cost of £176, at least you won’t be spending a fortune on servicing.

1. Peugeot 106: £158

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

Everything’s relative, isn’t it? You can buy a perfectly serviceable Peugeot 106 for anything between £200 and £400, which means the cost of a service could be as much as 50 percent of the car’s value. Buy a 106 with a fresh MOT, give it a good service, and if it provides a year of cheap transport, job’s a good’un.

10. Ford Transit: £363

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

From the cheapest we move to the most expensive, starting with this: the Ford Transit. Sorry, Servicing Stop, but we thought this list focused on cars not vans. Anyway, a Transit should cost £363 a year to service.

9. BMW 6 Series: £366

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

You don’t need to read between the lines to work out that the more expensive the car, the more you’re likely to spend on servicing. Not only is the BMW 6 Series a depreciation nightmare, it’s also rather expensive to service.

8. BMW X5: £368

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

As is the BMW X5. But, if you buy a large SUV, you have to be prepared for expensive running costs. If not, buy a Peugeot 106.

7. Jaguar XK: £371

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

And, in the great scheme of things, £371 isn’t a huge amount to spend when you have something like a Jaguar XK gracing your driveway.

6. Chrysler Grand Voyager: £373

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

If you value space and the comfort of your six passengers above all else, the seven-seat Chrysler Grand Voyager is a fine choice of MPV. Don’t bank on cheap running costs, mind.

5. BMW Z Series: £379

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

Servicing Stop has lumped the Z3 and Z4 into a ‘Z Series’ category, with the study revealing a servicing cost of £379.

4. Porsche Cayenne: £382

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

Nobody has ever bought a Porsche Cayenne expecting low running costs, so a servicing cost of £382 will come as no surprise. You can lower the cost by using a reputable independent Porsche specialist.

3. Volvo XC70: £404

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

Into the top three, where we find the Volvo XC70. The jacked-up estate car went out of production in 2016, with Volvo focusing on fashionable SUVs, but you can buy a new V90 Cross Country.

2. Jaguar S-Type: £406

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

The S-Type is the second Jaguar to appear in the top 10 most expensive cars to service, at cost of £406. Which leaves us to reveal the most expensive car to service, according to this study…

1. Porsche Boxster: £426

The UK’s cheapest cars to service

It’s the Porsche Boxster. Oly Richmond said: “Our most expensive car to service is the Porsche Boxster which comes in at more than £400, still cheaper than the dealers but more than two and a half times the cost of the Peugeot 106 service and repair bill.”

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Gavin Braithwaite-Smith
Gavin Braithwaite-Smithhttp://www.petrolblog.com
Writer with a penchant for #FrenchTat. Owns 15 vehicles of varying degrees of terribleness. Also doing a passable impression of Cousin Eddie in an Italian-German beige motorhome. Doesn't get out much.

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