Ford vs Vauxhall vs Volkswagen: Maintenance Costs

Ellie Dyer-Brown, 7 months ago

5 min read

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  • Maintenance
  • Ford
  • Volkswagen
  • Vauxhall
  • Cost
volkswagen t roc
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FixMyCar reveals whether Ford, Vauxhall or Volkswagen cars are the cheapest to maintain.

Ford, Vauxhall and Volkswagen produce some of the most popular cars on our roads today, but how do these rivals compare in terms of maintenance costs? Find out in this guide.

Contents

Methodology

Average annual maintenance costs

Data insights


Methodology

We compared the maintenance prices of Ford, Vauxhall and Volkswagen using data from FixMyCar collected in 2023. All prices in this guide are averages.

We added the prices from the following categories to create a total annual maintenance cost for each model:


Average annual maintenance costs

Maintenance typeFordVauxhallVolkswagen
Full service£191.24£190.50£192.86
Interim service£135.82£133.85£135.88
MOT£43.58£43.51£43.82
Aircon regas£71.9£69.61£74.87
Total£442.54£437.47£447.43

The manufacturer with the cheapest total maintenance cost is Vauxhall, costing £437.47 on average - almost £10 more affordable than Volkswagen, the most expensive of the three.


Data insights

The manufacturer with the cheapest full service price is Vauxhall at £190.50. The most expensive is Volkswagen, costing £192.86 on average.

Vauxhall Grandland

It's the same story in the interim service category. The average price for a Vauxhall is £133.85; for a Volkswagen, it's £135.88. However, that's just six pence more than Ford's average interim service price.

Ford Focus 2020 01

Vauxhall drivers will be pleased to hear that they can expect the cheapest MOT prices, costing £43.51 on average. However, the average price of a Volkswagen MOT - the most expensive of the three - is only 31 pence more.

vw polo
iStock.com/ChrisHepburn

The cheapest manufacturer for an aircon regas is, as you might have guessed, Vauxhall, with an average price of £69.61. The most expensive is VW, which costs £74.87 on average.


The cheapest brand for maintenance

There's a clear winner when you compare maintenance costs: Vauxhall. It is cheaper in every category than its rivals, Volkswagen and Ford. However, there was only a £10 difference between the most and least expensive brands, so it shouldn't be a decisive factor in your decision-making process if you're in the market for a car.

It's worth remembering that prices vary between models - the best way to get an accurate estimate is to request tailored quotes on FixMyCar.


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