Ask an expert

I own a BMW and regularly debate with a friend on whether european cars are siginficantly more expensive to service than cars manufactured elsewhere. This is more a debate about the total cost of longer term ownership, with my friend saying each service is very expensive and me being not so sure about that and I have the perception that savings are made as servicing is needed less frequently. My BMW indicates 25,000km between services which I put loosely at every second year.

Has the AA done this sort of study recently?

European vehicles are generally more expensive to maintain than Japanese cars. A BMW for instance has a high level of specification and is an expensive car to buy new compared to a Japanese model but this is due to the high cost to build the BMW - parts prices are high. The cars resale price might depreciate but the parts prices do not normally come down significantly. A Japanese car is normally easier on the wallet.