The average American depends on a car for 37 miles of transportation per day. Commuters spend around one hour in their car every day. Long commutes can be a bummer, but breaking down is worse.

Drivers need to know which cars can go the distance and which will leave them stranded on the side of the road.

At YourMechanic, we have a huge dataset that includes the make, model, and mileage of the cars we have serviced. Previously, we used this data to explore how cars hold up as they age. For this article, we examined how cars stand up to usage. In other words, which cars have the least maintenance costs as the miles add up? We also looked at which types of maintenance become more common with increased mileage.

We began our current analysis by asking how much more it costs to maintain the average car for the first 25,000 miles compared to the next 25,000 miles. (In order to estimate maintenance costs by distance, we took the total cost of maintenance for cars in this mileage category and divided it by the number of oil changes. Assuming 5,000 miles per oil change, this gives us the cost of maintenance required per mile).

How Do Maintenance Costs Vary With Mileage? Based on Maintenance Performed by YourMechanic Mileage Total Maintenance Costs per 25k Miles 0- 25,000 $1,400 25,000 - 50,000 $2,200 50,000 - 75,000 $3,000 75,000 - 100,000 $3,900 100,000 - 125,000 $4,100 125,000 - 150,000 $4,400 150,000 - 175,000 $4,800 175,000 - 200,000 $5,000

The average car costs $1,400 to maintain for the first 25,000 miles, and the costs increase from there. Costs increase dramatically until the 100,000 mile mark, and less intensely after 100,000 miles. A car’s maintenance costs may top out, or it could be that drivers scrap their cars once maintenance costs trump the car’s value.

Which types of cars are the cheapest to maintain? First, we looked at which makes (brands) are cheapest to maintain for the first 75,000 miles.

Which Makes Start Out the Least Expensive? Based On Maintenance Costs for the Fist 75,000 Miles for All Popular Makes Rank Make Cost First 75k Miles 1 Hyundai $4,000 2 Kia $4,000 3 Toyota $4,300 4 Nissan $4,600 5 Subaru $4,700 6 Scion $4,800 7 Mazda $4,900 8 Honda $4,900 9 Volkswagen $5,600 10 Acura $5,700 11 Lexus $5,800 12 Infiniti $5,800 13 Jeep $6,500 14 Mini $6,500 15 GMC $6,600 16 Dodge $6,700 17 Mitsubishi $7,000 18 Chevrolet $7,100 19 Ford $7,900 20 Buick $8,100 21 Chrysler $8,400 22 Volvo $8,700 23 Audi $8,800 24 Lincoln $10,300 25 Saturn $11,000 26 Cadillac $11,000 27 Mercedes-Benz $11,000 28 Pontiac $11,300 29 BMW $13,300

There are few surprises here. Entry-level carmakers such as Hyundai and Kia rank as the least expensive. On the other hand, premium models, such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, are the most expensive. For the first 75,000 miles, these high-end makes are about three times as expensive to maintain than the least expensive options. Maintaining high-performance vehicles isn’t cheap.

But which makes stayed inexpensive with high mileage? We grouped the data by make and compared maintenance costs across the first 150,000 miles traveled.

Which Makes Require the Least Maintenance in the Long Run? Based On Maintenance Costs for the Fist 150,000 Miles for All Popular Makes Rank Make Cost First 150k Miles 1 Scion $10,400 2 Toyota $11,100 3 Honda $14,300 4 Subaru $14,400 5 Lexus $14,700 6 Hyundai $15,000 7 Nissan $15,000 8 Mazda $15,100 9 Kia $15,100 10 Volkswagen $15,300 11 Infiniti $16,900 12 Mini $17,500 13 GMC $18,100 14 Chevrolet $18,900 15 Acura $19,000 16 Mitsubishi $19,000 17 Jeep $19,400 18 Audi $21,200 19 Ford $21,700 20 Buick $22,300 21 Volvo $22,600 22 Dodge $22,900 23 Chrysler $23,000 24 Mercedes-Benz $23,600 25 Saturn $26,100 26 Pontiac $24,200 27 Cadillac $25,700 28 Lincoln $28,100 29 BMW $28,600

Cars that initially seem inexpensive don’t always remain a bargain. Entry-level makes Hyundai and Kia require the least expensive maintenance for the first 75,000 miles, but drop to 6th and 9th place over 150,000 miles.

High-end makes such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW start out expensive (about $11,000 or more for the first 75,000 miles) and stay just about as expensive as mileage increases. Mid-range car brands are a mixed bag. Dodge drops from 16th to 22nd place due to maintenance costs rising with increased mileage, but Subaru moves from 5th place to 4th place. Subaru keep costs down even as miles accumulate.

Toyota (and its brand Scion) is the clear winner.

Beyond looking at the make of car, we were curious about which models have the most longevity. The following table shows the specific models which are most and least expensive over the first 75,000 miles. We list only the top ten most and least expensive because there are so many models.

Which Models Start Out Most/Least Expensive? Based On Maintenance Costs for the Fist 75,000 Miles Most Expensive Rank Make Model Cost First 75k Miles 1 BMW 328i $11,800 2 Ford Mustang $10,200 3 Ford F-150 $8,900 4 Dodge Grand Caravan $8,100 5 Mazda 6 $7,900 6 Jeep Grand Cherokee $7,900 7 Ford Explorer $7,800 8 Acura TL $7,700 9 Audi A4 $7,400 10 Audi A4 Quattro $7,400 Least Expensive Rank Make Model Cost First 75k Miles 1 Toyota Prius $2,800 2 Nissan Versa $3,300 3 Chevrolet Tahoe $3,400 4 Hyundai Sonata $3,600 5 Honda Fit $3,600 6 Lexus IS250 $3,600 7 Hyundai Elantra $3,900 8 Ford Fusion $3,900 9 Toyota Yaris $3,900 10 Toyota Corolla $3,900

Toyota’s Prius, which costs only $2,800 in maintenance for the first 75,000 miles, is the clear winner. Nissan’s Versa and Chevrolet’s Tahoe also make strong showings. Overall, smaller cars from Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, and Toyota are quite inexpensive to maintain.

But which of these models remain a bargain as the odometer climbs from 75,000 to 150,000?

Which Models Require the Most/Least Maintenance in the Long Run? Based On Maintenance Costs for the Fist 150,000 Miles Most Expensive Rank Make Model Cost First 150k Miles 1 Ford Mustang $27,100 2 BMW 328i $25,100 3 Ford Explorer $23,100 4 Jeep Grand Cherokee $22,900 5 Acura TL $22,900 6 Dodge Grand Caravan $21,700 7 Ford Focus $21,600 8 Audi A4 Quattro $20,500 9 Hyundai Santa Fe $20,000 10 Acura MDX $19,700 Least Expensive Rank Make Model Cost First 150k Miles 1 Toyota Prius $6,700 2 Nissan Versa $8,500 3 Honda Fit $10,000 4 Toyota Yaris $10,300 5 Toyota Corolla $10,300 6 Scion xB $10,400 7 Lexus IS250 $10,400 8 Toyota Tacoma $10,900 9 Ford Fusion $10,900 10 Toyota Highlander $11,200

Toyota’s Prius is the least expensive model to maintain at both low and high mileages; maintenance costs a meager $6,700 over 150,000 miles. The next best option, Nissan’s Versa, which costs an average of $8,500 in maintenance over $150,000 miles, still costs owners over 25% more than the Prius does.

The other high performers are mainly coupes and sedans. Yet Toyota gets its SUV (Highlander) and truck (Tacoma) on the list.

Which issues are most likely to affect these maintenance costs?

We looked at the most common issues and their probability of occurring. For example, if one out of ten cars gets its brake pads replaced between 25,000 and 30,000 miles, then cars of that mileage have a 10% chance of needing to replace their brake pads per 5,000 miles. Conversely, if one in four cars that has between 100,000 and 105,000 miles on its odometer gets its brake pads replaced, that same probability would be 25%.

The most common issues are that the car won’t start or that the Check Engine Light is on. Brake pads, spark plugs, and batteries also require frequent repair.

Drivers need to check the engine light and deal with a car that refuses to start more often as their mileage increases. In contrast, problems with brake pads max out at 50,000 miles and spark plug issues max out at 100,000 miles. Drivers consistently deal with bad batteries for their car’s entire lifespan.

When buying a used car or maintaining their current vehicle, consumers need to know which cars cost the least in maintenance as mileage increases. We've analyzed our data using multiple impact variables, as numerous factors - from the condition of the road surfaces most driven upon to the frequency of regular maintenance appointments - affect these costs.