There’s no denying that owning a luxury car is one of the pinnacle hallmarks of financial success. Luxury cars come fully stocked with futuristic aesthetics, fancy features, and high-performance engines. As such, luxurious car brands carry a higher financial value compared to other car brands.

Buyers are usually willing to pay high prices for a car because of the detail in the car as well as its high-value perception in the market. Some, however, will choose to own a luxury car as a status symbol. It’s somewhat true that the car you drive says a good amount about the person you are.

If you’ve been eyeing a few high-end Mercedes and Land Rovers in your company parking lot, you may be wondering whether you could fit a luxury car within your budget.

It’s no secret that luxury cars will set you back tens of thousands. However, as you plan your budget, you need not only consider the purchase price of the car but also the costs that come with owning a luxury car.

Let’s take an in-depth look at the total costs of owning a car so you can get a clearer picture of how much you are going to spend according to your budget.

1. Maintenance and Repair Work

The costs of paying for maintenance and repair for your car is perhaps the most impactful expenses post-purchase. It goes without saying that the parts of a luxury car are expensive. What’s worse is the common misconception that luxury cars break down less because of the high-quality engineering that goes behind the manufacturing process of those cars.

The mechanic you hire needs to be highly trained in working with the somewhat complex machine that is your car. This means that their labor costs will also be high.

Remember, cheap is expensive. Opting for a cheap technician might result in you paying even more than you should have because the technician might either choose to fleece you while doing a shoddy job that you might have to get redone after.

The truth is luxury cars are costly merely because they provide better performance, comfort, and driving experience that you would otherwise not find with a regular car. As such, luxury cars need to be serviced just like any regular car if not with higher precision because of their luxurious nature.

For instance, the cost of an oil change for a new Honda should not go beyond $100. With a high-end Mercedes, you should expect to pay double that figure or even more.

2. Gas for Your Car

Due to the consistent nature of fueling a car, you need to work out how much you are going to pay at the gas pump. The thing with luxury cars is they come with massive high-speed engines that are designed more for high performance and less for fuel economy. To keep the engine running, you might have to pay premium prices for high octane fuel.

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the difference between fuel costs per gallon for a regular sedan and a high-performance vehicle should be between 30 to 40 cents.

Not much, right? Wrong! An additional couple of dollars to fill your tank might seem a bit trivial. However, paying the extra money over a certain amount of time can make a big difference. You might find that you’ve paid up to a $1,000 in added fuel costs.

3. Your Car’s Insurance Cover

Ask any insurance agent and they’ll tell you how much first-time luxury car buyers are often surprised by the cost of insuring their car. Unfortunately, insurance as unappealing it may sound, is a must-have that every car owner, luxurious or not, simply has to pay for.

As expected, the parts for your brand new luxury car will cost your insurance company good money to repair. There’s also the fact that they have to use a high-end mechanic to handle your car. For this cost, the insurance company will overturn the expenses in the form of higher insurance premiums for your car.

For instance, a brand new Toyota Camry valued at around $30,000 should set you back about $1,500 in insurance payments every year. However, a new Mercedes Benz C300 valued at $40,000 more should cost you well over $2,500 in annual insurance premiums. That’s a difference of over $10,000 and $1,500 each year.

As a countermeasure, you can save some money by comparing car insurance quotes from different providers.

Benefits To Buying OEM Mercedes Spare Parts

Perhaps the most significant upside to buying original equipment manufactured parts, or OEM, is the spare parts are made specifically by the car manufacturing brand. This means that these parts match exactly the stock parts that you bought your Mercedes with when it came through the assembly line.

OEM Mercedes Spare parts at any dealership should be the same type thus you won’t have to stress about buying from different brands as well as the differences in costs and quality.

There’s also the fact that Mercedes sell OEM parts with a warranty that is usually easy to claim.

High Luxury Means High Responsibility

It’s common knowledge that luxury cars are really expensive. Keep in mind that the longer you own the car, the more it depreciates in value. What’s more, they cost an arm and a leg to maintain and pay for insurance, considering the ever-rising price of gas.

The best way of keeping your automotive budget in check is to calculate the overall cost of buying and maintaining a luxury car. A good rule of thumb is to spend less than 20% of your net income on vehicle costs.

By keeping a close eye on your expenses, you can keep more money in your pocket and still drive a luxurious car while at it.