total cost of ownership for luxury cars
 

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/...5/article.html

Top 10 Luxury Cars With the Lowest TCO for 2006
By Warren Clarke

Luxury cars can get expensive. We're not just talking about the price tag; we're talking about the True Cost to OwnSM, or TCO.

It's true. Over a five-year period, TCO expenses (depreciation, financing, insurance, taxes and fees, fuel, maintenance and repairs) can easily meet or exceed the purchase price of your swanky new ride. (Check this Special Report for more information about TCO.)

Looking to buy a luxury car that won't bite you in the wallet when it comes to things like fuel expense, maintenance and depreciation? Using Edmunds.com's TCO calculator, we've generated this list of the 10 high-end cruisers with the lowest five-year True Cost to Own as of March 2006.

Each model's ranking and TCO figures reflect the trim level with the lowest True Cost to Own (typically the base trim).

1. 2006 Chrysler 300 — TCO: $38,023.

2. 2006 Volvo V50 — TCO: $39,273

3. 2006 Volvo S40 — TCO: $42,091

4. 2006 Audi A4 — TCO: $43,995

5. 2006 Lexus ES 330 — TCO: $44,979

6. 2006 BMW 3 Series — TCO: $45,656

7. 2006 Infiniti G35 — TCO: $45,661

8. 2006 Acura TL — TCO: $46,013

9. 2006 Volvo V70 — TCO: $47,434

10. 2006 Volvo S60 — TCO: $47,620

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interesting to see volvos place 4 models on their list. a few of my friends swear volvos are expensive to repair and maintain but i think thats just cuz they had a lemon. they usually run forever: my former neighbor who is a volvo employee had 3 cars with over 250,000 miles, the ODO stopped at 350,000 on 1 car but it kept running.

and it looks like 48mo free maintenance has pushed BMW on the list of lowest TCO because people used to tell me they were expensive to maintain with $150 oil changes and so on.
-meGrimlock