Car Repair Costs by Brand — Australia 2026

Based on 672 repair cost estimates across 30 brands and 24 repair types. Average repair cost per brand, relative to Toyota (the benchmark).

Key findings

🔧 Most expensive: Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi cost 51-64% more than Toyota for the same repair.
🇨🇳 Chinese brands are cheapest: MG (0.81x), Chery (0.83x), and BYD (0.86x) all undercut Toyota.
⚡ Biggest single repair: CVT transmission replacement averages $3,731 across all brands — up to $8,000+ for luxury vehicles.
📍 Location matters: Labour rates vary 24% by state (NT $130/hr vs SA $105/hr).

All 30 brands ranked by average repair cost

Index relative to Toyota = 1.00x. Higher = more expensive to repair.

#	Brand	Avg Cost	vs Toyota	Tier
1	Mercedes-Benz	$1,168	1.64x	European
2	BMW	$1,123	1.57x	European
3	Audi	$1,079	1.51x	European
4	Volkswagen	$925	1.30x	European
5	Subaru	$850	1.19x	Japanese/Korean
6	porsche	$840	1.18x	European
7	Ford	$820	1.15x	Other
8	Skoda	$815	1.14x	European
9	Jeep	$795	1.11x	Other
10	Mazda	$747	1.05x	Japanese/Korean
11	Honda	$731	1.02x	Japanese/Korean
12	Nissan	$717	1.01x	Japanese/Korean
13	Toyota	$713	1.00x	Japanese/Korean
14	land-rover	$693	0.97x	European
15	Hyundai	$673	0.94x	Japanese/Korean
16	Kia	$671	0.94x	Japanese/Korean
17	Mitsubishi	$661	0.93x	Japanese/Korean
18	Suzuki	$648	0.91x	Japanese/Korean
19	LDV	$633	0.89x	Other
20	BYD	$612	0.86x	Chinese
21	GWM	$610	0.86x	Chinese
22	Haval	$598	0.84x	Chinese
23	Chery	$589	0.83x	Chinese
24	volvo	$584	0.82x	European
25	MG	$578	0.81x	Chinese
26	lexus	$565	0.79x	Other
27	peugeot	$519	0.73x	Other
28	renault	$508	0.71x	Other
29	ram	$500	0.70x	Other
30	isuzu	$443	0.62x	Other

🏆 Cheapest to repair

1. isuzu0.62x

2. ram0.70x

3. renault0.71x

4. peugeot0.73x

5. lexus0.79x

Chinese brands dominate — but parts availability remains their weakness.

💸 Most expensive to repair

1. Mercedes-Benz1.64x

2. BMW1.57x

3. Audi1.51x

4. Volkswagen1.30x

5. Subaru1.19x

European luxury brands command a 50%+ repair premium.

What this means for used-car buyers

Budget buyers: MG, Chery and BYD are cheapest to repair — 14-19% below Toyota. Factor in longer parts wait times.
Value buyers: Toyota, Hyundai and Kia hit the sweet spot: proven reliability + reasonable repair costs.
European car lovers: Budget an extra 50-64% on repairs vs a Toyota. A BMW timing chain replacement can cost $2,400 vs Toyota's $1,027 timing belt.
Insurance impact: European luxury repairs cost more, which feeds into higher insurance premiums in Australia.

Data Analyst's Commentary

After compiling 672 repair estimates across 30 brands, three patterns surprised us. First, the European premium is even larger than expected: a Mercedes timing chain replacement costs more than double the Toyota equivalent — not because the parts are twice as expensive, but because European engines require more labour hours to access. Second, the Chinese brands (MG, Chery, BYD) are not just cheaper upfront — they are also cheaper to maintain, undercutting Toyota by 14-19% across every repair category. Third, the difference between a dealer and an independent workshop is often larger than the difference between brands: a BMW serviced at an independent shop can cost less than a Toyota at a dealer.

For used-car buyers, the practical takeaway is this: the repair cost difference between the most expensive brand (Mercedes at 1.64x) and the cheapest (MG at 0.81x) is roughly $400 per average repair. Over five years of ownership with two repairs per year, that compounds to $4,000 — often the difference between a car that feels expensive and one that feels cheap to run.

— Bo Qi, automotive data engineer. Full methodology: methodology page.

Methodology

672 cost estimates = 30 brands × 24 repair types, each with parts (min/max) and labour (min/max) in AUD. Baseline from published Australian workshop quotes; brand-level adjustment factors applied. Full methodology: How we calculate.

Full brand-by-brand breakdown in the 2026 Repair Cost Index.