It's no secret: Car prices have gone up. If you’ve been looking to buy one lately, you know what we’re talking about. It doesn’t matter if it’s new or second-hand. But how should we measure the price of a car? Is it worth the same as an oil change or a new set of wheels for a Bugatti?
Basically, it depends on the car model people choose and its price segment. However, given how much prices in the car market have increased, changing the tires on a Bugatti will set you back roughly the cost a new Mazda3 (between $24,000 to $36,000). If we're being modest, for that amount of money, we could even buy two cars.
However, the cost of a Bugatti's oil change doesn't leave us with a lot of wiggle room. Fortunately, with a budget of a Bugatti tire change, drivers can leave the dealership with a new BMW Series 3.
What Are We Talking About?
These are the maintenance prices for high-luxury cars like the Bugatti Veyron, as shown by Manny Khoshbin, the CEO of a California real estate firm and a YouTuber with 1.6 million followers. His resume (or part of it) is enviable: millionaire, car enthusiast, and host of a YouTube channel where he shows off his jewels of his car collection.
Khoshbin used one of his videos to explain how much it costs to maintain a car like the Veyron. The millionaire talks about prices like someone casually recounting how much his morning coffees have cost him. Not to mention that the bills have to be multiplied by each of the three Bugattis Khoshbin keeps in his garage.
Maintaining a luxury car is far from a walk in the walk. For an oil change, for example, engineers have to remove the back wheels, brakes, fender, and some of the liners to get to the Veyron's 16 drain plugs. Khoshbin said he paid $25,000 on every oil and fluid change. Notably, that was the price the millionaire paid three years ago, which means maintenance costs are even higher now.
Once you get over your initial shock at the cost of Bugatti oil change, the rest of the prices don’t seem so exorbitant. Wheel change? $38,000. Tire change? $50,000. Overall, simple maintenance tasks for the car exceed $100,000. Bugatti recommends car owners perform this maintenance every 9,320 miles or every year. Khoshbin, however, claims to wait between two to three years to change his tires.
Expensive? It's actually not so much if owners do the maintenance themselves. But as with any other car, taking it to the shop will always cost a bit more. Although it may be surprising, these prices are standard for Bugatti vehicles. For comparison's sake, the four-year maintenance costs of a Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport is estimated at between $368,000 and $438,000 (excluding taxes).
And Khoshbin is “lucky” to be able to keep his Bugatti in his garage. Speaking of astronomical maintenance costs, few things are more expensive than Ferrari’s Corse Clienti Program, which is undoubtedly its most exclusive package.
The Ferrari FXX is a race car package with modifications designed exclusively for competition. To get an idea, in 2014, a Ferrari FXX K cost $2.7 million (excluding taxes). For all of that, though, there was a big hunk of nothing in your garage. This is because, in addition to pocketing your billions, Ferrari got to keep the car.
In exchange, Ferrari carried out the car's maintenance at no extra cost and gave owners access to it for two years at its private championship competition for customers. In total, the competition featured 16 races on four circuits. Of course, this also included all the logistical support in the brand’s garage, from mechanics and engineers to cooks to whip something up for customers. Considering that each circuit run costs between $11,000 and $16,000, that's a good deal.
Photo | Yannis Zaugg