According to Forbes Magazine:

Most Expensive Cars To Drive
Jacqueline Mitchell 08.08.08, 4:00 PM ET


The pain at the pump may be easing a little, as the nationwide average hovered at about $3.87 per gallon this week. But that's still $1 more than a year ago, and for users of premium gas, the price still tops $4 a gallon. This is but one of several factors that have made luxury and high-end performance cars among the most expensive to own.

In fact, the cost of driving can be staggering if you add in the costs of depreciation, sales tax and registration fees, auto insurance, maintenance and repairs over a five-year period. In some cases, the cost of driving the vehicle is double the amount the owner likely paid for it.

Most Expensive Cars to Drive
Especially noteworthy is the Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG luxury sedan, the car that tops our list as the most expensive car to drive. It costs $194,000 to purchase, but the five-year cost of ownership is $252,209. The car uses premium gas, and with its combined estimated EPA rating of 13 mpg, it uses a lot of it--about $27,286 worth in a five-year period, assuming annual mileage of 15,000 miles. What hits hardest, however, is the depreciation, running 48.6% of the total cost of ownership.

Unfortunately, that seems to be the norm. A 2007 study by Consumer Reports says that depreciation is the largest cost factor, accounting for 48% of total ownership cost on average for all cars.

Fuel is the second-highest cost factor, soaking up 21% of the ownership costs.

Behind The Numbers
To identify the 10 most expensive cars to drive, we used data provided by Vincentric, a firm that tracks vehicle life expenses for automakers. It evaluates depreciation, interest and opportunity costs, fuel, maintenance and repairs, insurance, taxes and fees over a five-year period to calculate the cost of ownership. We then divided the market into 10 vehicle classes to find the 2008 models in each that were the most expensive to own.

Looking at the top of the list might make you think twice about buying a Mercedes, as four of the top five most expensive cars to drive come from the German automaker. Behind the S65 AMG are the Mercedes-Benz SL65 sports car, with a $231,827 total ownership cost; at No. 3 is the Mercedes-Benz SL600 convertible with its $181,317 total cost; and at No. 4 is the Mercedes-Benz G55 sport utility vehicle with its $159,801 cost. Joining them in the top five is the Lexus LS600 Hybrid.

Link to the remainder of the article:
http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/08/hig..._0808cars.html

 

this part is a bit far fetched. I don't think it's fair to assume that if you have an S65, you would be driving it 15k annually for 5yrs. If you own an S65, I'm sure there a few more pony's in the arsenal without making an S65 a beater. so that 15k I have quoted above would be much less - realistically like 8 - 10k.

 

Disagree w/logic of calc....

Would look at total costs of driving any car via a 2yr, $0-down lease...cars are disposable tech devices....who keeps a Blkberry/iPhone more than 1yr???

Need to price risk of any car in terms of active/passive safety (one's health is worth a few dollars, right?); and ability to drive car daily w/no need for a separate commuter/winter car (and add costs of those addtl cars into equation if needed).....

Many nominally low-deprec Ferraris are awfully expensive when one prices elevated passive safety risks and lack of daily useability for many (image issues at many offices; weather issues in NYC/Chic)....

Would argue that, esp in SF/LA, 65s are incredibly cheap cars, as one can subsist w/a new 65, replaced every 2 yrs, serving as both one's daily commuter car and wkend car....no need for pesky winter tires/winter beater car....

 

Mercedes never disappoints. At least they're the best at something.

 

classic!!!

Tom

 

I sold my G55, when I purchased my S65. I'm glad I did, cause I would sure hate to be 4th.

 

I drive about 4,000 to 4,500 miles a year so when I get my s55 that will be no problem!

 

that's probably won't be a factor for people who drive their MB for 100k miles and 10 years..... by that time the car will cost almost nothing anyway...

 

Hmm, when I read "most expensive car TO DRIVE", I actualy didn't expect them to include the purchase price. Isn't actually DRIVING a pre-owned S65 just as expensive as driving a new one? And what about the 5th year that's OUT OF WARRANTY? Who knows what the true cost of ownership might be?

So IMO, caling it "cost to DRIVE" is a bit misleading..

 

 

 

My opinion is that if you could afford an S65 or SL65, those numbers on paper won't alter your buying decision.