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The Complete Cost Of Maintaining A Dodge

The Complete Cost Of Maintaining A Dodge

When you’re in the market for a new or used Dodge, you’ll eventually wonder what a Dodge generally costs in maintenance. In this blog, we’ve done our absolute best to give you a complete rundown of the costs and what you can expect for different models and model years. Let’s start with a quick answer:

Dodge have an average annual maintenance cost of $634 per year. This is similar to the average of $646 for all car brands. However, Dodge does have lower maintenance costs compared to its peers, such as Ford ($775), Chevrolet ($649), and GMC ($744).

However, that certainly doesn’t tell the whole story. Below, we’ll start by looking at the annual maintenance cost of the most popular models and their corresponding model years. Furthermore, We’ll look at the eight most common service points and discuss what a Dodge costs you in this regard. We’ll also compare the annual maintenance costs of a Dodge to 23 other car brands and discuss why a Dodge is considered cheap or expensive in maintenance. Read on!

Also read: The Largest Dodge Dealers Per State (All 50 Of Them)

How Expensive Are Dodge Models To Maintain?

First of all, we feel it’s essential to understand how much each model, and different model years, cost per year in terms of maintenance. For this, we’ve taken data from Repairpal. We’ve compiled this data in the two tables below.

For good measure, we’ve included the data of the three models of Dodge that are currently sold and two of the other top-selling models that have been manufactured in the past years. As you can see, we’ve gathered data starting from 2018. This is because newer versions of the car haven’t had time to develop defects, as well as the fact that newer cars still fall under warranty, and serious defects are taken care of without the owner having to incur much costs.

YearChargerChallengerDurangoDartAvenger
2019 x x x x x
2018 $614 $982 $499 x x
2017 $542 $655 $461 x x
2016 $608 $662 $514 $563 x
2015 $666 $758 $578 $567 x
2014 $685 $721 $669 $511 $570
2013 $757 $606 $709 $654 $562
2012 $691 $642 $771 x $563
2011 $625 $578 $738 x $548
2010 $537 $560 x x $450
2009 $630 $574 $575 x $520
2008 $509 $686 $520 x $436
2007 $ 452 x $485 x x

What becomes clear here is that Dodge seems to have reasonable maintenance costs overall. On average, it seems you can expect to pay anywhere between $450 – $700 on an annual basis. That’s nothing to get excited about, but it’s also not something that will leave you crying when paying the maintenance bill.

We would even argue that the maintenance costs for a Dodge are actually more on the affordable side. This is because the Charger, Challenger, and Dodge Durango are very performance-focused vehicles. Typically, performance focused vehicles will have maintenance costs over $700 per year and even closer to the $1,000 per year in some cases, though this might change if you experience issues certain models are known for. Especially for an SUV like the Durango, in some cases, you’ll only pay $500 – $600 per year, which is very affordable.

Are Parts And Services Expensive For A Dodge?

Furthermore, it’s essential to discuss the average cost of general maintenance tasks. This way, you know what to expect from your Dodge, and you’ll be able to see if specific maintenance is more expensive than others.

Oil Change

An oil change on a Dodge will generally cost you $134 – $151. On average, an oil change costs $40 – $60 for conventional oil and $60 – 120 for full synthetic oil for a car. Therefore, Dodge is slightly more expensive than average. However, that’s because Dodge manufactures performance-focused vehicles that require synthetic oil.

Brake Pads

Replacing the brake pads on a Dodge costs between $252 – 310 per axle. On average, brake pad replacement costs between $150 – $300 per axle. Therefore, most Dodge have a standard price for this maintenance task.

Filters

Replacing filters is also a task you’ll encounter from time to time. The fuel filter is generally the most expensive filter to replace. However, replacing the fuel filter on a Dodge is unnecessary because it’s integrated with the fuel pump and is only replaced when the pump fails. Replacing a cabin air filter is $39 – $75 and replacing an air filter is $70 – $87.

Replacing a cabin air filter costs typically between $60 – $80, meaning Dodge is slightly more affordable. Replacing the air filter costs usually $50 – $70, which means Dodge costs somewhat more than average.

Battery

The average price to replace a Dodge battery is between $230 – $311. On average, replacing a car battery costs between $120 – $240. This means that Dodge has slightly higher than average costs, which is typical for a performance-focused vehicle.

Timing Belt/Chain

Another replacement that you’ll come across when owning a car is a timing belt/chain replacement. Timing belts need to be replaced around the 100,000 miles mark. Most Dodge have a timing chain so expect to pay between $1,000 – $1,200 to have this part replaced; this is what this procedure costs on average, and it’s not much difference for Dodge vehicles.

Tire Rotation And Replacement

Replacing a set of tires on a Dodge will cost $250 – $1,000. The basic version of the Dodge Charger has slightly cheaper tires available ($250 per set), whereas the Hellcat version of the Durango can cost as much as $1,000 per set.

On average, a single tire costs $50 on the low end for sedans and smaller cars, whereas it can cost up to $500 per tire for SUVs and trucks that require a premium tire. Dodge, therefore, covers a broad spectrum but nothing that’s out of the ordinary for the types of vehicles that they are.

Spark Plugs

Replacing a set of spark plugs costs between $283 – $397 per set for a Dodge. On average, it costs $75 – $250 to replace a set of spark plugs. This means replacing spark plugs on a Dodge has higher than average costs. However, that’s because Dodge cars need more durable spark plugs since they produce a lot of power.

Headlight Bulbs

On average, it costs between $188 – $317 to replace a set of headlight bulbs on a Dodge. On average, replacing headlight bulbs costs between $100 – $150 for a set. This means replacing this part is quite expensive compared to the average, and that’s something to keep in mind.

Is Dodge More Or Less Expensive Compared To Other Brands?

Knowing everything we know now, it’s essential to have a final look at Dodge as a brand. For this, we’ve compiled data from 23 other carmakers. The average annual maintenance costs of each carmaker are in the table below. By comparing all brands to each other, we understand how expensive a brand truly is in maintenance.

We can see here that Dodge, on average, has annual maintenance costs of $634 per year. This means they’re quite a bit more expensive than many Asian brands such as Honda, Toyota, and Mazda. On the other hand, Dodge is much more affordable than many foreign luxury brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

In the table below, Dodge falls in the middle of the pack together with brands like Jeep, Subaru, Infiniti, and Chevrolet. Because the average maintenance costs for all brands end up at $646, this means Dodge costs slightly less than average. However, why does Dodge end up here, and how does Dodge compare to the most similar brands? We’ll have a look at this in the following subheading.

BrandAverage Annual Maintenance Costs
Honda $428
Toyota $441
Mazda $462
Hyundai $468
Kia $474
Nissan $500
Acura $501
Mitsubishi $535
Lexus $551
Buick  $608
Chrysler $608
Subaru $617
Dodge $634
Jeep $634
Infiniti $638
Chevrolet $649
Volkswagen $676
GMC $744
Volvo $769
Ford $775
Cadillac  $783
RAM $858
Lincoln $879
Mercedes $908
BMW  $968

Why Does Dodge Have Average Maintenance Costs?

In this subheading, there are two things to discuss: why is Dodge so much more expensive than many Asian brands, and how does Dodge compares to its main competitors. Let’s have a look.

The Types Of Vehicles Dodge Makes

When we compare Dodge to Asian brands like Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and basically all the others, we see that Dodge is much more expensive. However, why is this the case? We believe this has to do with the kind of vehicles that Dodge makes.

Many Asian brands focus on producing reliable and affordable cars for the general public. Whether they make SUVs or sedans, they ensure that these two factors weigh heavily. However, this also means Asian brands don’t typically push the boundaries of performance.

On the other hand, Dodge also manufactures an SUV and sedans. However, the difference is here that these vehicles are focussed on performance. However, opting for a vehicle that focuses on performance also means things will break at some point (because the car parts have to carry much more stress).

This means you’ll spend more time at the garage than you would with your average Honda. However, you’ll end up with a vehicle that’s arguably more fun to drive.

Dodge Compared To Its Main Competitors

Now, let’s compare Ford to its classic main competitors: Ford, Chevrolet, and GMC. It becomes clear that Dodge ($634) is much cheaper to maintain than Ford ($775), Chevrolet ($649), and GMC ($744). However, we definitely need to touch on some points before creating our conclusion.

That’s the fact that Dodges’ lineup is much smaller than the lineup of the other carmakers. For example, Dodge doesn’t make trucks anymore since that’s now the responsibility of RAM. However, trucks have higher maintenance costs on average, and since both GMC, Chevy, and Ford make trucks, this skews the numbers in favor of Dodge.

Also, we have to mention that Dodge has two sedans and one SUV, whereas a brand like GMC almost exclusively sells SUVs. This drives up the maintenance costs of GMC, not because they’re worse cars but because they’re larger vehicles that require more expensive parts.

All things considered, we would consider the maintenance costs of Dodge to be quite normal for the Charger and the Challenger. Their maintenance costs are definitely on the higher side for sedans, but they’re performance-focused vehicles which does explain the difference.

Furthermore, the Durango does seem to have low maintenance costs. A performance-focused SUV with maintenance costs in the $500 – $700 is something to be proud of as a brand.

Sources

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