One Of America's Most Popular Car Brands Might Make You Pay In Maintenance Costs

When J.D. Power released the results of its 2025 Vehicle Dependability Study, the market research company lamented the overall decline in the quality of vehicles that were built over the previous three years. Still, some car models performed well — one of them being a Chevrolet with just 169 problems per 100 vehicles, one of the lowest set of issues reported of any brand reviewed. In J.D. Power's 2025 Initial Quality Study, Chevrolet's 2025 model vehicles had just 178 problems per 100 vehicles, the third lowest score of all mass market brands vehicles surveyed, behind only Nissan and Hyundai.

Chevrolets tend to be "better than average in terms of reliability," Melanie Musson, auto industry expert with AutoInsurance.org, told GoBankingRates.com before adding, "They typically achieve higher mileage without major issues compared to their competitors." However, when issues do arise in a Chevy, they can be more expensive to fix than you might hope. It costs $9,662, on average, to maintain and repair a Chevrolet during the vehicle's first 10 years of service, according to CarEdge. That is $1,359 more than the industry average. Plus, there is a 29% chance that a Chevy will need a major repair during that time, a figure that is 4.3% worse than other comparable car brands.

Foreign cars have a reputation for being more expensive to fix than domestically built ones. Yet several foreign car brands listed by CarEdge had lower repair costs over 10 years than a Chevy, the cheapest among them being Fiat ($3,548), Toyota ($5,508), Mini ($6,733), Volkswagen ($6,780) Honda ($6,818), and Mitsubishi ($6,833). Meanwhile, car models made in the U.S. with lower maintenance costs than Chevrolet are Buick ($9,018) and GMC ($9,467). Incidentally, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC are all made by Detroit-based General Motors.

Indeed, Chevrolet was not among the 10 car brands cited by Consumer Reports as having the lowest costs to fix and maintain over the course of decade.  However, a December 2024 Consumer Reports report did name the Chevrolet Colorado as one of the 10 least reliable vehicles to buy. Plus, in a May 2025 Consumer Affairs interview with Steve Sunkel, a longtime mechanic with experience working on virtually every car brand, the mechanic made it clear that he did not think Chevrolets were reliable at all. Sunkel added that Chevy transmissions are "overly complex" and that the vehicles engines are made with "lower-quality materials."

While Chevrolet did receive decent marks from J.D. Power's study, it's important to note they weren't the best. Overall, Lexus 2022 models had the fewest problems per vehicle in the Vehicle Dependability Study, followed by General Motor's Buick brand. In the entire Initial Quality Survey for brand-new automobiles, encompassing both luxury and economy cars, Lexus was the most acclaimed. Plus, multiple Lexus models have 10-year maintenance costs under $10,000, according to CarEdge.

Still, J.D. Power, does appear to be a fan. In February 2025, it gave awards to the Chevy 2022 Silverado, Corvette, and Tahoe. And in J.D. Power's June Initial Quality Study, Chevrolet's Blazer, Silverado, and Tahoe models for 2025 were among the most highly-rated models. Keeping in mind that not all Chevrolets are created equal, there are examples of Chevys that cost very little to repair over time such as the Chevrolet Silverado and the Chevy Malibu. Plus, according to a report from MotorTrend, the 2023 Chevy Silverado HD can retain 67.8% of its value, making it a good resale option. Meanwhile, the 2017 Chevrolet Cruze is not only affordable at under $10,000, it was also named one of the most reliable used cars to buy.