The Popular Vehicle That Has An F Rating And Will Cost You

Drivers on the hunt for a new, flashy ride often set their sights on the Land Rover Range Rover. An upmarket SUV, Range Rovers have frequently been highlighted in pop culture as a luxurious status symbol. Unfortunately, the Range Rover is also known for serious headaches. The vehicle looks the part, but the data suggests that its sporty build is a mere façade, leading CarEdge to give the 2025 model year an abysmal F rating in terms of value. This is unsurprising, as Consumer Reports named the Land Rover brand overall the most expensive to maintain among virtually all major automakers in 2025. On average, the brand's vehicles cost drivers $5,560 at the mechanic in five years and $19,460 in 10.

The standard wheelbase 2027 Range Rover SE model starts at an MSRP of $113,300. This is far above the typical range of roughly $50,000 to $80,000 that luxury vehicles of the same model year tend to cost buyers. In addition to the premium price tag, this vehicle is also known to be a depreciation fiend. CarEdge projects Range Rovers lose 74% of their value over five years of ownership, placing their value retention in a far worse position than the 55% the average vehicle tends to depreciate in five years, per Kelley Blue Book. This precipitous drop in value can lead owners to choose between keeping the car for the long haul or selling it with negative equity and compounding their debt. However, common maintenance hiccups also make holding onto a Range Rover financially painful.

Lost financial value can be felt in many ways, and the Range Rover will hit your wallet from many angles. A trio of fault points frequently impact a Range Rover's ability to serve as a reliable mode of transportation: They frequently experience electrical system failures, cooling faults, and suspension troubles. RepairPal estimates labor costs ranging between $61 and $90 for active suspension system diagnostic tests, with costs rising from there depending on the parts required for a fix. Replacing the system control module, for instance, may cost upwards of $1,100, including roughly $100 in labor costs. The alternator, a part that regulates the battery's charge, is another area of significant discrepancy: J.D. Power reports a typical price for the part ranges from $100 to $350, with luxury models fetching even more; RepairPal estimates a Range Rover's replacement alternator could run drivers between $995 and $1,491 before labor.

Even basic service requirements like an oil change will cost you more on a Range Rover: RepairPal pegs the typical cost of this routine service between $361 and $390 for a Range Rover, while Kelley Blue Book notes a typical oil change costs roughly $35 to $75, or about $65 to $125 if you need more expensive synthetic oil. The same can be said for brake pad replacements, which RepairPal estimates cost between $675 and $737 on Range Rovers, compared to a typical price range of $230 to $600 (via 2024 reporting by J.D. Power).