Supercars are amongst some of the most exclusive items that can be purchased by those who can afford the massive price tag. Naturally, it’s not surprising to know that the maintenance for these high-performance vehicles is also high.
But exactly how high?
Reports vary and it is largely dependent on the type of maintenance or repair that is being made. We’ve put together a small sample of supercar repairs and maintenance that are crazy in price and quite frankly, made us question whether or not we would ever want to own a supercar.
To keep things interesting (for the lulz), we’re also going to compare some of these prices to maintenance costs for a good ol’ Toyota Corolla.
On the other hand, the Bugatti Veyron was the first hypercar of modern times and a pioneer in the world of exotic automotive history, with world records (which have been beaten since) such as the world’s fastest production car.
Image Credit: MotorTrend
With a price tag at the time of $1.5 million USD, the Veyron epitomizes extravagance and its opulence extends to every detail, including the high costs associated with routine maintenance.
*Disclaimer: prices can widely fluctuate depending on the location and other factors such as warranty or the relationship with the dealer.
Oil Change
For anyone who owns a Bugatti Veyron, it should come as no surprise that everything with this car costs a small fortune, including your regular oil changes. The price tag? A hair-raising $21,000 if you can believe it. But it’s not just because of the renown behind this French marque.
The Veyron has 16 drain plugs and requires the removal of underbody sections, as well as rear fender liners and rear deck in order as part of the service. According to Top Speed, it takes roughly 27 hours to complete an oil change.
Image Credit: CarScoops
An oil change for a McLaren is estimated to cost around $800 to $900, depending on the model, while a Ferrari is going to leave your wallet around $500 to $800.
On the other end of the spectrum, it would cost a grand total of roughly $80 to perform an oil change on a 2024 Toyota Corolla. You’d likely be able to bring down the cost of the oil and filter itself if you were a savvy DIY’er, limiting the monetary damage to a mere $40.
Front Assembly / Bumper Replacement
Image Credit: CarScoops
Supercars are complex machines. When you combine world-class engineering and luxury, you tend to get something that’s incredibly complicated to assemble and take apart. The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport is a prime example of this. According to a post on CarScoops, the front assembly for this vehicle costs as much as a house, coming in at a blazing $400,000.
Lord Baby Jesus, Joseph, and Mary.
Let’s break it down even further:
- Front fender 2x – $200,000 ($100,000 each)
- Lower bumper and horseshoe grill – $79,999
- Hood – $50,000
- Carbon diffuser – $50,000
- Grill – $15,000
- Rear spoiler – $15,000
Don’t forget the fact that you’ll be shelling out additional labor costs to have it repainted and reassembled.
I pretty much wore out the ‘0’ on my keyboard typing this section out. Ouch.
That said, you can take solace in the fact that a front bumper cover for the Toyota Corolla SE/XSE will only cost $200, or about 199900% less than the Chiron’s bumper.
Some may argue that we’re talking about the Chiron’s entire front assembly, to which I raise you this: the upper part of the front bumper still costs $44,000
Set of Wheels
Have you heard the saying “If you can’t afford it brand new, you probably can’t afford it used?” Well, this goes for parts like wheels too. A set of OEM wheels for a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ will run you a cool $20,000.
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For a less expensive car such as the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, you can still expect to pay upwards of $12,000 for a replacement set of wheels.
Comparatively, an entire set of wheels for a Corolla would only run you roughly $200 each for a total of $800.
Imagine what it must feel like when a new set of wheels can buy a used car. Luckily, there’s always the option of skimming over OEM offerings and choosing a set of aftermarket wheels like HRE and Vossen.
Set of Tires
Image Credit: WhatTyre
What about wear and tear? It doesn’t get better.
You may have heard that the Bugatti Veyron tires cost a staggering $42,000 bill. This is because the tires are Michelin Pilot Sport PAX which were specially designed for the vehicle and glued on so the adhesive needed to be replaced every 18 months.
If you don’t drive a Veyron, apparently you’re in luck.
Supercars such as the Ferrari F8 Tributo and Spider come standard with more ubiquitous tires like the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 and Pirelli P Zeros, the latter of which still continue to be used on exotics like the Urus, Huracan EVO, and Aventador S while the Lamborghini Sián and the Aventador SVJ use the more specialized Pirelli P Zero Corsa.
Total cost? Around $2000 for a full set.
Miscellaneous OEM Parts
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There’s a running joke that dealerships aka ‘stealerships’ can charge astronomical amounts for parts. Sometimes the price is warranted, but other times it’s pure marketing and just because a car is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, it doesn’t mean that there are still some eye-raising gimmicks at play.
For instance, a single carbon-ceramic rotor for the Lamborghini Murcielago will cost $6900. As a regular wear-and-tear part, you’ll be spending an insane amount of money just to ensure that you’ve got that stoppage power where most cars on average won’t need a brake replacement until after at least 30,000 miles.
Many parts share similar part numbers in the same XXX YYY ZZZ AA format, where XXX represents the main engine or model code, YYY is the code for group and subassembly, ZZZ is the part number, and AA is a revision code. This makes sense, given that Volkswagen AG owns Lamborghini.
Image Credit: Forza Horizon 4
Did you know that the Lamborghini Diablo shares the same headlights as the Nissan Fairlady 300ZX? This has become common knowledge amongst gearheads and there are other notable supercars that share parts with cheap cars. You’d be paying around $1400 for a single head lamp assembly (you’ll need 2) when a set of used 300ZX headlights will only cost you $300 to $500.
Companies such as 7zap.com are an international auto parts platform with a catalog of OEM and aftermarket parts for various vehicles. Take a look, and you’ll be surprised what you can find being used on both a regular commuter and a high-end exotic.
If You Can Afford It, It’s Not Always About The Money
Sounds cheesy, right?
If you really want to get nutty, consider that Aston Martin’s Valkyrie costs upwards of $3 million but service costs alone over 3 years are close to $450,000. There’s a cheaper plan but will still cost you $340,000 over the same three-year period.
Image Credit: GQ Magazine UK
The Valkyrie stands among the world’s most expensive road cars, engineered with a design akin to a Formula 1 race car. It is capable of generating significant downforce, which enables high-speed driving on tracks, particularly through corners and bends.
For the price of the services themselves, one can buy not one, but two 2024 Porsche 911 GT3, assuming you can get the allocation (cue laughter).
For some supercar enthusiasts, it’s clearly not about the money. It’s about the experience and journey.
