I compared the 5-year cost of owning 40 common car matchups at the same price. Some gaps surprised me.
A lot of posts here come down to "X or Y?", so I ran the numbers on popular pairs. For each pair I priced both cars the same (3 years old, 20% down, 60-month loan, 12k miles a year, US-average insurance and fuel) so only the car's own costs differ: resale value, fuel, and repairs. Resale is from iSeeCars' 5-year depreciation data, repair costs from CarEdge.
Biggest gaps over 5 years:
- Lexus RX vs BMW X5: RX about $15,800 cheaper, almost all resale
- Toyota Sienna vs Honda Odyssey: Sienna about $9,200 cheaper
- Tacoma vs Colorado: Tacoma about $8,800 cheaper
- Tundra vs F-150: Tundra about $8,600 cheaper
- RAV4 Hybrid vs Model Y: RAV4 Hybrid about $8,600 cheaper, even after the Tesla's lower fuel cost
- 4Runner vs Grand Cherokee: 4Runner about $6,400 cheaper
Closer than I expected:
- Camry vs Accord: about $700 apart
- Silverado vs Sierra: about $600 apart
- Model Y vs Mach-E: about $700 apart
- Crosstrek vs CX-30: about $600 apart
The pattern: resale value decides most matchups, more than fuel or repairs. A car that holds its value can cost thousands less to own even when it's thirstier.
Big caveat: this is at the same price. If one car is $4k cheaper to buy, that can flip the result, and your insurance quote and loan rate matter a lot. Happy to run a specific pair if you're deciding between two.