All vehicles need regularly scheduled maintenance, and sometimes it can get expensive. To help curb some of these costs, some car brands include free maintenance when you purchase new. Free maintenance is a good perk to have, especially with the rising costs of new cars. Here's what we know.
Brands That Offer Free Vehicle Maintenance
Most free maintenance plans are for regularly scheduled services including oil changes, tire rotations, and inspections. Specific plans and what they include vary by brand.
- General Motors – The General Motors family of brands, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC, all include your first scheduled maintenance visit for free within the first 12 months of ownership. Service includes oil change, tire rotation, and a multi-point inspection.
- Hyundai and Genesis – These South Korean automakers include free scheduled maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles on all new vehicles.
- Honda – Beginning with the 2023 model year, Honda is now offering complimentary service for two years or 24,000 miles.
- Lexus – Offers two free services one at six months or up to 5,000 miles and one at the one-year or 10,000-mile mark.
- BMW and MINI – These automakers include a three-year or 36,000-mile complimentary service plan.
- Toyota – All new Toyota vehicles come with ToyotaCare, offering complimentary scheduled service for two years or 25,000 miles. Additionally, they include two years of 24-7 roadside assistance with unlimited mileage.
- Volkswagen – VW offers regularly scheduled maintenance services free for two years or 20,000 miles.
- Jaguar –Jaguar takes top marks when it comes to complimentary service, providing free scheduled service for the first five years or 60,000 miles of ownership.
- Jeep – All new Jeep owners get enrolled in Jeep Wave Loyalty Program, which includes scheduled maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles.
- Volvo – Volvo includes complimentary regularly scheduled services for three years or 36,000 miles.
Other automakers offer service on select trims or in select markets only. Some of these include Lincoln, RAM, and Subaru. And, Ford offers purchase points that can be traded in and redeemed for many things, including free service.
Is Free Maintenance Worth It?
Free scheduled maintenance is a great perk to have when it comes to taking care of your new car. These services can save you a lot of money if your vehicle runs on pricey synthetic oil, or your service center charges a good amount.
But for some, they're not worth as much if your services don't cost as much – maybe only equaling a few hundred dollars. However, any savings can be appreciated with the cost of new vehicles today only continuing to rise.
Whether or not this service is enough to sway you to a specific type of car is really up to you and how much value you place on having scheduled service built-in.
