If your last trip to the dealer for an oil change took half a day and cost more than you expected, you’re not imagining it. And if your new luxury car feels like it came with less than your last one, you’re not imagining that either.
This week Porsche said the quiet part out loud: it plans to raise the average price of its most expensive models by about 20% while cutting what it spends to build them. Here’s what the numbers say about car service and luxury cars right now.
Is getting your car serviced getting worse?
It’s getting more expensive and it’s still slow, even though satisfaction scores ticked up. Prices for vehicle maintenance and repair rose 5.2% in the 12 months through August, faster than overall inflation of 3.4%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Routine maintenance and servicing jumped 7.9%, Autobody News reported.
Time is the other problem. J.D. Power’s 2026 dealer service study found maintenance visits take about three times longer at dealerships than at independent shops: 1.61 hours on average for mass-market brands and 2.46 hours for luxury brands, while 62% of aftermarket visits take under an hour, Auto Remarketing reported. Overall dealer satisfaction actually rose slightly, to 868 out of 1,000, so the experience inside the dealership is improving even as the bill and the wait grow.
Are luxury car brands giving you less for more?
In some ways, yes. The clearest example came Thursday. Porsche plans to raise the average price of its top models from about €270,000 to more than €330,000, roughly $370,000, by the end of the decade, Motor1 reported. At the same time, it wants to cut product development spending by 20%, trim the number of model versions by about 20%, lower material costs for next-generation models by 10% and cut warranty costs by 45%. It has also agreed with unions to eliminate 9,000 jobs by 2035.
The other trend is subscriptions. Features that used to come with the car now often come with a monthly bill. BMW still charges for some functions after backing off heated-seat subscriptions, and its new iX3 offers a 360-degree camera by subscription in some markets. Cadillac sells its Super Cruise hands-free driving as a subscription. Tesla removed basic Autosteer from all Model 3 and Model Y trims in January and now sells it through its $99-a-month Full Self-Driving package, BGR reported.
How much does a new car cost now?
The average new vehicle sold for $50,089 in August, up 1.9% from a year earlier, according to Kelley Blue Book. The average sticker price was $51,852. Dealers are also discounting less: incentives averaged 6.5% of the price, down from 7.2% a year ago. Tariffs on European-built cars add pressure on brands like Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Porsche.
How can you avoid getting overcharged?
- Use an independent shop for routine work once you’re out of warranty. Maintenance doesn’t have to be done at the dealer to keep most warranties valid, as long as you keep records.
- Ask for the price before the work, in writing, and ask which items are required by your maintenance schedule and which are upsells.
- Read the feature list for the word “trial.” Many connected features are free for a year or three, then become a subscription.
- Compare the out-the-door price, not the monthly payment, when shopping for a new car.
The BeezLoop Take
The car business has figured out that the most profitable customer is the one who keeps paying after they drive off the lot. Higher service bills, monthly fees for features already built into the car and fewer discounts all point the same way. Porsche is just being more honest about it than most: charge more, spend less building it, and count on the badge to close the gap.
None of that means luxury cars are bad. BMW topped Consumer Reports’ luxury reliability rankings this year, and plenty of buyers are happy. But if you’re paying a premium, you should get a premium experience, and right now that often means a two-and-a-half-hour wait and a subscription prompt.
The open question: how long will buyers keep paying more before the badge stops being worth it?
Also on BeezLoop: what a 5% 10-year Treasury yield does to your car note, and Americans owe $1.26 trillion on credit cards.
Sources: Motor1 · The Irish Times · J.D. Power 2026 Customer Service Index, via Auto Remarketing · Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI, via Autobody News · Kelley Blue Book / Cox Automotive · BGR · CNBC (video)
