5 SUVs That'll Lose You Thousands of Dollars in Retirement
Cars don’t just cost you differing amounts up front. Some cost far more to maintain and refuel than others and lose value at different rates.
For retirees on a fixed income, a major SUV repair can derail your budget and deplete your nest egg. Watch out for these SUVs in particular, that are more likely to lose you thousands in retirement.
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1. Land Rover Range Rover
Drivers love the combination of luxury and ruggedness that Range Rovers pull off — but they don’t love the repair bills or depreciation.
In fact, these SUVs lose nearly 74% of their value in the first five years, according to CarEdge.
That's to say nothing of their terrible reliability. A 2026 dependability study by J.D. Power found that Land Rovers suffer the third most repair problems of any brand.
2. Jeep Grand Cherokee
Sadly, the same goes for the Grand Cherokee. Jeep ranks just ahead of Land Rovers for repair problems, per J.D. Power, and Consumer Reports ranks them third worst for reliability.
Grand Cherokees lose over half (54%) of their value within five years, per CarEdge.
“Part of the reason for the depreciation is that when Grand Cherokees approach 100,000 miles, they have an elevated risk of engine oil leaks and subsequent problems,” said automotive industry expert Melanie Musson with AutoInsurance.org.
3. Ford Expedition
CarEdge says the Expedition loses 59% of its value in the first five years of ownership, which reflects its so-so reliability and monstrous fuel guzzling.
A full-size SUV built on a truck chassis, it’s just not designed for most drivers, much less the average retiree.
“Unless you need that kind of toughness, it’s hard to justify blowing so much on fuel and fast depreciation,” said Musson. “A major contributor to that depreciation is the turbocharged V6 engine — the turbocharger will eventually fail and when it does, the cost to replace it is about $5,000.”
4. Porsche Cayenne
Plenty of retirees would love to combine the responsiveness of a sports car with the higher seat and view of an SUV.
Unfortunately, the Cayenne will cost you far more than the (already high) purchase price.
“It’s fun to drive and a delight on the road, but oil changes alone are pricey and Cayennes have notorious mechanical needs as they age,” said Scotty Reiss of A Girl’s Guide to Cars. “Repairs are quite costly and most will not fall under the warranty.”
5. Volkswagen ID.4
Retirees looking for an electric SUV should skip the ID.4 and save themselves some serious headaches.
To begin with, the ID.4 depreciates fast, shedding 63% of its value in the first five years. Dan O’Hare at Cox Motor Parts said that’s no coincidence:
“It came last in reliability rankings among electric SUVs by What Car?, with nearly 36% of the owners citing at least one repair problem with it.”
Volkswagen in general has struggled with dependability in recent years. J.D. Power found that VW had the most repair problems of any car brand, ranking dead last on the list for reliability.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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