The most expensive (and most affordable) car models to repair

Atlanta drivers know how much wear and tear traffic can put on car. And all that wear and tear can lead to some pretty pricey repairs depending on the kind of car you drive.

Repair Pal -- the author repair estimator website -- recently conducted a study to determine which cars are the most and least expensive to repair, and some of the findings may come as a surprise.

The study used Repair Pal's proprietary database of auto repair pricing nationwide to calculate the average cost of four common auto repairs—water pump, alternator, brake pad replacement, and oil change service. The pulled the data for 40 popular 2010 car models from a representative sample of U.S. zip codes.

In general, the study found that hybrids like the Toyota Prius often cost less to repair than other cars.

While compacts are generally considered to be affordable cars, it turns out that repairs on compacts like the Volkswagen Jetta can be more costly to repair than some luxury cars and SUVs.

In some cases, SUVs are the most affordable car models to repair and while we may want to buy American, one of the three most expensive car models to repair was born in the USA (the Lincoln MKZ.)

Here is a look at the top 10 most expensive and the top 10 most affordable car models to repair with the average repair cost. (For the full rankings of all 40 cars surveyed, visit RepairPal.com.)

Top 10 Most Expensive Car Models to Repair

Top 10 Most Affordable Car Models to Repair