An Auto in good working condition is our companion otherwise a big headache! Big Repair Bill!
What choice do we have! Either repair it or buy a new one if older than 10 years. People with money normally don't keep a vehicle more than 3 to 5 years. Following are choices for new or used vehicles:
Domestic Vehicles: Luxury class: Cadillac, Lincoln, Town and Country....
Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Saturn.....
Japanese Vehicles: Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru, Mitsubishi....
Korean Vehicles: Hyundai, Kia...
European Vehicles: Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, VW, Jaguar......
Which car is better? Which car has more luxury? Which car has more safety? Which car has more gas mileage? Which car has more reliability? Which car has least cost of maintenance? Which car has more muscles? Which car has more class?
Most manufacturers provide at least 5 years warranty or up to 1,00,000 km. Some manufacturers are providing even longer warranties. Normally car sales people have their own interest to sell you something within a range they have.
So it is a good idea to do your research before you buy any vehicle. Mid size vehicles are easy pick for most of people. But people who are buying luxury vehicle or a small car should be most careful about their choice! Why? Lets talk about people who want to go for smallest possible car because they want to save on gas and may be monthly payment as well. I would advice them to think twice before going for small car. Biggest reason in my opinion is the safety of driver and passengers. The impact on small vehicle during accident is so severe due to its light weight and flimsy structure that you may suffer a major injury, which otherwise could have been preventable had you been driving a mid size vehicle.
On other hand, when you buying a luxury car or large size vehicle, make sure you are aware about the vehicle insurance cost, the gas mileage, common failures and its repair cost. Some vehicles like Hummers and other similar size vehicles might look like your dream vehicle, but make sure you have a deep pocket for gas pump. Most European high end vehicles have luxury and class, but make sure you have the affordability for regular service and repairs. If a car is expensive to buy, it is common sense that its repair parts are going to be expensive as well. Not only that some cars are so sensitive to repairs that even after repair, they wouldn't give you same performance as before unless you get it repaired by dealers only which may cost you 2 to 3 times more expensive than regular mechanic.
I see lot of higher end European cars on roads of Surrey, BC. Most of these cars are used cars either bought locally or imported from United States of America. It is very important for these owners to keep in mind that the parts and repair costs are quite expensive on these vehicles and not every mechanic shop have the proper diagnostic equipment and tools and know how to fix such higher end cars. Even if you buy these cars dirt cheap, its repair and parts are not cheap.
In general domestic vehicles are cheaper to buy unless you are buying Cadillac or Lincoln! High end European vehicles are most expensive to buy! Japanese are in between! How about Korean!
Well they are really headache for domestic, Japanese and European manufacturers at this time.
They are cheap to buy like domestic, gas savvy like Japanese, luxurious like European!
Since there are so many choices to select from, sometimes longer warranty and low interest rates also becomes big factors when buying a car other than quality, luxury, safety and gas mileage features.
But gone are the days when you buy expensive vehicle and it does not cost you much in repair! Whether it is Mercedes, BMW, Land Rover, Honda, Hyundai, Chrysler, Ford or GMC ... they are all becoming expensive in repair due to expensive parts, complicated electrical and electronic diagnosis and labor cost.
Always check reviews on internet forums before buying any car. Sometimes highly rated manufacturers also comes with crappy models. All manufacturers try to come up with something new and advance and every new thing is not necessarily the best.
Some Japanese cars are suffering from quality issues ever since their production started in North America. Normally if a Honda or Toyota vehicle ends up with a transmission problem and it comes to my shop, I was almost certain that the VIN number of that vehicle would start with 1 or 2 and not J. J stands for vehicles manufactured in Japan and 1 or 2 stands for North America.
Normally reviews on internet could give you lot of heads up before you buy a new or used cars. For more information: please check in near future on www.One-Auto.com. or write a comment or a question.
Jaguar XF Review (via www.behindthewheel.com.au)
