There are a hell of a lot of great cars on the market these days. Not that my opinion is the gospel. I have owned many vehicles over the years though. Both domestic and imports. I have always been one to service my own vehicles. I had as much ability to work in the service center as I did selling on the front lot.
Over the years I have come to favor Japanese imports. Simply because I want my car to do what it is supposed to when I need it to rather than roll around in my gravel driveway working on it. I have owned many Toyota over the years and currently I am Subaru owner. Both Toyota and Subaru are my favorite makes of car. Simply because of their reliability and reputation. I drive a 1996 Subaru SVX with over 140k miles if that says anything. I couldn't ask for a more reliable car for being over 15 years old. Routine maintenance has kept it happy and I think I could drive it another 15 years if I wanted to. I have a high regard for both Nissan and Honda as well. All of the high line import companies make outstanding vehicles as well. Such as Lexus (Toyota), Acura (Honda), and Infinity (Nissan). As far as domestics go though. I have always found Buicks to be a dependable car and have owned a few of them myself over the years. VW has gotten my attention in the last few years even though I have never been a big advocate of European cars simply due to costly repairs and mechanical designs which are a bit more complex and obscure than most in the rest of the world. The Europeans are pioneers when it comes to performance hence the price tag. The most cutting edge technology costs big bucks to design though.
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| You can't go wrong with a Subaru |
When it comes to cars. First impressions are everything. You know what you like. It has to start there. Some vehicles are better than others in terms of quality but it has to be appealing to you. After all, you and this car may have a relationship for many years. Once you have narrowed it down to a few possibilities it is time to do your research on what people are saying about that car. Consumer Reports or MotorTrend is a great place to get reviews and opinions on new vehicles to help you make an educated decision on which car you should buy. Type some searches into Google as well to find articles by people who own the car you are interested in. Look for any recall information or any reoccurring problems that may plague the vehicle you may be wanting.
Next to design and my initial feelings about the appearance of a vehicle. Cost to own is the next important thing to me. Not the price tag on the initial purchase. You get what you pay for. Sure you may pay a bit more of a premium for those vehicles that have great reputations. Like with anything though. You get what you pay for. Cost of insurance, cost of maintenance, and fuel economy are just a few things you should be taking into consideration when buying a car especially if you are watching your money. That low payment may look appealing on the lesser model but if you are having to dump a few grand in that car every year to keep it road worthy. In reality, your payment isn't so low. Divide a few grand over 12 months and you quickly see that is a lot of extra money every month. Wouldn't you rather to pay for some extra quality up front knowing that routine maintenance is all you will be investing in later?
I sold Toyotas through the recall woes they suffered. I will always say to this day that it was blown WAY out of proportion and was nothing more than a media FEAST! Even after the recalls I spoke with many of my customers that said they wouldn't give their car up for anything. Which just further extenuates why you need to hear what owners of the vehicle you are interested in are really saying. Since the bailouts of the domestic manufacturers though. I think there has been a really huge shift in quality. In the last few years I have witnessed an evening of the playing field in terms of quality. I have never been a real huge Ford or Chevy fan over the years but their recent "do or die" situation they were faced with forced them to step things up quite a bit and while their mechanical quality may not be quite there with it's Japanese competitor's. I think it's getting damn close. As far as Mopar goes. I think their styling usually knocks it out of the park. However, mechanically I think they are one of the biggest turds on the planet. Not to mention usually carry some of the worst resale values you will ever find. I recall driving many used Mopar's as a potential trade in and always said the same thing before I got halfway down the road. "Why would you want to own one of these?" Anything from check engine lights, bad steering racks, and pre-maturely worn out suspension are things I would usually notice. I still cannot figure out how a company builds one of the fastest cars on the planet to botch the rest of the line like they do. Hopefully for them and the sake of US production they can pull it together like their other Detroit counterparts but only time will tell. One to stay away from for now in my opinion.
If I were to walk out the door today I would feel good about buying any Japanese import with the exception being Suzuki (never ever buy a Suzuki car. absolute junk!). I wouldn't be opposed to looking at a new Buick Lucerne or VW Jetta either just to name a few. Korea is sneaking up in the market though as well. Both Kia and Hyundai (same parent company) are some ones to watch even though I think their over all fit, finish, and feel needs to improve a bit. They carry a nice 100k mile/10 year warranty for the first owner though which holds great value in itself.
My opinions are based on the many new and pre-owned I have had the opportunity to drive and even get under the hood of. I primarily formed opinions on how well the used were holding up after some use. I like to know how well a vehicle is still performing after 50-100k miles and these are the types of facts you should be looking for too. I like to put 200-300k miles on a car without little trouble in doing so. That is why I feel strongly about the vehicles I like. If there is one car buying tip I can give in regards to the type of vehicle you buy is that quality and cost to own go together hand in hand. Just my two cents.
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