Another thing in favor of used cars is that any accessories they have, suchas cool aftermarket wheels, or toppers on pickup trucks, are rarely worth
more than 30 percent to 40 percent of what they cost new, increasing yourbang for the buck when you shop used.
FREQUENCY OF REPAIRS
Beyond the question of new or used, there comes your tolerance for repairsand breakdowns. Simply put, Asian-made automobiles are the most reliable (^)
and durable. American brands from what used to be known as the “BigThree” (Chevrolet, Chrysler and Ford) have massively closed the gap in (^)
short-term reliability over the first year, though they tend to lag a bit overthe longer haul. European brands are, in general, a distant third. If you’re (^)
covered by a warranty or service plan, the panache and driving pleasureserved up by a Benz or BMW can be hard to beat. But for day-in, day-out (^)
trustworthiness, it’s hard to beat products from the Far East.
My own personal experiences back this up: I’ve owned something close to50 cars (yeah, I know, it’s a sickness). Of those, I’ve had Hondas that never (^)
needed anything but routine maintenance, even at large six-figure mileagefigures, to various European exotica that almost ate me alive with repairs
and depreciation.
Thankfully, consumers are demanding and cars just keep getting more andmore reliable. JD Power and other firms measure the number of problems
cars have both when new and a few years old—and, in general, thestatistics are better most every year.