4 ms·

You mean the brand specifically, or used cars at all? I'd always heard (and acted on) the advice that the sweet spot when buying a car is a few years in, when y

by SilasX 4y ago

You mean the brand specifically, or used cars at all? I'd always heard (and acted on) the advice that the sweet spot when buying a car is a few years in, when you're no longer paying the shiny-and-new premium but it's otherwise reliable -- i.e. someone else has eaten the bulk of the depreciation. They generally segment out the bad-with-money crowd by the ridiculous financing/lease surcharges, not new vs used, right? (If anything, I'd say the bad-with-money people will unnecessarily prefer new over used.)

ska 4y ago
The sweet spot is a few years in, but also not a luxury badge. Reliability and service cost is a significant factor too. Landrover is a double whammy here, as it is a luxury badge (which typically puts you firmly in the overpriced parts and labor category) and has middling-to-poor reliability...
robocat 4y ago
Reliable information on future maintenance costs is hard to find, but https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/the-most-and-least-expensive-cars-to-maintain-by-maddy-martin https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/the-most-and-least-expe... is a 2016 article which might help. Per model costs can only be reliably measured for old models. New models are usually difficult to predict. I think more generally product brands are becoming harder to use as predictors of good reliability. Disclaimer: I now avoid anything except 2nd hand Toyota - but New Zealand car market is weird due to 2nd hand imports from Japan
quickthrowman 4y ago
A used Toyota or Honda was typically a smart purchase before the recent used car shortage, and still sometimes a good deal even during the last two years. Used luxury cars in general aren’t a great deal, since you typically pay higher maintenance costs on a luxury car. They’re lower volume cars, so there are fewer parts made, leading to more expensive parts. Replacing the airbag suspension compressor in a Land Rover costs $5k+, each of the (four) suspension airbag costs a few thousand dollars to replace and they usually need replacing after 100k miles. Financing rates are how people who are bad with money with bad credit get fleeced, 17% 7 year loans for instance. There are people that are bad with money but have good credit, you fleece them by flattering their ego with an $1895 ‘executive concierge service’.

by SilasX 4y ago

ska 4y ago

The sweet spot is a few years in, but also not a luxury badge. Reliability and service cost is a significant factor too. Landrover is a double whammy here, as it is a luxury badge (which typically puts you firmly in the overpriced parts and labor category) and has middling-to-poor reliability...

robocat 4y ago

Reliable information on future maintenance costs is hard to find, but https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/the-most-and-least-expensive-cars-to-maintain-by-maddy-martin https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/the-most-and-least-expe... is a 2016 article which might help. Per model costs can only be reliably measured for old models. New models are usually difficult to predict. I think more generally product brands are becoming harder to use as predictors of good reliability. Disclaimer: I now avoid anything except 2nd hand Toyota - but New Zealand car market is weird due to 2nd hand imports from Japan

quickthrowman 4y ago

A used Toyota or Honda was typically a smart purchase before the recent used car shortage, and still sometimes a good deal even during the last two years. Used luxury cars in general aren’t a great deal, since you typically pay higher maintenance costs on a luxury car. They’re lower volume cars, so there are fewer parts made, leading to more expensive parts. Replacing the airbag suspension compressor in a Land Rover costs $5k+, each of the (four) suspension airbag costs a few thousand dollars to replace and they usually need replacing after 100k miles. Financing rates are how people who are bad with money with bad credit get fleeced, 17% 7 year loans for instance. There are people that are bad with money but have good credit, you fleece them by flattering their ego with an $1895 ‘executive concierge service’.