Next used vehicle purchase, what should it be ?
Aaron Strand, Owner of Minnesota Automotive, has 30 years in the auto repair business gives his do’s and don't s …
There are so many choices out there, how do we know which vehicle to pick ?
Number 1 for most customers is budget and cost of ownership. There is a lot of misinformation when it comes to cost of ownership.
In general the Auto Industry want’s you to believe there vehicle has lower cost of ownership by pushing the recommend maintenance to be longer and longer, pushing 10,000 mile oil changes and lifetime transmissions. Well that might work for customer at first when they’re the first owner and trade the vehicle in before it’s at 100k miles. This is bad for the second owner of the vehicle may have many major repair bill’s as the vehicle has not been maintenance-ted well or enough. With the complex engines in the new vehicles oil changes and general maintenance is more important then ever.
Vehicles requiring full synthetic motor oil should have oil changes done every 4k to 5k and conventional motor oil should be every 3,000 miles still. They can still, can be pushed to 4K if doing a lot of Highway driving.
Aaron's stay away list for the most issue’s
2012 -2019 Nissan’s with a CVT transmission
2011-2018 Kia’s and Hyundai’s with the 2.4L four cylinder engine
2011-2019 Ford Focus with the duel clutch auto transmission
2009-2013 Chevy Equinox, GMC Terrain with the 2.4 L Ecotec engine known to timing chain issue’s.
Any older Audi, VW, BMW or Mercedes Benz, exotic’s over 80k miles these vehicles could cost thousands in repairs as they age..
Any year Jaguar, Ranger Rover as these vehicles do not age well, and did not sell well and cost thousands to repair when they break down.
The best for reliability and low cost of ownership
1) Any Toyota almost every year, in general they have been over built and could last over 300k if they are taken care of. Normally the body or frame will go bad for the mechanical’s go bad.
2) Any Honda or Acura expect the Odyssey van have some issue’s as they age. Generally the Honda’s hold together better, and will hold there value better and have a lower cost of ownership then most other brands, the frames may go bad with rust before the mechanical goes bad.
All other brands not listed have average reliability, yes certain years may have more of an issues but made up for with other years being better and more reliable. Feel free to reach out to Minnesota Automotive for advice and remember to have your used vehicle checked by a trusted Mechanic before your next purchase, like; our shop for example. Buy the vehicle that fits your needs has the style you would like and is in your budget, if you need a lower cost of Ownership buy a Toyota or Honda after a professional checks out the vehicle for you.
In closing stay away from salvaged vehicles and check your Carfax report to see if the vehicle has been in an accident and has had the proper maintenance to have the best chance of being lower cost.