Don’t get me wrong, I see some value in that pursuit in more ways than one. It’s just the attitude they project about it, especially at Jalopnik. If you’re a young guy who wants to learn to wrench, or a retiree with all the the time in the world to invest on keeping your dream car running, more power to you. But for the rest of us in the middle relying on their cars to pick kids up, stuff like that… you’re gonna like having that warranty and minimal/complimentary maintenance at your disposal!
Well it’s an automotive enthusiast site, so it’s expected. Especially since it has a younger slant.
Go on cnet or consumer reports and their advice will be a cpo Camry because that’s the typical reader. Late 30’s family guy who doesn’t care about cars, just wants the lowest cost of ownership possible.
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Those are definitely good suggestions, especially if you plan on keeping it for awhile. CPO Toyotas/Hondas in a lot of cases aren’t THAT much cheaper than their new counterparts though. The Jalopnik/Dave Ramsey crowd telling everyone to buy stuff like this and pay cash just aren’t being realistic for most people. The majority of people are gonna take out a loan, and maybe not go the CPO route either to save a few bucks and make the payment hit the budget. Which means they will still be on the hook for maintenance and consumables along the way. Even a rock solid Camry or Accord is gonna need tires, brakes, etc. It might even be immediate depending on the initial condition. Then again I just found out that my Acadia’s tires are down to 2/32" after 20 months and ~25k miles so what the hell do I know. 60k mileage rating my @$$! Regardless, I think that stuff like that (in most cases lol) is overlooked by a lot of these people, in addition to not ending up on the hook for unexpected depreciation, accidents in particular.
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If you want something reliable and dirt cheap to maintain you’re going to have to give up a lot of creature comforts as every electronic gadget will add both complexity and an associated repair cost when it eventually stops working.
That being said, cash for clunkers really harmed the marketplace for cheap, simple cars and most people who have them now won’t get rid of them for anything less than a king’s ransom in comparative value. Case in point: Toyota Hilux (AKA Pickup)
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