When it comes to car purchases there are a lot of things buyers don't think of before the purchase. 1. Maintenance, 2. cost of repairs, and 3. quality of the car.
Economic cars are cheap upfront and more appealing to the wallet. Payments are usually cheap and gas mileage is typically pretty good. (examples Chevy Aveo, Toyota Echo, Honda Civic, light weight cars)
Higher end cars are obviously more expensive upfront, better quality, average gas mileage, and more comfortable. Lexus, BMWs, Mercedes, ect..
One thing a lot of consumers over look on both ends of the car purchasing grid is "maintenance". What is it going to cost to keep this car running top notch? What are the factory scheduled maintenance schedules (FSM)? and How long should this car last?
Economic cars typically have transmission flushes due every 30,000 miles, while higher end cars can go 60,000 or more, some are lifetime. Economic cars are due for spark plugs more frequently too. Higher end cars mostly use Iridium spark plugs which are suppose to last 90,000-100,000 miles. I say that's pushing it but the manufacturers say it can go that long. For some reason economic cars are lighter in weight than a high end car and they go through brakes faster. They also wear out wheel bearings faster. I don't know if that's from a poor or cheap design but they wear out. from what I have seen in my experience is economic cars are good for about 150,000 miles if maintained. Higher end cars will get 200-300,000 miles if properly maintained.
Oh I should add another thing. MILITARY PERSONNEL!!!!! Pay Attention. A car dealership will get you financed for just about any car you want because they will make sure they get the payment through an allotment. I know this I am a former US Army soldier myself (8 years active). I have seen soldiers (E4's and E5's) come back from Iraq or Afghanistan with a nice down payment and go buy an $80k car.. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING??? Then when it comes time for some brake work you have to go get an AER loan to pay for it. Buy the time you get that paid off you have another outrages car expense due, like tires. Most higher end cars take low profile tires at some odd ball size. Then your looking at close to $300 per tire. Do yourself a favor, you're in the service buy a cheap reliable car. You're going to be moving around a lot, the car is going to rack up miles and get beat to death anyways. In the end you will be the soldier who still has good credit and has money in the bank and can afford to take his or her girlfriend or boyfriend out on a nice date or buy a house.
So in a nutshell what it comes down to is buy what you can afford. If you have a good paying job and can afford the repairs then get the car you want. If you're working at McDonalds or something don't go buying a used BMW because it's a "dope" car. You're not going to think it's "dope" when it breaks down. Then you have a fancy car parked in your driveway growing mold.
Quick review Economic cars are cheaper but have more FSMs. Higher end cars are more expensive but have less FSMs.
signed,
Your Service Manager
