Many of us have to drive long distance to work due to expensive housing costs in Silicon Valley. Our cars would rack up miles quickly and deteriorate faster due to stop and go on congested highways daily. When our kids graduated from colleges and need a car for their new jobs, we tend to help them to get new cars hoping would last them a long time. Inexpensive cars don’t mean UN-reliable cars, but if you don’t do research, you may get into UN-reliable ones, you will lose money on the resale and headache to keep them running. According to “13 New Cars To Avoid For 2016“, there are a few inexpensive, economical cars that fall into the “UN-reliable and LOW-resale”.
- Dodge Dart – Reliability is -81 (CR) – Resale: 42% after 3 years and 28% after 5 years.
- Ford Focus – Reliability is -118 (Consumer Report) – Resale: N/A.
- Ford Fiesta – Reliability is -267 (CR) – Resale: 44%/3 years and 29%/5 years.
- Chrysler 200 – Reliability is -46 (CR) – Resale: 41%/3 years and 29%/5 years.
SUV:
- Chevrolet Suburban – Reliability is -154 (CR) – Resale: 47%/3 years and 32%/5 years.
- Dodge Journey – Reliability is – 79 (CR) – Resale: 38%/3 years and 24%/5 years.
- Jeep Cherokee – Reliability is “POOR” – Resale: 45%/3 years and 33%/5 years.
- Jeep Compass – Reliability is “POOR” – Resale: 36%/3 years and 26%/5 years.
- Jeep Patriot – Reliability is -45 – Resale: 37%/3 years and 27%/5 years.
- Nissan Pathfinder – Reliability is -126 – Resale: 44%/3 years and 28%/5 years.
Luxury:
- Infinity Q50 – Reliability is -64 – Resale: 46%/3 years and 32%/5 years.
- Cadillac ATS – Reliability is -120 – Resale: 43%/3 years and 31%/5 years.
- Acura RLX – Reliability is -68 – Resale: 47%/3 years and 30%/5 years.
Look at the resale values, they seem to drop according to the reliability of the cars. Average inexpensive cars these days ~$15000, if after 5 years they only worth 26% = $3900. Simple cost of depreciation (NOT maintenance for fixing) ~ $2200/year ~ $185/month for driving a not so desirable car. It’s better to lease a better one for the same monthly cost that offered by many nice cars these days – or buy a nice used disposable car.
