I learned this the hard way. The SAAB was an excellent car to drive, when it was not in the shop. I got tired of this, and sold it to the garage, when something cheap needed replacement (turn signal bulb). I was able to pay for it, but I didn’t want to see the bill, I was ready to toss a Molotov Cocktail in the car. Replace, repair, fix, correct, the list went on, and on, and on…
Ha! This makes me want to look for a used Maverick, but I live in the snowbelt. LOL
@seebear. I lived out in the country when I owned the Ford Maverick. I had studded snow tires and carried two 40# bags of water softener salt in the trunk. I was able to get to campus when faculty who lived a few blocks away couldn’t get out of their driveways. I picked them up on my way to work.
In one of the recent Consumers Reports there was an article that listed the average annual cost of repairs for cars by nameplate. It was ranked in cars less than 5 years of age and cars of 10 years of age. An example was BMW that was one of the lowest cost of repairs in first 5 years but the highest of all when the period was for 10 years. So not only the nameplate but age of the vehicle that makes the difference.
Ha, ha, very impressive. My grandma had a '73 Maverick, I liked the car, but I want FWD for my climate. The 40# bags are a good idea. I’m now thinking, more like a Crown Vic/Grand Marquis Ford product. A neighbor drives a Crown Vic. I am too spoiled from the 2.5 liter engine’s gas mileage. Most of the trucks I like are RWD too, I had a Ranger, and a B-Series; both the same truck.
@Ralph-66 Perhaps when buying a used car one should buy one over five years old that had a poor repair record its first five years. By the 6th year, the problems would be fixed. On the other hand, a vehicle that has a good record for its first five years, may be ready to have things go wrong.
… particularly if it was driven by a person who thinks that it is normal for the CEL to be lit-up. There are certainly a body of folks like that out there.
Do you recall a post, a few years ago, from a Maine woman who owned a Suzuki of some kind?
Her query was essentially as follows:
My Suzuki’s engine light has been lit up for the past 14 years. What is wrong with it?
I believe any modern/recent vehicle (domestic/foreign) would be similar to repair with the extra features considered luxury are common now including power lift gates.
I have had friends that have owned older 1980s-1990s Volvo. I always loved the looks and safety features. Have they always been considered luxury cars as they are being marketed as now? I wish Volvo still made smaller cars like the old V-40. My friend got rid of his 2000s Saab last year because it was becoming impossible to find parts and mechanics locally to work on them and expensive too. I wish you could get a new 2020 Volkswagen Golf for $20,000 or less.
What kind of problems were non covered if the car was under warranty I wonder? Tires? Brakes?
In the first 5 years 2-3 of those years warranty covers a lot of the costs. So those numbers could be skewed a bit.
Electrical. Because every time she brought it in with an electrical problem (liftgate refusing to close, brake system fault message, center stack blanking out, etc), they always diagnosed it as the battery and charged her $1,000 (not a typo) to install a new one. And despite me almost begging her to call me first, she just kept paying.
LAst volvo was 40 years ago - they refused to fix my heated seat . Last Saudi w as 35 years ago - they did not bother telling us the gas meters did not work and I ran out of gas … screw EURO foreign makers. they all suck … TOyota at least tries.
They manufacture cars in Saudi Arabia?
Probably SAAB, perils of spell check
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Of course my 59 VW had no gas meter at all. Too expensive. In fairness though it did have a one gallon reserve tank but I got to the point where I could predict within a mile when it would run out of gas.
Maybe the seat heater was out of warranty ? But how does that relate 40 years later … I guess by ( gas meters ) you mean the fuel gauge , It seems that a little observation would have been a clue . At least you don’t have to worry about buying a new Saudi ( SAAB ??? ) .
I would think it’s more likely Audi
My best friend during high school bought a used Renault Caravelle off a used car lot. It had the removable hardtop.
He got it home, and decided to take off the top. The moment he did, the car’s middle folded into a v-shape and sunk to the ground.
It turned out there was lots of undercarriage rust and the hardtop was holding it from collapsing earlier.
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