Ratings of repair ease

Maintenance/Repairs
21

A couple of the comments here tell me folks didn’t read very carefully… Nevada_545, I don’t know why you would assume this is a “high school research project”… you are way off base. looking for valid feedback on them, per the questions I posted… not miss-informed editorial. She isn’t going to “camp” either. Nowhere did I use that term. As you can tell, that ticked me off. Next time, read a post twice before replying.

I’m buying the vehicle for her; she won’t have payments to deal with, and I set the bar at $60K as that was the highest MSRP I saw at a glance. Not going to buy Used, either. I want a brand new vehicle for her, with extended warranty and as high a safety and reliability rating as I can find that meets her needs and desires.

As for the repairs, I knew she wouldn’t be able to rebuild a transmission, replace a leaking radiator, or fix a cracked head (grin) … I was hoping for (and should have been clearer) feedback from folks who drive/have driven these type of vehicles, about anything you have repaired on them. Wipers, flats, headlights, etc. I know next to nothing about SUV’s and 4WD, other than having driven a few on odd occasions. Never off-road, a few times on dirt ones.

I own a classic Mustang, a Starsky and Hutch Gran Torino, and a 2006 Mustang GT. I can repair anything on the first two… and have… but the new one, the most complicated repair I can do in my garage is replace the brake discs and pads… (grin). That’s kind of what I was looking for. Sorry I wasn’t more specific. I’ll certainly go through Consumer Reports as well, thanks “mountainbike”.

Thanks to all of you who shared your personal experiences and impressions, especially in regards to the Jeeps, and the Europeans. I’m going to test drive both Jeeps, the Land Rover and Range Rover, and the Volvo today… just so I can give her my impressions. She will go through all the data I’ve assembled, probably cull the list down to a handful, and she will test-drive those before Labor Day weekend.

22

Toyota hybrids are extremely reliable.

23

Unless you’re the one paying the freight, be sure to actively involve her in the decision at the very beginning of the process. Handing her tons of data that you’ve collated, screened, and sorted may be well intentioned, but I’m not sure it’s the best way to go about helping. No offense meant, but not having heard from her I hope your efforts will be welcomed. I’ve seen relationships go straight down the porcelain from things like this.

24

Your feedback is appreciated, but in fact she is not only involved from the beginning, it was her request for help that prompted that list. She is the type of person that needs a large amount of (pertinent) data to begin with, from which she culls the information to make a decision. On the down side, once she has made a choice, she sticks with it… even if it turns out she was wrong. “Oh well, next time I’ll know better”. (grin) In this case she used my knowledge about cars, how to research same, and my “gearhead” nature to help her get info without taking hours and days to learn first what she would need to know. Thanks again for your input!

25

Do you have a copy of the Consumer Reports new car buyers guide?

26

Just for the record, Nevada is one of the most reliable and knowledgeable posters here so don’t get too upset if someone misunderstands a question or add their own comments for free.

27

Identified provides more information, but it is a subscription service for mechanics. It would give you the information you want about problem areas for newer cars since the subscribers report work that they do on their customer’s cars. I don’t know how much it costs (it is probably expensive) and I don’t know if they would sell it to a consumer. Here is the URL if you are interested:

https://www.identifix.com/index.html

28

"once she has made a choice, she sticks with it… even if it turns out she was wrong."
Ahhhh, it’s good to know I’m not the only one… {:smiley:
I’m glad she’s involved… and glad you’re helping her. Sounds like a truly good friendship.

29

First , select a vehicle that is less likely to break down. Consumer Reports has likely published the reliability ratings on all of those in the list, so check through those one by one for the vehicles of interest, that is job one.

Second, select a vehicle that is commonly used in the area your friend is going. There will be more mechanics there who’ll know how to service it, and parts will be more readily available.

Third, keep things simple. Equip the vehicle only w/the options actually needed. If possible, equip w/a manual transmission rather than an automatic.