Conservative Car Buying

Many people would probably think that when buying a new car, they are broad minded. Some are no doubt, but not many. I say this by looking at car statistics. If people are indeed open minded about their car choice, then we would see more fluctuation between brands on sales charts. The reality is that in any given country, certain brands dominate a segment year after year, and others consistently fail to do so.

Of course, there are many reasons why, but the one focued on here is the reluctance many have to venture into new brands. What shapes private car buying decisions? A few are listed below:

1) A conveniently located dealer. Most people are not going to go too far out of their way unless they really want a particular model badly enough.

2) Loyalty: Some want to support a marque that is from their own country. Others may never consider an import brand to avoid a negative impression in the minds of others of disloyalty. For example, statistics indicate that German premium car buyers are very narrow minded when choosing a car. A Lexus for example? I don't think so.

3) Prejudice: A buyer may avoid a brand he has heard has had reliability issues in the past, even it no longer holds true. I read even now of people saying they would never buy a Jaguar due to this issue. Basic research would show Jaguars are generally reliable now. Car buyers should try to be more informed and up to date on such things.

4) Snobbery: Others only go for a car that they feel gives a certain positive impression to others. Why not buy a car that satisfies our real needs, not our ego (or our insecurities)?

To keep an open mind when buying a car, why not:

1) Find out which models that suit our real needs.
2) Search for the dealers that carry them.
3) Go to the dealer, look the car(s) over, have a reasonably good test drive.
4) Finalise a short list of which cars meet your needs, then haggle to see who has the sharpest pencil.
5) Don't be pressured to sign on the dotted line, but go home and weigh up value, quality, resale price and practicalness.

Then decide. You may end up purchasing a brand you had not thought of at the beginning of the process.

In summary: Be prepared to broaden your horizons when buying a new car.

Luxury Cars Are So Unreliable

When you part with your money to buy an expensive car, you expect it to be reliable. That monetary outlay should translate to it staying on the road. Well, whether buying a BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover or - as in the picture - a Lamborghini, expect plenty of repairs. Almost certainly the faults will be to do with the 'high tech' elements of these cars. I assume many buyers put up with these annoying gremlins because in many cases, they bought them as a status symbol anyway. They are also very pleasant to drive when they are running.

I bought a basic new car five years ago. It is very roomy, cheap to run and I think quite a nice shape. I asked the salesman as I bought it how reliable they are. He said, with unflinching confidence, that they would only see me for routine services. He added this model just does not break down. Now in its sixth year, nothing has gone wrong with it. I sometimes think of buying something else, but I'm so happy with it. I have such confidence in its longer term reliability too.

Which makes me wonder about premium cars. I paid less for my car that many premium cars depreciate in a year. Mine doesn't break down, they too often do. I'm happy, some of these luxury car owners want to take to their car with a hammer. Motoring journalists usually praise all the electronic accoutrements (bells and whistles) as if they are 'must have' items on this class of car. Maybe these motoring scribes need to meet the stranded and frustrated motorists to seek their opinion.

My Solution: Forget premium brands that are too technically advanced to be reliable. Buy a simple, reliable car. No snob value, but who cares. Then maybe, premium car makers will make sure their technical wizardry is sorted before foisting them on a gullible public.

Automotive Conundrums

A definition of a conundrum includes an insoluble, or difficult problem. I have a few automotive ones I would like to air.

Audi styling: I find it confusing and bemusing that Audi can make cars that all look much the same and so boringly styled, yet people actually buy them. As an example, take the A1. You could have a fun MINI, a trendy Citroen DS3 or even a funky Fiat 500, but surely not the Audi offering. It makes me realise how banal, how dull many motorists are when they would happily hand over hard earned money for an Audi. I wouldn't. Style surely counts for something.

Jaguar SUV: Actually, there isn't one and that is the point. All premium competitors have them, but not Jaguar. True, Land Rover does SUVs and they are one company, so let's not risk sales being canabalised eh what? However, VW, Porsche, Audi and Skoda all do SUVs too, and they are all in the same company. Sure, they may take some sales off each other, but mainly from the opposition. Jaguar could have gone the soft SUV whilst LR stayed with the more rugged variety, which it is anyway. No, this is a massive blunder that is costing the company so much money because it is a profitable segment to be in. That is why everyone else is doing it. I think Jaguar has some smarter people running it now.

Hyundai's New Model Identification: I'm not against letters or numbers on cars, if they are logical and there are not too many models. Hyundai has ditched car model names for this system. It started out alright, but as the roll out continues, I'm starting to get a glazed look come across my eyes when I try to comprehend what an i30 or i45 is. If the range is too big, it gets complicated to me while names do not have the same effect. Same goes for Mercedes Cl, CLK, CLS, SK, SLK...I'm getting that glazed look again.

Dull Toyotas: How can a company with the wealth and resources of the largest car maker in the world turn out a range of refrigerators on wheels. Actually, why are they the biggest car company in the world? Do people want to drive dull and reliable cars? Well many do in most parts of the world. One area they do not want dreary cars is Europe. If Toyota ever wants to conquer that region, it had better start building something actually nice to look at and satisfies passion. Zzzzzzzz.

Same old Porsche Sports Cars: I believe Porsche sports cars are a good drive. Pretty reliable too maybe. Notwithstanding, they look very similar to designs produced around the 1930s. I really do not think any Porsche is good looking (the Cayenne is just plain ugly), but they persist with this aged style. Some imagination is called for I think.