When you’re about to drop multiple tens of thousands of dollars on something as lavish as a new car, you really want to be looking for something that is as fun to drive as it is reliable. While finding the former is a relatively straightforward approach (after all, beauty is the eye of the beholder, and it’s based on your own preferences), the latter can be a little more challenging, particularly if you aren’t a car person. Luckily, when you understand what you’re searching for vis-a-vis reliability, things start to become a little more manageable. We will cover six valuable tips that you can use when on the lookout for a reliable set of wheels that you can purchase and drive away in, safe in the knowledge that you’ve made the correct choice and ensure that the dreaded buyer’s remorse stays well at bay!
Choose Manufacturers With Great Reputations
Let’s start off with an admittedly obvious point, but one that still needs to be reiterated from time to time: there are some manufacturers that build great cars, and others not so much. It’s pretty safe to say that almost all Japanese and Korean car brands have a well-earned reputation for quality. In fact, it has been said that while the Germans build their cars to incredibly tight tolerances because they believe that everyone understands how to keep them maintained (which is untrue and leads to various malfunctions), the Japanese build their cars based on the fact that most people won’t treat them ideally, and so they, therefore, need to be built accordingly. Whether true or not matters not; the fact is brands like Honda, Toyota, Kia et al. are all built with quality in mind and tend to get rave reviews. When looking at specific models, you can see this in practice, with the Honda Pilot reliability being something to behold. So when you’re seeking a very reliable vehicle, always consider what company is manufacturing them and go from there.
A Higher Cost Doesn’t Always Equal Higher Quality
To follow on slightly from that previous point, more expensive cars are not an automatic indicator of quality. A good case in point for this is looking at brands like Tesla and Land Rover. When it comes to cars like Teslas, while they usually run well, their build quality isn’t exactly what they’re known for (as in they’re well-known for being poor quality). Regarding something like a Land Rover…well, the less said about them, the better, but to put it bounty, they usually lie pretty low on any survey related to reliability. In fact, the same can even be said for many German brands, which have long lost their reliability credentials to the Asian brands, and embarrassingly also to some American brands that, to be fair, have really upped their quality game without raising prices too high.
Check Online Reviews And See What Others Are Saying
If you want to get the average consumer’s point of view, you need to check online reviews and forums dedicated to car reliability metrics or the models and brands you are interested in. Existing owners will be in the best position to comment on what has gone well and what has cost them a fortune in repairs. By tallying up multiple reviews, you will gain a better overview of what to expect with certain cars.
Read Professional Motoring Publications
Although you will gain a lot of value from reading a genuine consumer’s review, professional car reviewers can also provide a decent overview of a car and, in some cases, provide you with information that the average driver may not be aware of. Just make sure that they are not getting paid in terms of a sponsored review, as these tend to be biased towards the company offering them money. Not all the time, but something to be mindful of nonetheless.
Look At Warranty Coverage
When a manufacturer offers a staggeringly good warranty for the cars they make, it’s a good indication that they are confident that things won’t go wrong. The standard is usually three years (depending on legal jurisdiction), but some car makers offer much longer. Hyundai offers a five-year warranty, while Kia offers a seven-year one, giving you a pretty good idea of how assured they are in their product. You also ought to double-check what is offered in their warranty as a three-year option can still be excellent as long as it is comprehensive enough.
Trust Your Instincts
We will finish off with what you might consider a slightly wishy-washy tip, but one that you will understand when you begin looking around. After taking a test drive or looking at build quality, you will develop a gut instinct on what is quality and what will fall apart, like a clown car a year or two after driving out of the lot.
Choosing a reliable car is not a task that comes easily to most folks, but the consequences of getting it wrong can be mostly. Using these tips should put you in good stead to drive away feeling happy that you’ve made the right choice, and with a little bit of love and care, it should last you for years.
