And there in lies the answer. It might not make a difference where you are, but if you are out and about. Occasionally you need something fixed. Probably no sweat for any model in LA. But in small town America, much different. Like my little area, no Kia dealers, nearest is 140 miles away. Chevys, Fords, Toyota, and Honda are everywhere in small town America.
Ha! Some of those old Euro's were a pain in the backside too! I rode to work daily back in the 60s with a guy that had a Jag. Six cylinder with three, mechanical linkage up draft carbs. That sucker needed adjustment going for cold to warm, and a little different daily. But he liked it!
I like driving my ride thru wine country and cruising along the Oregon coast like my wife just did this weekend and it feeling like a dream. That smell of handcrafted leather, steering and handling created by German engineers that know their shit FAMS. Some things are worth paying for in my opinion. You like fancy shoes and fine dining.....THE HCP loves to drive.
I buy a new car and keep it for 15 or 20 years. We've had our present car for 14 years and now we need one that can accept a power wheel chair. My wife is just too old and too small to be lifting a wheel chair in and out of the trunk of our current Camry. Got to give her a break. This next car may well be our last so gonna go for all the bells and whistles.
When you get that first riding mower you'll never go back! You can't....you quit walking and then the inevitable happens....next will be the electric shopping cart!
Careful with this! My last Suburban had all that stuff. So damn complicated, I never did get the hang of it. Hit the wrong button and a seat would fold up and lay down. Then you have to figure out how to get it back up! The second time I did it, I wondered what would happen if someone were in the seat? Screw it, I have simple a Toyota now.
That's it! That's my last car. I sold it to my brother who always coveted it. I see he hasn't changed a thing.
I got addicted to SK's ranting and now wear sunglasses for no apparent reason. Don't forget "I have been a mechanic for 50 years."--- is a SK quote.
FIAT (Fix It Again Tony) sucks and always will. I had one in the early 70's and their crappy quality is the tradition they maintain today.
I'll include Honda (012 Accord LX-P). Nothing but Satisfaction. My car was hit by a deer, I hit an ice mound and then it was whacked by a teenage girl driver from the passenger side door at 30 MPH blowing out my tire and forced me to avoid a curb so I could rest it in a porno shop parking lot. Of course , I had to go into the shop to find out what the Rt. address was.
Bump. Almost 3 years on my wife's Kia Soul Electric. Not a damn thing gone wrong. Unlike the e-Golf she had before - the battery management is much better - and there was less than 1% of battery degradation in 3 years, vs 33% on the Volkswagen. Since the lease is almost done - we started looking at alternatives. The Tesla Model 3 is fantastic (my FIL has one) - but it is so much longer than Kia that it is harder to park it here - and Tesla no longer has federal rebates available - making it a lot more expensive. After some tests - the wife decided to go with a Hyundai Kona electric - a little smaller than the Soul (which is very nice), much nicer looking and almost twice the power, add 260 miles range (basically, Tesla equivalent) - and this is a great update for the Soul. Hope it proves to be as reliable as the Kia was, because if it does - she might actually buy it at the end of the lease since the range is good enough to serve her 99% of the time (vs. 90% of the time for the Kia that only has 120 miles range). It's funny that Electric vehicles have propelled the Americans (Tesla, Ford) and Korean (Hyundai, Kia) ahead of the Europeans (VW is the only one that seems to really get their head in the game seriously) and Japanese (all still selling very compromised EVs - the only Japanese EV that is interesting is the "Honda e" and only as a city car). As for the Kona, that thing is seriously fast...
I still love our Prius....new in 2013, never had an issue....although mine is a hybrid....great little car for the money....