Passing the 3-year litmus test
Lorraine Sommerfeld
Special to The Star
While it may not thrill the Big Three, My readers tell me repeatedly that this publication and J.D. Power and Associates are two of the main resources they use when purchasing a car. Those trade publications are among the sources the journalists who contribute to Wheels turn to as part of their reporting and analysis.
If nothing else, their independent results should push the barrel away from the heads of auto journalists, if only for a moment. We hear all the time that the cars have little to do with the public's purchasing decisions – it's the mean things the media say.
The letters started arriving in earnest late last year, as the industry imploded. One missive, signed "Ford Stockholder," let me know I was responsible for the stock going down. Apparently, I then pulled down the whole stock market to cover my tracks.
Buying a car is a huge purchase – and it should be made based on research and facts. But people respond impulsively to colour, decoration and their own history. It's not uncommon for some dealers to hope car buyers will pay more than they intend – to get into more car than they need, and to push the purchase from an economic one to an emotional one.
Perhaps it's because of those factors that some very expensive vehicles sell well regardless of how poorly they fare in surveys and some terrific cars can't seem to sell their way out of the slumps.
The survey category that holds my attention the longest? The three-year point of ownership.
To be honest, nearly all new cars are fine. You take into consideration the price point, and unless the handle falls off the door as you close it (true story, another writer), or the spare is missing when you go to find it (true story, different writer), they're fine. Very few new cars don't do what they're supposed to do. And if a reviewer says it has a cheesy finish or lousy horsepower, most people considering that car already know they are going to sacrifice something to get it at an affordable price.
And for the average person going from an old car full of winter grit and rolled-up Tim Hortons cups, just the fact the new vehicle is clean is a reward.
A colleague of mine, Mark Toljagic, does a terrific job reviewing used cars. I want to know how a car, this major purchase, will hold up in three years or more. This is more important to me than how the car feels when it is still sporting paper foot protectors and double digits on the odometer.
A telling quote from the Consumer Reports issue says, "Problem rates for cars have decreased across the board, so newer used cars should hold up better than their predecessors as they age." This means manufacturers are finally building away from the planned obsolescence that has frustrated buyers for so long.
People cruising around in the current "best buys" are smiling, and those who aren't are probably stubbornly defending their decisions.
Me? I'll probably just keep my eyes open for a good 3-year-old.
Lorraine Sommerfeld appears Thursdays on Wheels.ca. www.lorraineonline.ca