When people research buying a car they go online to check out models, mileage and maintenance, the three Ms. They check out car comparison with hybrid versus gasoline cars and they check out automatic versus stick transmissions. They price a tuneup and they price tires. People research new versus used by reading a used car review. Finally they choose a color but the last thing they do is pull up every video site online to study car review videos. People use different sites to research car reviews from consumerreports.org to cars.com to nthsa.edu. Information is a valuable thing to have, so armed with the right questions to ask a person can choose quite a nice car that performs well and is safe.
That’s in an ideal world, though. When the majority of people need a car, they hit the car lots and go up and down both sides of the highway checking out cars. Car comparison becomes which vehicle will outshine what their annoying neighbor who is so superior owns and car reviews turn into what the guys in the warehouse think is the best car to own. People just know they need a car and they look at price, size and the availability of what they want versus what they can afford and can drive off the lot. When did a used car review suddenly mean which dealership would cut you the best deal? Did car review videos become a vague memory of what you were surfing one day out of sheer boredom?
That’s the reality. In today’s world when prices escalate but paychecks don’t, people have to drive what they can afford instead of what they want. That limits people to used cars, although with some incentive plans and a hefty down payment, some folk can drive a new car off the lot. Most sites on the Net now are all about new cars and hybrids, endlessly comparing each make and model. So why not let us know what you can afford?
Used Cars
On consumerreports.org, criteria is based on how well a car has performed over the years with average maintenance. Since a new car loses value over the period of the first three years, used cars that hold up over time are the best bet. They listed small used cars in their best of the best opinion as: Honda Civic, Honda Accord and Toyota Prius, to name just three. In upscale cars, they named Lexus, Acura and Infiniti as the best. In Suvs and trucks, consumerreports.org named, again, Honda and Toyota small SUVs in addition to Honda Ridgeline and Toyota Tacoma pickups.
Fueleconomy.gov, on the other hand, does not rank its opinions by new or used but by mpg. Their take on the most fuel efficient cars are in the mini, subcompact, compact, large cars and station wagons. Also topping their list is Honda and Toyota, with the Mini Cooper, Ford Fiesta and VW Golf coming in close to the top. For large cars the Hyundai Sonata made the list and for station wagons Audi, VW and Kia topped out.
New Cars
consumerreports.org rates a new car by subscribers’ opinions over the course of the year. Their reviews go back ten years and list the best and the worst. Their take on new cars is as follows: Honda Fit, VW Golf and Mini Cooper are the best. Close contenders include Honda Civic, Hyundai Sonata and the Subaru Forester, to name just three. Caranddriver.com chimes in with Honda, Audi and the VW Golf as its best picks.
So there it is, the facts, ma’am, just the facts. Armed with this information, people will still drive around to each car lot, kick the tires because that’s what they see on TV and sit on the driver seat and turn up the radio because that’s what their kids do. People can have all the CarFaxes in the world but they are still going to go with that old gut feeling. They are going to see a car and when they climb into the driver seat they are going to feel like this car was made for them. It will be the car they can afford and will run phenomenally.
