| buying a car, you should consider four main factors - | | | | over time. The easiest way to determine this is to look |
| quality, price, value and reliability. A car may have one | | | | at resale values. The resale value and trade-in value of |
| or two factors but be missing the other two. You need | | | | foreign cars generally hold up better over time than |
| to find a car that has all four factors. Foreign cars tend | | | | domestics. This has to do with quality and price which |
| to be more likely to possess the four factors. | | | | we just discussed. Another way to determine this is to |
| Quality is the workmanship and durability of a car over | | | | look at lease programs. Foreign cars generally have |
| time. Many foreign cars, especially mid-size cars, can | | | | higher residual percentages and therefore lease better |
| have a very long, useful life. There are many of these | | | | than domestic cars. |
| cars still on the road well after 100,000 miles of use. | | | | A Honda Accord leased for 3 years may have a |
| Domestic cars, on the other hand, tend not to last | | | | residual value of 55% while a Chevrolet Impala |
| much past 100,000 miles even if cared for well. | | | | comparably equipped and priced may have a residual |
| A foreign car will tend to be more durable and will | | | | value of 40%. Even the banks know there is a distinct |
| have fewer problems than a domestic car with the | | | | difference in value over time. They are the ones that |
| same mileage. Consumer reports wrote that both | | | | set the values. This is why more people lease foreign |
| Honda and Toyota were consistently better over time | | | | cars over domestics. |
| then the major domestic manufacturers. During a | | | | Reliability is the ability of a car not to break down over |
| survey, they reported that Honda and Toyota were at | | | | time. Sometimes it is referred to as dependability. Like |
| least 55 problems per 100 vehicles better than the | | | | we discussed earlier, mechanics tend to side with the |
| next closest competitor. Ford, which is considered to | | | | foreign cars. Consumer Reports even claims that |
| have an average amount of problems. | | | | Asian vehicles are by far the most reliable in their |
| Price is not just the number on the window sticker. | | | | latest subscriber survey. The vehicles in Consumer |
| Price includes long term costs such as maintenance | | | | Reports are graded on a rating of problems per 100 |
| and repair bills. Domestic cars may be a little cheaper | | | | vehicles. Asian vehicles have reported about 12 |
| than foreign cars on the average. It seems the long | | | | problems per 100 vehicles. European makes remained |
| term costs of owning a domestic car are greater. | | | | steady at 21 problems per 100 vehicles. |
| They tend to have more problems down the line during | | | | As you can see they do not have the reliability ratings |
| the life of the car. The cost of getting a domestic | | | | that Asian car makers do. Oddly enough, in the same |
| trade-in ready for sale on the lot is usually higher than | | | | Consumer Reports subscriber survey, U.S. makes had |
| getting a foreign car ready for sale. If you ask any | | | | an average problem rate of 18 problems per 100 |
| mechanic which type of car has better service | | | | vehicles. That was up from the previous year of 17. |
| histories, they all say that as a whole, foreign cars | | | | That is a better rating than the European models. Don't |
| were usually better running and easier to maintain. | | | | look at these numbers and think that all cars from a |
| They also added that domestic cars were easier to | | | | certain area of the world are the same. The results |
| work on although they felt that a foreign car would | | | | vary significantly within each group and should be |
| hold up better over time. | | | | researched more before purchasing a vehicle. |
| Value is described as what your car will be worth | | | | |