I just stumbled upon the Buy A Nice Car blog post a bit late and tried to submit this on that post but wouldn't go through so figured I will post here to spur further discussion/critique of my own thoughts which I fleshed it out a bit more here on the forums:
For reference, the original blog appears here: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/should-you-drive-a-nice-car-a-procon/
As a car guy myself here's my rebuttal to supplement WCI for the Buy a Nice Car argument:
Opportunity Cost - Craig argues that a "beater car" is likely to break down more than the alternative (which he does not define...is it a BMW 5 Series? A Lexus GS? Or something even more exotic like a Range Rover/Maserati/lower end Porsche?) causing lost time and more stress due to repairs. And what is a "beater car?"
Opportunity Cost Rebuttal - German luxury brands are actually not known for their reliability, at all. (this is in response to the BMW photo posted in the blog) While they have improved dramatically compared to the 90s and the early 2000s, Audi/BMW/Mercedes-Benz all have their weaknesses. A dentist recently posted a youtube video breaking down his ownership of a 2013 Porsche 911...and admitted he had to make many trips to the dealer for warranty repairs and things going wrong. Lexus is an outlier and is legendary in their reliability. Unless you buy a Joe Backyard Mechanic Special for $1000....there are PLENTY of very economical, affordable cars that will not breakdown constantly. There are plenty of very affordable Hondas and Toyotas and even used Lexus out there that have had hundreds of thousands of miles of stress-free ownership. You don't need to buy a luxury, "nice" car to ensure reliability. In fact, certain German brands/models may be even less reliable than cheaper brands/models. (see Audi's carbon issue/timing chain with their engines, Mercedes with their Active Body Control suspension that are infamously expensive to repair, etc.)
Safety - Craig's position is that quality new vehicles compared to a cheap beater is much safer. And that luxury large cars are safer such as large sedans and SUVs as well as offer more safety features.
Safety Rebuttal - Again he fails to define what is a "cheap beater car" and he does not define the parameter for comparison. If you buy that Joe Backyard special $1000 car from the early 90s....yes obviously that is MUCH more dangerous than a brand new car. But I doubt that is what most residents are doing. But let's look at this whole thing about safety. He mentions that there are 0 fatality-models which attests to the luxury's better safety...and let's look at the nine models that were found to have 0 fatalities:
Non-luxury/nice models:
Kia Sorento
Subaru Legacy
Toyota Highlander
Honda Odyssey
Toyota Sequoia
Luxury/nice models:
Audi A4
Lexus RX350
Mercedes-Benz GL
Volvo XC90
So out of 9 models, 5 were non-luxury/nice, and 4 were luxury/nice. This easily shows that luxury/nice cars does not have a monopoly over superior safety.
If you look at the same IIHS data, they DO show that larger cars in general and SUVs in general have lower driver death rates. But of course the key point to safety is: driver smartness/awareness (seatbelts, defensive driving) and proper vehicle maintenance and proper tires. Certain SUVs may actually cause overconfidence in drivers during wintry conditions because they mistakenly assume that a AWD/4WD will be completely superior when they fail to drive properly AND fail to use proper winter/snow tires.
In addition physics also works against SUVs and higher center of gravity vehicles as they are more likely to rollover than a car. Of course technology has improved that quite a bit but some models you need to be careful of (look up the Jeep Grand Cherokee moose test on youtube....).
Not to mention the data from the fatalities are HEAVILY confounded by other factors. We see associations between certain car types and low fatalities but we have no idea of the driver, other cirumstances, road, tires, car condition, etc. So to assume that by buying a "safer" car (which does not have to be luxury as we have already seen) purely by statistics is not a smart idea.
In this regard, you can buy a very affordable, economical Toyota/Honda with top IIHS safety rating and both brands have very extensive safety feature offerings as well.
Another issue with newer technologies...the Tesla autopilot is a great example. It can instill a false sense of overconfidence and reliance on technology to save you. That one case of the Tesla driver falling asleep (some report he was watching a movie) and the autopilot fail to detect a tractor trailer against a bright white sky...caused his death. So here we see again that common sensibility and smart driving is of paramount importance..
Stress - Craig argues that cheap cars are more likely someone else's headaches and that a new car with a warranty is less headache. Again this is only partially true and the conditions can vary wildly. To go back to my example...do you find that Joe Backyard special or do you do your due dilligence and find many many reliable used cars? And notice here there is NO requirement to buy a luxury/nice car (which infact can be less reliable than economy brands). You can easily buy a pre-owned Toyota/Honda for much much less than a luxury brand/model.
Not to mention just because a car is warrantied does NOT mean it will be stress-free. When that expensive BMW breaks down under warranty, you still have to make appointment and drive/tow the car to the dealer and get a loaner and then hope the car is fixed quickly. So that already is stressful.
And with the TONS of online help in how to find/inspect a used car, it's easier than ever to find reliable "beaters" if you are willing to put in the work. You can find 1-owner cars with all service records and that have been meticulously taken care of. And are going to be much cheaper than a new luxury car.
Little Expense - Craigs claims reliable car doesn’t have to be expensive.
Little Expense Rebuttal - This is very very true. And here he finally mentions a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry. Of course here we can get into the debate over NEW car vs USED car or even how much used. Though the premise of the article seems to be more towards "nicer" cars (given the tone of the post and the photo of a BMW). And again certain nicer cars are actually less reliable than Toyota/Honda and can induce more stress with more trips to the dealer for warranty work.
With proper maintenance and proper driving (check out model specific forums for specific items to keep up with, and look at youtube for things NOT to do with an automatic transmission, etc.) many cars can EASILY hit 200-300k miles without major work.
Conclusion - "Spending a little extra money on quality, reliable transportation is a sound financial investment which is easily affordable for virtually every physician."
Agreed in principle. You don't have to spend $1000 to get a super beater...when you can likely find reliable cars for less than $10k (sometimes way less than that). There's certainly some argument to be made for a possible pre-owned car that is 2-3 years old. And certainly not much argument to be made for an expensive luxury/"nice" car.
For reference, the original blog appears here: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/should-you-drive-a-nice-car-a-procon/
As a car guy myself here's my rebuttal to supplement WCI for the Buy a Nice Car argument:
Opportunity Cost - Craig argues that a "beater car" is likely to break down more than the alternative (which he does not define...is it a BMW 5 Series? A Lexus GS? Or something even more exotic like a Range Rover/Maserati/lower end Porsche?) causing lost time and more stress due to repairs. And what is a "beater car?"
Opportunity Cost Rebuttal - German luxury brands are actually not known for their reliability, at all. (this is in response to the BMW photo posted in the blog) While they have improved dramatically compared to the 90s and the early 2000s, Audi/BMW/Mercedes-Benz all have their weaknesses. A dentist recently posted a youtube video breaking down his ownership of a 2013 Porsche 911...and admitted he had to make many trips to the dealer for warranty repairs and things going wrong. Lexus is an outlier and is legendary in their reliability. Unless you buy a Joe Backyard Mechanic Special for $1000....there are PLENTY of very economical, affordable cars that will not breakdown constantly. There are plenty of very affordable Hondas and Toyotas and even used Lexus out there that have had hundreds of thousands of miles of stress-free ownership. You don't need to buy a luxury, "nice" car to ensure reliability. In fact, certain German brands/models may be even less reliable than cheaper brands/models. (see Audi's carbon issue/timing chain with their engines, Mercedes with their Active Body Control suspension that are infamously expensive to repair, etc.)
Safety - Craig's position is that quality new vehicles compared to a cheap beater is much safer. And that luxury large cars are safer such as large sedans and SUVs as well as offer more safety features.
Safety Rebuttal - Again he fails to define what is a "cheap beater car" and he does not define the parameter for comparison. If you buy that Joe Backyard special $1000 car from the early 90s....yes obviously that is MUCH more dangerous than a brand new car. But I doubt that is what most residents are doing. But let's look at this whole thing about safety. He mentions that there are 0 fatality-models which attests to the luxury's better safety...and let's look at the nine models that were found to have 0 fatalities:
Non-luxury/nice models:
Kia Sorento
Subaru Legacy
Toyota Highlander
Honda Odyssey
Toyota Sequoia
Luxury/nice models:
Audi A4
Lexus RX350
Mercedes-Benz GL
Volvo XC90
So out of 9 models, 5 were non-luxury/nice, and 4 were luxury/nice. This easily shows that luxury/nice cars does not have a monopoly over superior safety.
If you look at the same IIHS data, they DO show that larger cars in general and SUVs in general have lower driver death rates. But of course the key point to safety is: driver smartness/awareness (seatbelts, defensive driving) and proper vehicle maintenance and proper tires. Certain SUVs may actually cause overconfidence in drivers during wintry conditions because they mistakenly assume that a AWD/4WD will be completely superior when they fail to drive properly AND fail to use proper winter/snow tires.
In addition physics also works against SUVs and higher center of gravity vehicles as they are more likely to rollover than a car. Of course technology has improved that quite a bit but some models you need to be careful of (look up the Jeep Grand Cherokee moose test on youtube....).
Not to mention the data from the fatalities are HEAVILY confounded by other factors. We see associations between certain car types and low fatalities but we have no idea of the driver, other cirumstances, road, tires, car condition, etc. So to assume that by buying a "safer" car (which does not have to be luxury as we have already seen) purely by statistics is not a smart idea.
In this regard, you can buy a very affordable, economical Toyota/Honda with top IIHS safety rating and both brands have very extensive safety feature offerings as well.
Another issue with newer technologies...the Tesla autopilot is a great example. It can instill a false sense of overconfidence and reliance on technology to save you. That one case of the Tesla driver falling asleep (some report he was watching a movie) and the autopilot fail to detect a tractor trailer against a bright white sky...caused his death. So here we see again that common sensibility and smart driving is of paramount importance..
Stress - Craig argues that cheap cars are more likely someone else's headaches and that a new car with a warranty is less headache. Again this is only partially true and the conditions can vary wildly. To go back to my example...do you find that Joe Backyard special or do you do your due dilligence and find many many reliable used cars? And notice here there is NO requirement to buy a luxury/nice car (which infact can be less reliable than economy brands). You can easily buy a pre-owned Toyota/Honda for much much less than a luxury brand/model.
Not to mention just because a car is warrantied does NOT mean it will be stress-free. When that expensive BMW breaks down under warranty, you still have to make appointment and drive/tow the car to the dealer and get a loaner and then hope the car is fixed quickly. So that already is stressful.
And with the TONS of online help in how to find/inspect a used car, it's easier than ever to find reliable "beaters" if you are willing to put in the work. You can find 1-owner cars with all service records and that have been meticulously taken care of. And are going to be much cheaper than a new luxury car.
Little Expense - Craigs claims reliable car doesn’t have to be expensive.
Little Expense Rebuttal - This is very very true. And here he finally mentions a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry. Of course here we can get into the debate over NEW car vs USED car or even how much used. Though the premise of the article seems to be more towards "nicer" cars (given the tone of the post and the photo of a BMW). And again certain nicer cars are actually less reliable than Toyota/Honda and can induce more stress with more trips to the dealer for warranty work.
With proper maintenance and proper driving (check out model specific forums for specific items to keep up with, and look at youtube for things NOT to do with an automatic transmission, etc.) many cars can EASILY hit 200-300k miles without major work.
Conclusion - "Spending a little extra money on quality, reliable transportation is a sound financial investment which is easily affordable for virtually every physician."
Agreed in principle. You don't have to spend $1000 to get a super beater...when you can likely find reliable cars for less than $10k (sometimes way less than that). There's certainly some argument to be made for a possible pre-owned car that is 2-3 years old. And certainly not much argument to be made for an expensive luxury/"nice" car.
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