Buying a Car? Here's Why You Should Buy Japanese

Buying a new car can be fun and exciting, but it can also be a hassle to find the most reliable car for the money. As a mechanic there are only a select few number of cars on the market that I've worked on that only require general maintenance. When buying a new car you should stick to foreign made cars, more specifically you should stick with Honda, Acura, Infiniti, Nissan, Toyota, and Lexus. The reason for this is that if something does go wrong the cost of the parts that will be necessary to correct the problem will be relatively inexpensive. Obviously, Toyota and Lexus are similar products as well as Infiniti in Nissan. Acura and Honda are almost exactly alike except for in interior styling and outside body lines. These vehicles all share the same drive train components as their mother companies. Outlined in this article are the top vehicles for reliability and rigidity for the long haul.

Stay clear of hybrids because they are in their infancy. Parts and batteries for these cars can be extremely expensive, so wait until they have the bugs worked out in the next few years.

The Toyota Camry is one of the best-selling cars in America for a reason; it's dependable, yet economically luxurious, and has tried and proven power plants. It's a heavy well-built car that is very safe in the case of a collision. Not much has changed on the Toyota Camry over the years, only refinements have been made to its proven power plant and transmission as well as exterior and interior styling.. The Toyota Camry's fuel economy is not the best in its class, but it makes up for this with long-term reliability. When choosing a Toyota Camry you are given the choice of either a four or six cylinder engine, depending on your driving habits you will have to choose which engine is right for you. If you're looking for smooth acceleration and quiet operation as well as more power than you will want to choose the six cylinder option. The V-6 Camry is slightly more expensive and maintenance will be slightly higher because it has two more cylinders then it's little brother and the engine configuration is a little bit more complex to work on. If you're looking for fuel economy and economical maintenance and you're not concerned with power or performance than the four cylinder version of the Toyota Camry will be right for you. The four-cylinder Toyota Camry offers better fuel economy as well as less hours of labor to do required maintenance such as a timing belt or sparkplug change. The Toyota Camry also requires less oil, so you will save a few bucks every time you get your oil changed.

The Toyota Tercel and Corolla are a fuel economy junkies best friend. These cars do not hold up extremely well in major collisions; however if you're a safe driver and you don't mind a little extra road noise this car can save you thousands with its outstanding reliability and low maintenance costs. The four-cylinder engine that comes in the Toyota Tercel and Corolla are extremely easy to work on, they are very low cost when it comes to automotive labor time books. Tires also cost less than the Toyota Camry which typically utilizes a 16 inch tire. So with the Toyota Tercel and Corolla you will save money on tires and with lower gas consumption. If you don't mind a smaller car and you don't drive with passengers often then this car is for you, however if you normally drive with passengers or luggage that is heavy you may want to pick the Toyota Camry because of its more powerful engine and it will yield greater fuel economy. The four-cylinder engine in the Toyota Tercel and Corolla maybe underpowered, but they have been proven reliable over the years and not many changes have been made even to the newer models. Because, these engines have been around for so many years the cost of parts has depreciated over time yielding a less expensive alternative for parts than many other cars. If you were going to buy a foreign made car and your debating between a Japanese brand and a European brand just call your local auto parts dealer and check the availability and price of common parts that would normally be replaced such as alternators, CV axles, water pumps, timing belts, coil packs, and A/C compressors. European competitors such as the Volkswagen Golf have many expensive engine components and electronics when compared to the Japanese brands. Not only are most of these parts dealer only, they are also expensive. Electronic ignition system failure along with turbocharger failure are very common in European made cars. If you want to keep it cheap and simple then do not ever purchase a turbocharged vehicle, a turbocharger system is very complex and contains many parts that are very expensive; so stick to a Japanese brand with a naturally aspirated engine (non-turbo).

There are many other Toyota cars available on the market and they are all very similar with drive train components so you typically can't go wrong when choosing Toyota; such as Avalon, RAV4, Highlander, Tacoma and Tundra pickup trucks. If you're in the market for a good truck then a good choice is the Tacoma or Tundra. These trucks may be a little pricey when compared to their domestic competitors, but where they make up in price is in their reliability and low cost automotive parts. You can easily get 200,000 miles or more from a Toyota Tacoma or Tundra by doing the recommended maintenance at the correct intervals, whereas you would be hard-pressed to get this kind of performance and reliability from a domestic Truck or SUV for that matter.

Lexus will most likely be the most expensive of the Japanese cars and SUVs, but it is almost unmatched in fit, finish, and quality. Even though Lexus is expensive to initially purchase the cost of upkeep is relatively minimal. Borrowing parts from Toyota for components such as engines and transmissions seem to keep the costs down because of the overwhelming number of Toyotas on the road, this fact makes it easier for the manufacturer to afford to do this. The Lexus IS 300 and IS 250 will most likely give you the most fuel economy along with a strong amount of reliability. The Lexus ES 300 series is basically a more sophisticated and luxurious version of a Toyota Camry. The LS400 is the cornerstone of reliability from a V8 when compared to its domestic competitors and shares a similar engine with the Tundra.

When deciding on whether to choose a four-cylinder or six cylinder engine one should consider that the complexity of working on a transversely mounted V6 engine is much more labor-intensive for doing regular services such as timing belts and water pumps.

Honda and Acura are milestones in the reliability and fuel economy markets. Honda has been around for many years and all of the components that are engine related seen on Acura come from Hondas. When choosing a Japanese vehicle your pocketbook will ultimately be the bottom line for choosing what vehicle you purchase. If you have a little bit more money to spend than on a Toyota you may want to look at new or used Honda's and Acura's, the reliability and fuel economy of the Honda Civic and Accord are right there with Toyota Camry and Corolla. However, if you plan on selling your Honda Civic or Accord after a few years of usage you will find that the resale amount is higher than that of the Toyota Camry and Corolla. The longevity of the engines and transmissions in these vehicles are just as good as Toyota, however the cost of parts may be a little bit more expensive. If you have a little bit more change in your pocket and you're determined to buy a Honda then the Civic and the Accord will be your best value. If you have a little bit more to spend and you're interested in Acura then the TL and TSX are going to be the most affordable while yielding the most reliability. For fuel economy you will want to go with the four-cylinder TSX and if you're looking for luxury, more power, and smoother operation then the V6 powered TL will be your best bet.

One thing to consider that can get very expensive is the cost of on board GPS, is also increases the cost of the vehicle slightly. If you do not take long trips or you are to have GPS then you should probably go without it because the cost of repairing it can be quite damaging to your pocketbook. However, Acura does have a good history with their GPS systems.

Nissan and Infiniti are Japanese vehicles that are going to be the least costly from the get go as far as purchase price and cost of parts, however depending on the model of Nissan or Infiniti that you purchase labor costs could be slightly more as far as hours of labor, but of course the cost of labor on a Nissan or Infiniti when compared to an Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, or Volkswagen is merely pennies. The Nissan Sentra, Altima, Maxima, and 350Z all have extremely reliable track records. If you're in the market for a truck or SUV you can't go wrong with the Nissan Frontier or Titan as well as the different lines of Infiniti SUV's.

Stick with proven names of Japanese cars that have been around awhile and avoid the ones with least memorable names as they are newer and are more prone to having problems while the manufacturer is still trying to get the kinks out.