Luxury cars are luxury repair bills
When Robert Guzman, a school counselor in Long Beach, California could not remove the ignition key of his 1995 BMW 530i, he didn t think it would be a problem, after all, it is just an ignition key.
I called a locksmith, said Guzman, and they said, Oh, he's a BMW that could be 500, 600 easy They should remove all the locking mechanism.
But first Guzman, who bought the car in 1998 with 42,000 miles on it, it would have the car towed Again, a simple function, except that BMW must be towed on a flatbed scanner, and the garage was a height limit While BMW had to spend days locating a smaller than average special tow truck.
Overall, the simple locked ignition key has taken nearly two weeks, some by plane from Germany and 400 to repair Despite this and similar setback as a 400 repair an auxiliary water pump 600 tune-up and 50 to replace basic items such as wipers, Guzman wouldn t BMW trade back to the Nissan he was driving in advance for one simple reason.
A little luxury costs a long way Many car buyers buy luxury used cars due to bargain on they offer compared to a new luxury vehicle to see major repair and maintenance costs So how can I purchase an affordable luxury while avoiding the dangers of the pit money.
Well, in a sense, you can t he s called luxury for a reason, and in many cases, your choice will pay now or later, but by buying wisely and be aware of what you are taking, you can reduce the sticker shock that comes with repairs or perhaps decide that a few thousand dollars spent now can save you money down the line.
You can reduce the risk of incurring shockingly high costs with some of the luxury market knowledge base, for example, Jay Gubala, general manager of e-commerce for Herb Chambers Companies, a dealership chain in the northeast, said the German luxury often costs much more than the Japanese.
Lexus and Infinity you only run 25 to 30 percent more than Toyota or Honda, said Gubala But German is probably prohibitively expensive for some people oil changes can run 130 to 140 for a German brand like Audi, BMW or Mercedes Benz a 60,000-mile service on a Benz could be double that of a servant.
Vince Ciulla, s auto repair guide and a certified ASE master technician for over 35 years, provides this example.
Let's use Mercedes and Chevy says Ciulla If you replaced the engine on a 1995 six cylinder Mercedes, it would be 9000 or 10000 only for the engine and 95 an hour to work, and you're talking about 15 to 20 hours on a 1995 Chevy V6, would be 4000 or 5000, with the average labor 65 an hour and take 10 to 12 hours to replace.
In some cases, these cost differences are more marketing than the actual value.
I worked at a Mercedes dealership, said Ciulla, and we used to say that you have the car for free, you just pay 125,000 for the cover star.
Big names, bigger profit margins Ciulla said parts for luxury vehicles and nonluxury are sometimes the same part Any difference in cost is due to the mark Thus a car owner may be better off purchasing in made the party itself, then having the mechanic replaced.
With GM says Ciulla, you could have a 1995 Chevy Impala and 1995 Cadillac El Dorado The master cylinders are the same, but the El Dorado, it is about 80 or 90 more than the Chevrolet parts I worked at GM Olds and we had a book with interchangeable parts the same room will be used for Chevy Nova, Buick LeSabre and Delta 88, but the costs were different.
There's no mechanical reason why a Mercedes is more difficult to repair than a car of the national budget, said Walsh Many luxury concessions trim their margins on the sale and recover So the service, it is caveat emptor.
If you buy a high mileage luxury car and have it repaired at a dealership, it will be more expensive than a nonluxury dealer If you are looking to buy a luxury car cheaply, don t be blind to these costs.
And while it is certainly higher costs legitimately in luxury cars, such as parts of Germany, Walsh says some of the other reasons for the disparity are slowly disappearing, as more sophisticated electronics.
We must go back a few years for this to be really true, 'said Walsh At this point, all cars have electronics, and even a relatively inexpensive import or domestic have the injection computer controlled and all that.
So how can you avoid these exorbitant costs Joe White, head of the Detroit office to the Wall Street Journal, advises people to buy used cars in the same way they would for new cars.
Get all the information available on this make and model as the quality and track record, said white look on the website of the NHTSA for safety data Go with brands that have a good track record and avoid those does that brands that do well on quality surveys and evaluations when they are starting out generally good when they're used.
It's more models than brands, adds Walsh If you get into trouble is with individual models that are not well thought out or planned is more specific model specific brand you generally want to avoid the low-end models of the lines luxury.
Once you have researched and model, you need to be as vigilant on the private car.
First, why is the car from a dealer, said Ciulla Is it because he Sá back lease If so, it's probably a good car, but if they stammer and don t say if the process has lemon redemption, you should be wary.
Look under the hood of leases Many luxury used vehicles have already been leased, which could have positive or negative connotations.
A luxury car is usually rented, then after two years, says Ciulla But occasionally someone will have a car and have nothing but problems and abandon I know a woman who bought a 1998 Lexus when he was three years was no reason to expect problems it had 60,000 miles, which for a Lexus is nothing, but she had to put a new transmission while only three weeks after she bought and short in the district from 5500 to 6000, while in a used Nissan Sentra, midrange, linking 2500 to 3000.
There is always a risk to buy a car that's been rented before, said Walsh The problem with buying a pre-leased car is that people who buy gift rented cars t take care of them, and maintenance is fairly sketchy you take chances if you buy a used car off of certified used programs outside of these programs, you're getting cars that have been driven quite hard in their early years.
Ciulla says such problems can be avoided by taking the car to a mechanic before purchasing and careful consideration.
After all, he says, it's not like a transsexual factory then it doesn t Usually it is a sign that he has not been supported.
You may also follow Walsh tips to buying a used vehicle that has been certified by the manufacturer certification means that the car has passed a series of quality tests imposed by the manufacturer, and given warrantees additional.
It becomes a case of paying more money now to avoid paying later, as most cars are certified under the brand 60,000-mile or five years, many experts have said that if they were to buy a luxury car used today, certification is essential.
The requirements of the manufacturers put on certification of vehicles are so strict, Gubala said I was a used car manager at Lexus, and we had to certify all vehicles under 60,000 with a clean mechanical history and history physical damage clashes were OK, but the image damage, no.
When buying from a dealer of a brand and it is certified, it comes with a warranty of 100,000 miles The aren t free, but it is hardly the same as doing a transsexual on 94 Benz.
The background check Tony Molla, vice president of the National Institute of Communication for Automotive Service Excellence, proposes to request maintenance records of vehicles, especially if you are buying from a private owner.
I expect a luxury car owner could have as regular oil changes, what types of repairs have been made, said Molla If you see that the transsexual was replaced, you might want to ask twice this subject.
Unfortunately, not all vendors will be from the start of this type of information, and it is essential that you do your homework Many used cars are salvage cars they were badly damaged and rebuilt.
Make sure it has not been ruled a total loss at some point, said Molla Ask the dealer directly.
The classic Mercedes E you see in front of an independent set of used cars to 14,000 is usually a car recovery, says Walsh, who have had a bad wreck or flood damage So take the number WINE down and check the rescue story before purchasing or AAA Auto club can often provide this service as the cost is minimal, and if it's ever been recovered, he'll appear.
Ultimately, the decision on whether to buy a luxury car use is down, as it does with many other, make an informed decision.
You should be aware and informed, said White You can get a luxury car used for 15,000 to 20,000, but the question is, can you afford the maintenance people going unaware of this issue are a error.
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