The Vehicles With The Most Recalls Are Also Pretty Pricey
Cars. Ahhh cars. The most holy of holys in America. If you follow my blog you know that I have a difficult relationship with cars and driving. In a nutshell, I feel we’d be far better off with fewer cars and less driving.
Driving is very dangerous, polluting, unhealthy, and in my area with the worst traffic in the US, it just sucks.
Actually the only time I really enjoy driving a vehicle is when I’m out West on a highway or road where the scenery is grand and there are zero other drivers trying to kill me while they’re busy texting and not paying attention.
If you read blogs in the financial independence community you know that buying a new vehicle is generally not a good choice. Transportation costs are one of the big three and new vehicles depreciate very quickly.
That said, many people do. And they keep doing so every few years, in perpetuity.
The Numbers
The average price for a new vehicle is now $36,270. Wait, you may say, that “average” includes high-end luxury vehicles like Ferrari’s etc which pull it up.
True. No one lists the median price overall in my searches, but the best I could find was this article from 2016 saying the “take-home” price in the end for all vehicle purchases – including used purchases – is $31,000. They cite their data sources.
And that was 2016 so it’s a bit higher now. This in a country where the median income is about $60,000.
Crazy.
That median income of $60,000 is not take home pay. A ballpark figure of take home for $60k income would be about $47,000 considering taxes.
So most folks are shelling out approximately 66% of one year’s take home pay for a car, which includes used purchases.
In reality it’s a higher number than that because the vast majority are financing and paying interest for years on top of that $31k.
Do I need to say crazy again?
Well the point of this article is to show another article I stumbled upon that lists the cars with the most recalls (and they’re not what you think!!!)
A cliche and click-baity title from Jalopnik, shame on you….
Here’s the list of offenders from that article:
I always try to do some value add to stuff like this, so I looked up the MSRP of these vehicles:
| Mercedes Benz C-Class | $41,400 |
| GMC Sierra | $29,600 |
| BMW 3/4 Series | $39,000/$44,600 |
| Dodge Durango | $29,995 |
| Nissan Pathfinder | $31,230 |
| Dodge Ram Pickup | $31,800 |
| Toyota 4 Runner | $35,500 |
| Dodge Charger | $28,995 |
| Chrysler 300 | $28,995 |
| Chevy Tahoe | $47,900 |
Average Cost of the vehicles on this list – $35,365
So, not only are we going to charge you an arm and a leg for these new vehicles, a few of which are over the $40,000 mark, but they’re going to need lots of recalls.
Because yeah, we need you to find the bugs.
Gee thanks auto industrial complex!! I’ll take my expensive shitty product while you take gobs of my money, yay! And I’ll be seeing your wonderful mechanics often to get things fixed that should never have been broken, but at least that’s free! Except for my valuable time!
The Bright Side
To turn the tables, the article also lists the vehicles with the lowest recall rates:
First thing, notice Honda is cleaning house. Nice. Also notice there are no luxury brands on this list, like Mercedes or BMW.
The list contains mostly modest and functional cars like the Civic, Corolla, and Hyundai Accent, not SUVs and trucks. Actually, take note that there’s only a few “crossover” vehicles on this list. It’s mostly sedans. Which by the way Ford is going to stop making all together….
In contrast, the first list with the most recalls is mostly massive trucks and SUVs – the Durango, GMC Sierra, Pathfinder, Ram Pickup, 4-Runner, and the laughable wasteful granddaddy of them all, the $48,000 (base price!) Chevy Tahoe that averages about 18.5 mpg.
Yes indeed, your own personal 18-wheeler, but with only 4 wheels. Get all of this luxurious space and glorious unreliability, with the base model coming in at only a full year of your take home pay! Financing available, because we sure as shit know you’ll need it!
Ok, out of new-SUV-guy sales mode…
So noticing that the list of vehicles with the lowest recall rates is mostly modest cars, I looked up those MSRPs:
| Hyundai Accent | $14,995 |
| Chevy Equinox | $23,800 |
| Toyota Corolla | $18,700 |
| Honda Civic | $19,450 |
| Honda CRV | $24,250 |
| Honda Accord | $23,570 |
| Subaru CrossTrek | $21,895 |
| Toyota Camry | $23,845 |
| Hyundai Elantra | $17,100 |
| GMC Terrain | $25,000 |
Average Cost of the vehicles on this list – $21,261
What have we learned? Well, the vehicles with the most recalls cost a ton of money, and if you own one you get to look forward to lots of wasted time at the shop.
And the vehicles with the least recalls cost well under the average vehicle price, like way under it.
You don’t even want me to run gas mileage numbers on the two lists because at that point it would be running up the score and just plain unsportsmanlike.
But we already know those trucks and gargantuan SUVs destroy the budgets of so many folks out there, what’s a few thousand dollars more for gas?
What was a great point you made was that the average cost of a car was 2/3 of a person’s take home pay. And that’s just base price. Factor in insurance, maintenance, etc and you can definitely be looking at a major vacuum of your income. I bought way too much car when I first became an attending and had to finance it. I have since switched to a cash only policy which forces you to think before you sign on the dotted line.
Yep, the total costs are WAY higher than almost everyone realizes. And that’s the monetary costs, not to include the pollution and cost to your health.
I saw that too. 66% of your income! That’s outrageous! I write about cars on my blog all the time. There’s no way anyone should spend that much on a car. Id rather people save 66% than spend it. That’s how you build wealth.
Great post!
Thanks,
Miriam
It is crazy Miriam… thanks for stopping by!
Maintaining the big SUV is a lot more expensive too. Especially if it says Mercedes, BMW or crazier yet, Porshe on it. They set their mechanic prices on what you “expect” to spend. Now if only we could pull our trailer with that Hyundai Accent!
You should write Hyundai 🙂 You have a way with words and puns, maybe you could get them to design a special Accent with a tow capability!
i would rather drink pine sol than drive in the vicinity of the DC beltway. even with airbag recall stuff they stiff try and sell you crap at the dealer. mrs. me has borne the brunt of bringing them back for this work and my final word when they offer their paid services is “tell them to go f’ themselves.” they sold us this recallable pile o’ steaming ______ and now they want to sell us something?”
Mmmmm…. pine sol. With some tequila it might not be too bad
Yeah that takes nerve, to try to upsell you when you’re in their just getting flaws fixed that shouldn’t have happened. Takes bait n’ switch to a new level.
Yuck. I hate thinking about cars because they’re an absolute suck on your finances. They only depreciate, cost money, and amount to a headache. And yet some people spend gobs of money on them. Granted, not everyone can buy used cars because, well, logic. It’s a catch-22: everyone would be smarter to buy a used car instead of a new one except you can’t have used cars without new cars.
I’ll happily putter around in my 8 year old Camry until it falls apart. Though I will point out, some of the average low-recall numbers are deceiving as to the severity. The Camry has a low recall rate, yet it had an extremely worrisome one around when I got it.
It was so dangerous the CEO was dragged before Congress to address how they intended to fix the problem. He had to answer questions about why people’s Toyotas were inadvertently accelerating and causing fatal car crashes.
That Camry should last a long time. And 8 yr old Camry should still be in it’s young adult years. I do remember the accelerator scandal, but if I recall, I don’t think they blatantly lied like Volkswagen did. I’d never, ever buy from the latter after that.
So where does Tesla model 3 fit into this list??? 😉
I used to drive a Mercedes C class (passed down from my grandfather) and it costed me quite a bit of money for maintenance. $200-300 for an oil change and check up? Yup. And that’s only the beginning. During the bi annual check up there would always be something to replace like the air filter, spark plugs, fuel pump, you name it. Ever year I had to drop a thousand or two just for maintenance. That was one of my arguments for buying a Tesla… NO maintenance and no recalls (so far). hehe.
Oh… and I have no idea about what you are talking about driving in the West where there are zero other cars. Have you seen the traffic in Los Angeles? There’s no rush hour… it’s rush DAY, all day ev’ry day!. Of course unless, by “West” you mean West Virginia. Then, okay 🙂
I guess Tesla Model 3’s haven’t been out long enough to have a recall. But hopefully they won’t.
My best buddy used to have a Mercedes, you’re right. While he was also shelling out $250 for an oil change, I was paying $25 for my Ford Escort Wagon. Heck I could have done it myself easily enough but was too lazy!
And when I said out West I should have clarified that I mean in the open spaces of out West, not the cities. I realize L.A.’ traffic is as bad as D.C., and other western cities can suck too.
I chose where we live so that we didn’t have to drive for anything we need if we put in the serious effort to go 100% car free. We still travel for leisure and commitments outside of town but luckily chose a used vehicle that got relatively good mileage and has been dependable (Hyundai)
As for people still buying those big expensive SUVs I just don’t get it, maybe if you had to haul 6 adults every single day or it was a work vehicle. Otherwise I can’t comprehend the need, even when I try to rationalize with people they think I’m crazy.
As for busy places, big interstates and commuter traffic like many of the commenters mentioned…well thank goodness I live on the Island where we joke “slow down this ain’t the mainland” but also the facts that I am financially independant now and don’t have to deal with it.
Great post
Island life must be nice, just don’t become Suze and buy it 🙂
If I ever had a big RV then maybe I could see owning a big pickup or SUV, but that fact alone might prevent me from ever buying a big RV
I think I’ll be driving old Toyotas for the rest of my life.
Probably can’t go wrong with that strategy
I wonder how the auto industry will evolve when the expected shift to car sharing happens. I’d imagine reliability will become much more important when the corporations own the cars. Until then we can make do with Japanese and Korean cars for reliability.
From what I’ve read most of the big car companies are working the autonomous car angle, which I think will merge in someway with auto sharing. We need a future with much safer driving and less of it
I haven’t owned a car in a decade and haven’t purchased a car since 2001, so it’s a little shocking to see these numbers! It’s actually saddening, though, to see the comparison between the price of the average car to the average American income. My dad always drove beaters, and he drove them into the ground. Growing up, we didn’t understand why, but we do now! I’m somewhat considering purchasing a car just so it’s easier to get out of the city to see family and friends, but it’ll be a used car (likely a Honda) that I drive into the ground too.
If you get a decent used Honda it should last you a long long time!
I do not think I can buy a Chrysler 300. The price is much more for me. That’s why I think if I can buy a second hand car, that too is very good for me. I think spending a car is almost the same as running a family.
Used cars are the way to go for sure