Buyers often look at sticker price, style, and design when choosing a car to buy.
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However, car buyers should also consider hidden problems such as transmission, low volume, and maintenance costs so that they don’t have to deal with a headache and a melted wallet next year.
GOBankingRates spoke to Chris Pyle, mechanic and expert at JustAnswer, to discuss the 10 cars he would never buy and why they’re not worth it.
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According to Car and Driver, Tesla “proved that electric cars can be desirable, combining outstanding performance and high-tech interior with practical driving experience.”
Driving a Tesla can seem like a good thing until it needs a fix. Pyle ranks the Tesla and Rivian among the top cars he wouldn’t buy because the cost of ownership outweighs the cost. A 2024 Tesla Model 3 starts at $45,000.
Pyle put Tesla, along with Rivian, at the top of the list of cars he wouldn’t buy.
“The reasons are the cost of ownership if the car or battery fails, and the cost of repairs is more than the value of the car.”
Dash Lewis, writing for Jalopnik, a news and opinion website about “car culture,” says Tesla is one of the most expensive cars to maintain and maintain.
Expect to pay an average of $5,555 in maintenance costs with your Tesla. Part of the reason is that Tesla car parts are unique and hard to find. As with other luxury cars, you will pay higher prices for auto parts, Lewis said.
Even when compared to other electric cars, Tesla is very expensive. Lewis estimates that it costs $1,078 more to repair a Tesla over its lifetime than other electric vehicles.
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The Rivian was tied to Tesla as the top car Pyle said he would not buy. Rivian is a California-based start-up that manufactures premium electric SUVs and pickup trucks from an Illinois factory.
“The high cost of collision repair and collision insurance can often be the cost of the car itself,” Pyle said.
The 2025 Rivian RIT pickup truck starts at $75,000. Like the Tesla, the Rivian is an expensive car to maintain. A Rivian owner said on an online forum that a minor accident cost him more than expected. What appeared to be a bent hood and a blunt tailgate caused mechanics to tear apart the back of the truck and two and a half months of repairs.
“I thought the repair would be expensive but I had no idea!” Rivian’s owner said. “At first his insurance estimated the damage at about $1,600 and sent me a check… The final bill was over $42,000!”
Pyle said he would not buy any new truck, including a Ford, Dodge, Chevy, Nissan, or Toyota.
“Light-duty to heavy-duty models cost more,” Pyle said. “In the first five years of ownership, you will lose 35% to 55% of the value of the car in the amount of $ 30,000 to $ 50,000. It is better to buy one used so that the first owner can take the loss.
According to Car and Driver, today’s heavy-duty trucks are “workhorses, luxury cars, high-performance machines, and free cruisers. However, CarEdge, an online car dealer, estimates that a Ford F-350 Super Duty, for example, would depreciate by 36% after five years and have a five-year resale value of nearly $49,000. The estimate assumes an initial retail price of $76,350.
Pyle said the Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500 share the same chassis and need for maintenance.
“It’s not so much the cost of maintenance, but how much they’re needed,” said Pyle. “For many, these cars spend a lot of time sitting in the car waiting for repairs compared to the ones that don’t have problems.
Edmunds Car Reviews rated the 2023 Jeep Renegade a 6 out of 10 in terms of value.
“The Renegade is one of the most affordable vehicles in its class,” Edmunds reviewer said.
“It might be good if you had a lot of features and value for money, but you don’t. The interior build quality is good, but there’s nothing special inside and it feels like you’re paying a lot for a Jeep brand.
The 2023 Fiat 500x fared better than the Jeep Renegade, earning a 7 out of 10 value score from Edmunds reviewers. Testers liked the “soft-touch materials” and matching body colors. However, the reviewers did not like the expensive price of the urinal and the “unpleasant use of sounds.”
“Changing that (price tag and additional sounds) would go a long way to improve the feel of this car,” Edmunds reviewer said.
The next group of cars Pyle would not buy were the Ford Fiesta, Nissan cars, and small SUVs.
“The dual-clutch transaxle and the CVT (Continuously Variable Transaxles) don’t stop,” said Pyle. “If they fail, you’re looking at repair costs that are so expensive that many independent stores will no longer be viable. So, they have to go to the dealer. “
Since 2012, the Ford Fiesta has been the subject of many lawsuits because the car company knew about the Fiesta’s PowerShift transmission (dual-clutch transaxle) and sold it that way.
Owners reported having the same problems, even after replacing clutches, output shafts, and the entire transmission.
Accordingly, owners of various Nissan models between 2013 and 2018 filed a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), saying that the defective CVT transmission caused “trembling and acceleration that could cause a crash.”
Carparts.com reviewers rated the Jeep Grand Cherokee average in terms of reliability.
“It received a reliability rating of 3.5 out of 5 from RepairPal and ranked 15 out of 26 midsize SUVs reviewed based on data from years of different models,” said Lisa Conant, writing for the online aftermarket auto parts provider.
Pyle listed several reasons why he would not buy a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
“They have a problem with expensive repairs, premature parts from poor manufacturing, and they are more willing to buy a car when it’s new,” said Pyle. “If you plan to buy a new one, before the warranty expires, make sure to buy the extended warranty.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I’m a Mechanic: 9 Cars I’ll Never Buy and Why They’re Not Worth It
