Transportation

Canada’s Automotive “Dr. Phil” is back dispensing his 5 top tips for buying used cars and trucks

He’s back with a new guide and it’s bigger and better than ever!   Phil Edmonston’s Lemon-Aid Used Cars and Trucks 2009/2010 (Dundurn, March 2009) is packed with insider tips to help the consumer make the safest and cheapest choice possible.  Here are 5 ways to snap up a bargain and save money:

1. Buy a vehicle that is relatively uncomplicated, easy to service and sold in large numbers over a decade or so. This will ensure that independent garages can provide service and parts because many parts suppliers and dealers will have also shut their doors.

2. Stay away from European cars, vans, and SUVs. The dealership networks are already very thin, parts are incredibly expensive and hard to find, and few garages will invest in the expensive diagnostic equipment needed to service relatively complicated emissions and fuel delivery systems. The old axiom that there is a right way, a wrong way, and a European way to trouble-shoot a car, still holds true.

3. Don’t buy a hybrid or a diesel. They are failure-prone, complicated to service, dealer-dependent, and don’t provide the fuel economy or savings they hype. Furthermore with gas as cheap as it is, there really is no imperative to complicate your life with a complex piece of machinery. Diesel complexity comes from emissions regulations requiring the use of cleaner-burning engines and fuel.

4. Don’t buy most Chrysler or Dodge models with the exception of a well-inspected Jeep Wrangler and Liberty, or minivan. Chrysler is the weakest of the Detroit Three, most of its products are infected with serious safety- and performance-related defects, and its automatic transmission, brakes, and ACs are practically biodegradable. They are no bargains at any price.

5. Don’t buy any vehicle that requires an extended warranty. It is likely warranties will be worthless when a company shuts down. And, as cash gets scarce, automakers and dealers will find more reasons to deny warranty coverage.

Watch, listen, and read about Phil as he promotes Lemon-Aid Used Cars and Trucks 2009/2010,  over the next couple of months.   Much more to come…

© 2009 Defining Canada.