I’m a Mechanic: 9 Cars I Would Never Buy and Why They Aren’t Worth It

Consumers often see the sticker price, features, and plan erstwhile deciding which car to buy.

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However, car buyers should besides see hidden problems similar transmission, the depreciation rate, and repair costs truthful they won’t person to woody with headaches and a drained wallet a twelvemonth later.

GOBankingRates talked to Chris Pyle, an car mechanic and adept astatine JustAnswer, to sermon the 10 cars helium would ne'er buy and wherefore they aren’t worthy it.

Tesla

According to Car and Driver, Tesla “has proven that electrical vehicles tin beryllium desirable, combining outstanding show and high-tech interiors with usable driving range.”

Driving a Tesla whitethorn look fantastic until it needs repairs. Pyle ranks Tesla and Rivian among the apical cars helium wouldn’t bargain due to the fact that the outgo of owning the car outweighs the price. A 2024 Tesla Model 3 starts astatine astir $41,000.

Pyle ranked Tesla, on with Rivian, astatine the apical of the database of cars helium wouldn’t buy.

“The reasons are the outgo of ownership erstwhile a centrifugal oregon artillery fails, and the repair outgo is acold much than the conveyance value.”

Dash Lewis, penning for Jalopnik, a quality and sentiment website astir the “culture of cars,” says Tesla is 1 of the astir costly cars to repair and maintain.

Expect to wage an mean of $5,552 successful repair costs portion you ain a Tesla. Part of the crushed is that Tesla car parts are unsocial and hard to find. Similar to different luxury cars, you’re going to wage premium prices for car parts, Lewis said.

Even erstwhile compared to different electrical vehicles, Tesla costs more. Lewis estimated it costs $1,078 much to repair a Tesla during its beingness than different electrical vehicles.

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Rivian

The Rivian tied with Tesla arsenic the apical car Pyle said helium wouldn’t buy. Rivian is simply a California-based start-up that manufactures premium electrical SUVs and pick-up trucks from their Illinois factory.

“The precocious outgo of collision repairs and collision security tin often beryllium a car outgo successful itself,” Pyle said.

A 2025 Rivian RIT pick-up motortruck starts astatine $71,000. Like the Tesla, the Rivian is an costly conveyance to repair. One Rivian proprietor said connected an online forum that a insignificant mishap outgo him overmuch much than expected. What appeared to beryllium a bent bumper screen and a dented tailgate resulted successful mechanics having to disassemble the truck’s rear extremity and 2 and a fractional months of repairs.

“I figured the repair would beryllium costly but had nary idea!” the Rivian proprietor said. “Originally her security estimated the harm to beryllium astir $1,600 and sent maine a check…The last measure was implicit $42,000!”

Any New Truck

Pyle said helium wouldn’t bargain immoderate caller truck, including Ford, Dodge, Chevy, Nissan, oregon Toyota.

“The light-duty up to the heavy-duty models are mode overpriced,” Pyle said. “In the archetypal 5 years of ownership, you are going to suffer astir 35% to 55% of the car worth successful the $30,000 to $50,000 terms range. It is amended to bargain 1 utilized truthful that the archetypal proprietor takes the loss.”

According to Car and Driver, today’s heavy-duty trucks are “workhorses, luxury vehicles, high-performance machines, and comfy cruisers.” However, CarEdge, an online conveyance reseller, estimated that a Ford F-350 Super Duty, for example, would depreciate by 36% aft 5 years and person a five-year resale worth of astir $49,000. The estimation assumes an archetypal selling terms of $76,350.

Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500

Pyle said the Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500 stock the aforesaid chassis and the request for repairs.

“Not truthful overmuch the outgo of the repairs, but the frequence successful which they are needed,” Pyle said. “For many, these cars walk much clip sitting successful a car batch waiting for repairs compared to being driven trouble-free.”

Edmunds Car Review rated the 2023 Jeep Renegade a 6 retired of 10 successful presumption of value.

“The Renegade is 1 of the astir costly vehicles successful its class,” Edmunds reviewers said.

“That mightiness beryllium OK if you got tons of features and worth for the price, but you don’t. Interior physique prime is fine, but there’s thing exceptional wrong and it feels similar you’re paying a batch of for the rough-and-tumble Jeep styling.”

The 2023 Fiat 500x fared a small amended than the Jeep Renegade, earning a 7 retired of 10 worth people from Edmunds reviewers. The testers liked the “soft-touch materials” and matching body-color panels. However, reviewers disliked the costly terms tag and “charmless accessory sounds.”

“Changing those (price tag and accessory sounds) would spell a agelong mode to elevate the consciousness of this car,” Edmunds reviewers said.

Ford Fiesta, Nissan Cars, and Small SUVs

The adjacent radical of cars Pyle wouldn’t bargain were the Ford Fiesta, Nissan cars, and tiny SUVs.

“The dual-clutch transaxle and the CVT (Continuous Variable Transaxles) bash not clasp up,” Pyle said. “Once they fail, you are looking astatine precise costly repair costs and that astir autarkic shops volition not instrumentality on. So, they person to spell to the dealer.”

Since 2012, the Ford Fiesta has been the taxable of galore lawsuits due to the fact that the car institution knew astir the Fiesta’s PowerShift transmission (dual-clutch transaxle) and sold it anyway.

Owners reported having the aforesaid problems, adjacent aft replacing clutches, output shafts, and full transmissions.

Similarly, owners of assorted Nissan models betwixt 2013 and 2018 filed complaints with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), claiming that the faulty CVT transmissions caused “shuddering and acceleration delays that could pb to collisions.”

Jeep Grand Cherokee

The reviewers astatine carparts.com rated the Jeep Grand Cherokee mean successful presumption of dependability.

“It received a reliability standing of 3.5 retired of 5 from RepairPal and ranked 15thout of the 26 midsize SUVs reviewed based connected information from antithetic exemplary years,” said Lisa Conant, penning for the online supplier of aftermarket car parts.

Pyle listed a fig of reasons wherefore helium wouldn’t bargain a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

“They are plagued with high-cost repairs, premature parts nonaccomplishment from atrocious manufacturing, and they privation excessively overmuch to acquisition the conveyance erstwhile new,” Pyle said. “If you program to acquisition a caller one, earlier the warranty is over, marque definite to acquisition an extended warranty.”

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