4 New Cars You Should Avoid
Brandon Moore
· 4 min read
There are few things more aggravating than buying a
new car
and finding it doesn't meet your expectations. You spend a lot of your time and money on your car, after all. You want it to be worth the effort.Avoiding this disappointment means knowing which new cars on the market don't meet standards, especially if you’re
new to car buying
. This list will identify four examples of new cars that you should avoid.Weeding out bad new cars
Every list item must be selected using criteria, and knowledge of the criteria must come from somewhere. Mostly, this knowledge is from groups such as JD Powers and Consumer Reports that rate cars. You can learn a lot about any car you want to buy by scanning their reliability and
safety ratings
.Poor marks for JD Power is a bad sign. It specializes in collecting car owners’ opinions about a new car's reliability and safety, and the experiences they report can warn you off lemons.
A poor showing with Consumer Reports is also something to pay attention to. They pay for their testing through membership fees, and this makes them independent enough to go hard on a car. Over the years, people have learned that their findings can be relied on.
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New cars with old design
More: The 2022 Toyota 4Runner Failed to Impress Critics
The Ford Taurus 2021 coming out now is basically the same as the 2010 model, and it shows its age. The back seat feels a bit cramped, especially for a full-size car. The performance is the same as any other car, too, so it doesn't compensate for its weaknesses.
To top it off, JD Powers and Consumer Reports gave it a poor rating for reliability.
The Dodge Grand Caravan is also past its prime.
The Dodge Grand Caravan hasn't been completely redesigned since 2008, and it was supposed to be replaced by the Chrysler Pacifica recently. Yet dealers in some states continue to sell it.
The old design no longer meets the tailpipe regulations of some states, according to the car website
Edmunds
. It failed Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests as well because it lacks the driving assistance technology of other minivans. JD Powers and Consumer Reports have chimed in by giving it low marks for reliability.It even lacks many infotainment and emergency features. You want to buy this one used, if you buy it at all.
New cars that are better used
More: There's Never Been a Better Time to Buy a Sedan
The Acura ILX topped the
Forbes
list of cars to avoid because even other non-luxury small cars outshine it. It accelerates slowly and many of the technical features are older models. It provides a stiff ride and the interior trim feels cheap and plasticky.Consumer Reports gave it low marks in reliability and for overall performance. JD Powers agrees, rating it poorly for its reliability. This is another good one to
buy used
instead of new.The Fiat 500 is another one that doesn't compete long-term, though it is a beautiful subcompact coupe/convertible. It can even be fun to drive.
However, someone wanting to use it regularly will find it generally lackluster. Consumer Reports rates it 45 out of 100, and that is the highest-rated Fiat on their list. It doesn't accelerate well, and it handles rougher than expected.
All of this leads to a devalued resale value. You aren't going to get your money back when the fancy convertible loses its novelty.
Once you have eliminated these cars from your search, you can start sorting through the vehicles that won't disappoint you by finding cars with high ratings from JD Power and Consumer Reports.
One of the benefits of doing this is getting better insurance.
Jerry
understands the difference between a good car and a bad car and can find insurance that works best for the car you have.
