Buyer Beware

Remember the days of blue screens, restarting windows, and in some cases, even reinstalling the operating system? Well that is today's high-tech, new car market.

Six figure vehicles are having catastrophic failures at under 25,000 miles. Not to mention, the average price of a new car is hovering around $50,000.

This is a $130,000 2025 Cadillac Escalade, whose entire dash failed with just 4,000 miles on it. What are you supposed to do with that? Every single system relies on this to work... did anyone do any risk analysis when designing these vehicles? Who cares! It's new & shiny!

Hyundai just had their own nightmare scenario.

Hyundai has halted all sales of its 2026 Palisade after a 2 year old child lost its life due to a malfunctioning power folding seat, on March 7th of this year.

Palisade owners are now learning that this problem is not limited to the 2026 model year, and has been shown to go back as far as 2022... so far.

We are learning, ever so slowly, that convenience isn't always the answer.

This problem however, is not limited to the convenience-driven technology on the inside. It has bled into the engine compartment.

You may have noticed recently that a lot, if not all, car manufacturers have switched to smaller, turbocharged, more fuel efficient engines. Forgoing the larger, naturally aspirated, lower fuel economy engines of yesteryear.

Here's the problem.

Historically, turbocharged engines have lots of reliability issues. Now, a lot of those issues have been dealt with over the years with improved designs that I won't get into, but you still have to be careful when dealing with these types of motors.

I would stay away from brands that already have questionable reliability track records.

On the flip side, Toyota, Ford, and Volkswagen have demonstrated that well-designed turbocharged systems can exceed 200,000 miles with proper care.

Don't forget that last part. With proper care. Proper maintenance has an even higher impact on turbocharged engine longevity. Neglecting maintenance significantly increases the risk of turbo failure, even in robust designs.

So if you are "always late to get your oil changed", these engines are not for you.

A BTN Turbo study found that less than 1% of turbo failures are due to defects in the turbo itself. Most result from oil contamination, poor maintenance, or external damage.

Recommended practices include:

1. Clockwork oil changes, following the manufacturers recommendations to the letter, using high-quality, heat resistant oil.

2. Replacing air and oil filters regularly.

3. Avoiding immediate engine shutdown after hard driving.

4. Letting the engine idle for 1-2 minutes before turning it off.

I bought a "new" car early last year, from the least tech focused manufacturer, because my old one was dying, and I could see the writing on the wall.

New car reliability is going to get worse before it gets better.

That means used car prices aren't likely to go down anytime soon.

My advice? Buy a non-turbocharged, non-techno car from the last generation, from a reliable manufacturer, with the least amount of miles you can afford... and plan to drive it for a while.

One day, it might even remind you of what it's like to drive without a car payment.