Let's assume you want to purchase a 5-10 year old vehicle for a new driver within the following parameters:
1. Lowest total cost of ownership.
2. High availability of aftermarket and repair parts from junk yards.
3. Ease of maintenance and repair. Especially for somebody that doesn't have a professional shop and full line of specialty tools but who tries to do as much work as possible themselves. (For instance, I routinely do brake and suspension work, also replaced a Hyundai beta timing belt and swapped a manual tranny in a Ford Focus.)
4. A good online source of information (forums, etc.) that can be used to research various maintenance and repair tasks the may arise over the remaining life of the vehicle.
5. Above average reliability.
6. Creature comforts and "fun-to-drive" are not considerations.
1. Lowest total cost of ownership.
2. High availability of aftermarket and repair parts from junk yards.
3. Ease of maintenance and repair. Especially for somebody that doesn't have a professional shop and full line of specialty tools but who tries to do as much work as possible themselves. (For instance, I routinely do brake and suspension work, also replaced a Hyundai beta timing belt and swapped a manual tranny in a Ford Focus.)
4. A good online source of information (forums, etc.) that can be used to research various maintenance and repair tasks the may arise over the remaining life of the vehicle.
5. Above average reliability.
6. Creature comforts and "fun-to-drive" are not considerations.
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