how is it that the cheapest cars (Camry/accord) are the most reliable and longest lasting compared to luxury cars that cost more?
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they make the inside nice and lower the quality of the parts, and charge you for the name. Capitalism at its finest
Those aren’t even close to the cheapest cars. Brand new Camry will set you back 30k or more.
One is simplicity. There is simply less to go wrong.
But the huge part you are missing is these cars are not that cheap, by no means expensive. But not cheap. In the USA we don’t even get most ‘cheap’ cars the rest of the world sees.
Toyota and Honda are two of the best car manufacturers in the world. They are renowned for reliable vehicles. They are engineered to be very reliable. It is one of their selling points.
Some luxury companies for on luxury and performance. These things add lots of cost. And as I said it’s more to break eventually. That said Mercedes and Porsche still make quite reliable cars.
generally the cheaper cars are mass produced this means there has to be a very developed production line and somewhat looser tolerances(so there are fewer losses due ot manufacturing defects)
this higlhy developed production line also means there is ease of keeping a supply of spare parts
the result is that the cheaper mass produced models are easier to service, easier ot source parts for and easier ot repair.
this isnt to say that the premium models are bad onbut on the highest level these cars are custom produced hence any parts are made specifically for it, this allows to push design limits harder, but if something needs repalcing…well now you have ot pay a premium to have that part custom built again. and if there is no demand for it there wont be a production line ready for it right off the bat so these spare parts will demand a premium.
Luxury cars are selling an experience, comfort, performance, and new or novel features. Things such as air suspension and high-output turbocharged engines are less reliable than the more basic alternatives, but luxury car buyers want high performance and extreme comfort in their vehicles. And the new and flashy features in the vehicle may not have all the bugs worked out of them, but if you want to have the newest and latest great thing you may be willing to overlook the reliability.
Toyota and Honda typically stick to proven and durable solutions instead of prioritizing comfort and performance.
Just because it costs more does not mean it is better.
Some Luxury items are overpriced, because people will pay a lot of money for a fancy label or bragging rights.
I drive a basic 2006 Ford van, with no electric locks or power window openers. I like it because it’s simple and fixable and utilitarian. And man, was it cheap to buy and cheap to maintain. And the reason it’s so cheap is that it’s so simple. Same reason the low-end Toyotas are so durable. Nothin’ fancy.
other have good reasons.
I’d like to add that people who buy cheap cars probably drive them more carefully, and take care of them better.
And not all premium cars are unreliable. I have a volvo that is 14 years old, sat outside and unused for a year during covid, but still works fine.
They aren’t the cheapest, but they designed for those features to be the primary objectives when decisions are made. A Ferrari chooses style and high performance, which means pushing components their limits, fighting complex components into tight package and the tradeoffs are that they are more prone to parts failures.
Think of a Camry as walking… it’s safe, reliable but slower. Think of a Ferrari as fast running. You may get there faster, look better running so fast, but also are more prone to suffering an injury in doing so.
different buyer personas, which is to say who buys these cars care about different things:
– low and middle income people want reliability because they can’t afford lots of repairs. they care less about status, comfort, and performance
– high income people care about status, comfort, and performance over cost to maintain because they have more money
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