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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You do not see Yugos out there. Your making a statement which confuses cost with reliability.
One would hope the two things go hand and hand but they do not.
People buy luxury brands because they want luxury and reliability may not be the priority.
One of the reasons I bought a Civic (’07) was because it was very popular and parts were plentiful/cheap. I love everything about it, but the fact it would be reasonable to maintain was the deal maker.
It’s not to say that cheaper cars last longer than luxury cars. Look at Lexus, a premium car brand under Toyota that constantly defeats Mercedes Benz or BMW in terms of quality and reliability.
It’s more to the commitment of the brand to produce high quality products rather than the pricing of their cars. In Southeast Asia you can find plenty of Japanese cars around selling for about $10k after conversions, and people are saying it’s more reliable than continental cars, like Peugeot and BMW.
In addition to what others have said, the Camry and Accord have been manufactured for so many decades, the companies have it down pat. So, experience plus volume of sales. Parts; assembly; personnel; everything is very standardized which contributes to keeping costs low.
They’re not actually really all that much more reliable. They are a little more reliable though, which leads to a lot of them being made, which leads to greater availability of replacement parts and service technicians, which means repairs are cheaper and easier, which makes them even more reliable, which means more high-mileage specs on the road, which means even greater availability of replacement parts and service technicians even for high-mileage problems, which just makes them all the easier to maintain and therefore even more “reliable.”
There are plenty of reliable luxury cars though, they are just expensive and the reliability isn’t a selling point. M3s are known for their reliability but it’s just one of many selling points.
Because price is an indicator of *social status*, not quality. “Luxury” products are deliberately more expensive so that everyone can see that you spent a lot of money.
Tight tolerances are needed to maximize performance and functions. That’s part of what makes them so high quality. This also means that small changes or damage can have major effects.
I don’t think that’s accurate based on entire classes or pricing tiers, there may be some individual outliers that serve to stereotype the category as a whole.
i assume cheap cars are basic and have less complex gadgets and stuff, which means less maintenance, so they break down less
Robotic manufacturing is expensive, but delivers high levels of precision, exacting tolerances, better fitting parts.
When you make millions of them then the cost comes down per unit. It becomes cost effective to have millions invested in an assembly line, not only for the car assembly but the engine/transmission units.
Look at handblown xmas ornaments, basically a glass ball with pretty colors, they cost $30 and a lot more. Compared to light bulbs that were a buck each.
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