New Cars Too Pricey for Many

[Merlin]

There's always the unforseen costs of certain cars as well.  I won't buy an AWD because I've heard horror stories of having to replace all 4 tires if you have a problem with 1 of them.  Depending on the brand, the tires have to all be the same size, so if 2 years in you have to replace 1, you have to replace them all.  Yikes, not a price I want to pay.

I have a friend who has a 2005 Honda Odyssey with the PAX run-flat tire system, and she has to replace all 4 tires almost every year.  Not even kidding.  I told her she was insane to continue with that kind of upkeep, as I think we pay for new tires every 5 years or so.  That is a HUGE expense.  More than $100/mo just to keep your tire budget going.  No thank you.

I like the thought of the hybrids for my kids, but with what I'm willing to pay for one, it would probably need the batteries replaced sooner rather than later, so that's a no-go.

We don't get much wintry precipitation here, but I had to drive through snow and freezing rain this winter. I also had to drive on rough, rural roads to get to clients' houses. In turn, I thought about getting an AWD vehicle. I'm still debating if it's worth the extra expense. I almost died when my car slid. LOL

My wife insists on AWD (or 4WD) vehicles when the option is available due to the safety factor. This is particularly important if you live somewhere with inclement weather or where you get a lot of snow in the winter, though it doesn't completely replace the need for winter tires or chains in those areas. When we lived back east, we would have been stranded in the snow and unable to get to work without it. Here in California the worst we need to deal with is rain and occasional black ice, and AWD really helps for those situations as well.

Outside of bad weather, AWD doesn't add much except cost and weight. Well, unless if you take your vehicle to the track or a drag strip, which is another place AWD shines. But most folks here probably wouldn't be interested in doing that.