| First of all, avoid any car the first year it's | | | | Please don't make the terrible mistake of leasing |
| released. I noticed in the paper this morning that | | | | your next car. Car salesmen can convince anyone |
| you could lease a new Ford whatever their new | | | | that this is a great way to go if you don't have a |
| SUV/sedan cross is for the same price you lease | | | | lot of money to put down for your car (who |
| a Ford Explorer. What fool would buy a new car, | | | | does?) or if you want to buy a nicer car that you |
| before the manufacturer has had a year or two | | | | couldn't afford otherwise. You can't afford to |
| to iron out the bugs? They're in constant contact | | | | lease a car; even Bill Gates can't afford to lease a |
| with dealers and service departments to find out | | | | car. Please cross leasing off your list of car |
| how their new cars are performing and what | | | | options. We can't find anything truly worthwhile |
| customers like and don't like about them. Give | | | | about leasing. |
| them some time to fine tune the car before | | | | And now our list of worst cars to buy for 2007 |
| buying it for yourself. | | | | (by make and model): |
| Never buy whatever car is super popular. You'll | | | | BMW 7 Series and X5 Chevy Astro, Blazer, |
| pay top dollar, and you'll never get that money | | | | Express, S-10 with 4WD, Venture, Chrysler Town |
| back out of it. No car dealer will dealer on a hot | | | | & Country (with all wheel drive) Dodge Grand |
| car. Why should they, if someone else who's | | | | Caravan (all wheel drive) GMC Jimmy, Sonoma |
| willing to pay full price will buy it later that day? | | | | 4WD, Safari, Savana |
| It's often hard to find a dealer who even has a | | | | Infiniti QX56Jaguar S and X-types Jeep Grand |
| hot car on his lot. There's no way in the world | | | | Cherokee Kia Sedona (the 2006 is acceptable, if |
| they're going to give you a price break if they're | | | | you must buy a Kia) Land Rover Discovery |
| the only dealer within 200 miles who has the car | | | | Lincoln Aviator and Navigator Mercedes-Benz CLK, |
| everyone wants. And two or three years later, | | | | M- and S-Classes, SL Nissan Armada, Titan |
| when you're ready to sell the car, there are | | | | Oldsmobile Bravada, Cutlass and Silhouette |
| enough of them available, and they may no longer | | | | Pontiac Aztek, Trans Sport, Volkswagen Cabrio, |
| be the hottest car, that you won't be able to sell | | | | Jetta Turbo, Jetta V6, Beetle, Touareg |
| it for the same top dollar you bought it for. | | | | That's our politically correct list. But the fact is, in |
| A car that you only keep for a year or two | | | | a million years we'll never buy: any British car |
| definitely qualifies as a 'worst car to buy.' One | | | | (Land Rover, Jaguar, Mini-Cooper, Lotus, etc.); any |
| study I read found that if a person kept every | | | | German car (Volkswagon, BMW, Mercedes, |
| car they bought for ten years or more, instead | | | | Porsche, etc.) or any French car. Have you ever |
| of buying or leasing a new one every three | | | | sat in the back seat of a BMW? If you're more |
| years, that they would save $400,000 by the | | | | than five feet tall, there's no headroom. A lot of |
| time they turned 65. It didn't matter whether | | | | these cars have become associated with the |
| they bought the car new or used, or what kind of | | | | rich-you've made if you drive a Mercedes. But I've |
| car they bought. It was cheaper-significantly | | | | never met anyone who any of these who was |
| cheaper-to buy it and pay for whatever repairs | | | | really happy with it. We know all about the |
| came up. Cars are lasting longer every year, so | | | | numbers of repairs per vehicle, but we've own a |
| it's possible you could keep your car even longer | | | | lot of these cars, or had family member or close |
| than ten years, and save even more money. | | | | friends who owned them. Please don't make the |
| Please don't be one of those people who buys a | | | | same mistake these people did. Buy yourself a |
| new car every four or five years. | | | | nice Honda or Toyota. |