When the people in your life buy terrible cars.

[Raza]

You guys sure know a lot of people who are buying Patriots.  I didn't even know they still made them. 

[AutobahnSHO]

Is this the car with the famous burning brakes?

Yes.

I don't know how you catch brakes on fire in cold Utah winter.

[AutobahnSHO]

I have a friend who bought patriot. I even rode about 2hrs with him. He got a screaming deal on it, used, and sold it not much later for what he got it for.

[cawimmer430]

I usually don't say anything when people buy cars that I don't like. Usually people will buy crappy cars because they're on a budget or just don't care about the things that we enthusiasts care about. 

[12,000 RPM]

U can get a great car on a budget

[Eye of the Tiger]

U can get a great car on a budget

Yeah, an $800 budget + some elbow grease.

[AutobahnSHO]

I paid $2500 for my subie, then a year later $1300 for dealer to completely rebuild the a/c (Georgia sucks in the summer).
Since then it's needed an axle, alternator and battery, tires oil & gas.

That's 6 years now and like 50k miles...

[Madman]

I've had so many friends and relatives buy crap cars I've given up offering advice to any of them.

There's too many instances to mention but the one that really stands out is the time when my sister convinced my mother to buy her rustbucket 1987 Cutlass Ciera.  Being familiar with this shitheap and knowing full well how my sister had taken care of it (that is to say not at all), I advised my mother not to buy this rolling turd under any circumstances.  So what does she do?  Buys it, of course!

And because my mother will buy absolutely anything a salesman puts in front of her, she was convinced by her insurance agent to get full coverage for this rusting pile of shite.  Luckily, the car was stolen and crashed by joyriders and the insurance payout was far more than the damn thing was worth!

[MX793]

U can get a great car on a budget

I suspect things are a little tougher in Germany what with the TUV and all.

[sparkplug]

I recommend a good mechanic.

[Morris Minor]

I think the recently-off-lease CPO option is the way to go. Let someone else take the depreciation hit. There's any number of 2011-2 Camrys around for about $15k.

Better than taking the torture that a shit car will dole out.

[Rupert]

I usually find something about the car that I like to make my lie more convincing when I tell them good job or whatever. But I don't really give a shit what people buy, unless they asked for my advice when they were looking and I gave them a lot of it.

I generally tell people that there are no truly terrible cars made in the last 10 - 15 years, and there is nothing particularly holy about Toyota/Honda/Subaru/Ford/Chevy/Europeans/etc., so it really comes down to fitting their specs. Then I ask for their specs, advise them when necessary (do you drive off-highway in Idaho? for example), and tell them what sort of car they should be looking for.

I don't always give them a list of cars (because I cannot for the life of me remember what makes a CRV different from a RAV4, my god), and I tell them drive cars in the categories given and buy what they think is the best one/the one that makes the most sense. I find that I advise a lot of people who say they do drive off-highway in Idaho (for example), and I tell them Subaru AWD or real 4WD in the least. My folks bought an Explorer on my recommendation after I convinced them that a Murano wouldn't do it.

[ifcar]

(because I cannot for the life of me remember what makes a CRV different from a RAV4, my god)

Ride, handling, interior quality, and fuel economy (all in favor of the Honda). Since you were clearly burning with curiosity. 

[Rupert]

I have a friend with a CRV. The ride is impressive.

IMO, all that detail is needless when just about everything is going to be roughly equally reliable and stay basically together equally well, at least compared to almost anything made before 1995. You like the RAV4 because it comes in purple? OK then, go for it.

[Byteme]

I think the recently-off-lease CPO option is the way to go. Let someone else take the depreciation hit. There's any number of 2011-2 Camrys around for about $15k.

Better than taking the torture that a shit car will dole out.

Yeah but then you are stuck with a fucking 2011 or 2012 Camry.   Why not just put your scrotum in a mechanics vise, crank it tight and save the purchase price.