Lemon laws protect luxury vehicles, too

More and more people are buying luxury brand vehicles, such as those made by Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar. Some buy them for status, some buy them for the luxury features and some buy them just to treat themselves to something nice. Keep in mind that all vehicles are occasionally prone to problems, though. Expensive cars can have them, too.

More below.

Lemon laws protect all cars, even the expensive ones

Over the past five years or so, sales of luxury vehicles in the United States have increased substantially. There are a number of reasons why people buy expensive cars and trucks; some just like the added comfort. Others like to brag about having an expensive make. Still others like to drive an attention grabbing vehicle. What other reason could there be for driving a Hummer in downtown Chicago?

Consumers need to realize a couple of things about expensive cars, however. The luxury features are nice, but studies show that nearly all cars are about equally reliable these days. Furthermore, most cars are about equally likely to be defective. That means that while it may be nice to drive a Ferrari, you will pay a lot for the privilege, and you still run the risk of buying a lemon. In addition, the insurance and repair costs of a more expensive car could be far more than you might expect.

Car reliability is currently the best it has ever been. Average cars such as the Honda Civic are quite reliable and can reasonably be expected to run well for years. The old days when a car with 100,000 miles on it was considered over the hill are gone; many cars routinely reach 200,000 miles and beyond today.

Still, lemon problems do occur, and driving Jaguar or a Porsche does not make you exempt from factory defects. It just creates a more expensive headache should a lemon problem occur. All cars are going to have occasional problems, including warranty issues. For more expensive or exotic cars, the headaches associated with defects can be far more serious. Downtime can be longer, particularly if the parts needed for repair are not in stock. They might need to be ordered from a remote location. If the problem is recurring, the amount of time you spend without your vehicle could be considerably longer.

Studies have shown that warranty problems with luxury cars are often associated with nonessential equipment, such as adaptive cruise control or other sophisticated electronic gadgetry. Drive train problems tend to be no more prevalent than they are for other vehicles in any price range. The one advantage of having problems with luxury cars is that dealers of such vehicles tend to be a bit more service-oriented than dealers of more common or less expensive vehicles. That may at least save you a bit of discomfort, particularly if your dealer is willing to lend you a car while your expensive machine is out for repairs.

All cars, no matter what make or model or price range, are going to have occasional problems, and some are going to be out and out defective. Luxury cars are nice, and you should feel free to buy one if you are so moved. Don’t delude yourself into thinking that buying an expensive car will somehow insure that you don’t get stuck with one that’s defective. The risk is still there.