I have driven Japanese civic, Camry, Accord and German Mercedez Benz cars.

Never driven American cars.

In canada i see more american cars.

I have taken test drive GM Epica, FORD Fusion, GM LUCERNE CXL V6.

I loved test driving FORD and LUCERNE.

I am also thinking of CAMRY & ACCORD too.

Desi's.. i need your advice... keeping in mind the following points:

1) Maintenance expenses

2) Frequency of maintemnance

3) Life

4) Insurance ( I am new driver in canada )

5) Re sale

6) Any other.

Thanks.

Accord and Camry are both good bets - can't go wrong with that.
Fusion is becoming very popular too and getting very good feedback.
At this time, I would stay away from the German cars, esp. BMW.
Stick with the standard manufacturers (Toyota, Honda, Ford, GM) and popular models, unless you have the time to do extensive research, test drives and know a lot about internal workings of car.

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"Mah deah, there is much more money to be made in the destruction of civilization than in building it up."

-- Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind"

Toyota is actually offering excellent deals right now. I have never seen them give 0% financing earlier. I would suggest Nissan Altima too, again good deals around. Even Hyundai is decent now.

1) Maintenance expenses: Typically lower for Japanese, would advice dealer service for first two years, but other standard packages are good too.

2) Frequency of maintemnance: 9 years with Japanese cars, 95% of the time just recommended maintenance in my case.

4) Insurance ( I am new driver in canada ). Depends on safety features you install and your location, in addition to driving history.

5) Re sale: I would say check your dealer used car lots to verify, but Japanese cars are about 3-5 thousand more for similar year models.

6) Any other. As Pratickm said, you cannot go wrong with Camry or Accord. I personally prefer the Accord.

Make sure you do not fall for dealer induced warranties and other add ons without reading the fine print. Be prepared to negotiate till the end.

Good luck.

American cars are good with all the points you have down in your list. Their maintenance is relatively cheaper compared to the japanese cars. The only thing you would take a hit on is the resale value. They don't have much of it.

Personally, I had the same conundrum prior to purchasing my GM. But quite frankly, 5.5 years later, it is still going great. There has been zero maintenance except the regular oil changes. On the other hand, a colleague of mine bought a Nissan Altima and in the first two years he had a lot of trouble with it (brake pads, shocks). Could have been just his car but what I mean to say is, the notion that an American car is crap is quite untrue. They do pretty well.

Ford Fusion indeed has a good reputation. I am not sure about the Lucerne.

The one other thing with American cars, my pet peev, is that they churn out new models without any significant technological advancements. You can tell it is the same damn engine but the bodies are different. And they lack the brand following like japanese cars have.

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If you have a gun, you can rob a bank.
If you have a bank, you can rob everyone.
- Bill Maher

Heard last Sunday on a car experts discussion on CP24 ~ You can't go wrong with a Hyundai ....... Sonata has had a neat repetition ......

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Fido.

Guys,

I missed out a point.

Point no. 7.: i would ask the experts here to put thier views the best car to withstand with respect to Rust during winter.

Thanks.

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