Is this not true true of most modern cars, not only Japanese ones?
Decades ago, drivers could and did repair engines themselves, but today’s cars require more knowledge, training, and tools than the hobbyist is likely to have.
The expense of repair says little about reliability. Mean time to failure would be better.
Expected cost per year, including purchase cost, repair cost, and cost of time spent dealing with failures, would be better.
BTW, cars from heavy snow country last somewhere between 2⁄3 and 1⁄2 as long as cars down south (no official statistics, just my observation). This is due to just a few days per year when the roads are salted. Do the math, and you’ll find it’s probably cheaper to take leave without pay and stay home from work on days after it snows—even before taking into account the time saved by not working.
Is this not true true of most modern cars, not only Japanese ones?
Decades ago, drivers could and did repair engines themselves, but today’s cars require more knowledge, training, and tools than the hobbyist is likely to have.
The expense of repair says little about reliability. Mean time to failure would be better.
Expected cost per year, including purchase cost, repair cost, and cost of time spent dealing with failures, would be better.
BTW, cars from heavy snow country last somewhere between 2⁄3 and 1⁄2 as long as cars down south (no official statistics, just my observation). This is due to just a few days per year when the roads are salted. Do the math, and you’ll find it’s probably cheaper to take leave without pay and stay home from work on days after it snows—even before taking into account the time saved by not working.