‘Toyota & Honda Only’: Should you buy a new car in your 20s? Expert says 2019 BMW ‘ruined her life’

TikToker Kourtlynn Faith (@kourtlynn_) learned the hard way about the pitfalls of buying a new car and recently posted a viral video warning the younger generation about taking your time when shopping for a vehicle in your 20s.

Viewed over 167,000 times as of publication, the video features Faith detailing how rushing into buying a new luxury vehicle ruined her life.

How it started

"I don't want young people to end up in the same situation I have by buying a car that has literally ruined my [expletive] life," Faith says, before detailing how important research and preparation really are when shopping for a car.

According to Faith, in 2022, she had a Lexus that she loved, but decided to give it to her mom and get herself a new car. This decision started an ordeal she's still living with today. She visited a dealership in California that offered her more than what she owed on her car and "zero dollars down" on a used BMW X3 with 30,000 miles on it. Thrilled with the opportunity, Faith signed on the dotted line, traded her Lexus, and took home a beautiful BMW.

"I went to the dealership looking for a Lexus NX, I wanted to be in a truck, and the guy at the dealership talked me into getting a BMW X3," she recalled.

Unfortunately, for her, she failed to notice an obvious "red flag." There were only "two Lexus NXs, but like 12 BMW X3s" in the lot.

It went downhill fast

The month after she bought her new car her "A/C went out" and "a month after the A/C went out" her brakes had to be replaced. Two weeks later, her engine light came on.

"That is when the cycle of my car being either at the dealership, or at a certified BMW mechanic every single month started. Every single time I fix one problem, another problem happens," she said.

According to her, her new, "cool" car ended up costing her "thousands of dollars."

"Buying a car just because of what it looks like is not as important as the longevity and the amount that's it's gonna cost you and what you're gonna go through," she warned.

Moral of the story

Even though Faith tried to fight back by contacting a lawyer, her prospects of getting some her money back seem dim because the dealership that she bought the car from closed down. According to her, she doesn't blame the BMW, instead she's convinced she bought a lemon.

"Had I gone with my instinct, had I done more research, had I taken my time," she said, recalling how the great-looking deal blinded her to the red flags.

Fortunately, she was able to get another Lexus NX, but she still has the BMW X3.

"I'm not touching that bitch until I get rid of it, but everybody doesn't have that privilege, and you don't wanna be upside down in something that you did not have to get in in the first place," Faith said, warning young adults to not buy a new car in your 20s.

@kourtlynn_ #greenscreen take your time buying a car! #fyp #carsoftiktok #carbuyingtips #bmwlife #lifehacks #lifelessons ♬ original sound - Kourtlynn Faith

Many viewers believed her first mistake was buying a European car. BMW is based in Germany, and its vehicles can cost hundreds of dollars more a year to maintain than other vehicles.

"European cars are only good if they’re certified pre owned or still under the new car warranty. Repairs on them will empty your pockets," one said.

"Just got rid of my BMW and got a Honda, never again, spent so much on repairs," another shared.

"I just got rid of my Audi I’m never going foreign again," a third agreed.

Others defended their BMWs, and suggested her car might be a lemon.

"X3 was my first car at 16 and lasted me all the way through college. Loved her bad," one said.

"I’ve bought a used bmw I didn’t have any problems but I bought it from a bmw dealership," a second added.

Do foreign cars have more problems?

Despite some user claims that foreign cars are less dependable than their American counterparts, the data actually shows something different. According to LendingTree, it's not as simple as buying foreign or American, and that's due to international partnerships between companies. "When buying a car, research your options based on the factors that are most important to you," the article states.

This BMW enthusiast blog acknowledges that the company's cars can come with expensive repairs down the line. "BMWs, being expensive, complex German cars are often expensive and complicated to repair. So why do we keep doing it?" the article states. "Sure, we could go out and buy a Camry for a lot less money than a 3 Series of a similar vintage and the Toyota will be far more reliable during the same ownership period. More than that, any repairs will be far less costly on average, due to cheaper part prices and less complex repair procedures. But would those cars fill our inherent need to drive something special? No, probably not."

Daily Dot reached out to Faith via email and TikTok messages for further comment.

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