Hyundai/Kia offering America's "best warranty" is a bit of a historical artifact. When Hyundai first sold cars in the U.S., they were horrible econoboxes. Eventually they realized they had to offer a long warranty to attract buyers. It's not about how much confidence they have in their product, but whether they believe it's a selling point (vs what it costs). They still believe having a class-leading warranty helps push metal out the door. It's not about offering a long warranty, and skimping on service parts.
Actual reliability is a separate issue. Toyota is by and large considered the most reliable auto brand (over the long term), but their warranty is more or less industry standard. It's not that they have less confidence in their product, but that they don't need to use warranty as a selling point. In the past, Honda was also considered one of the most reliable makes, but this is less true nowadays. Korean cars are generally considered average or above average in reliability (it depends on model more than country of origin).
So the long Hyundai/Kia warranty means lower total cost of ownership:
If you do need service, cost will be covered for quite a long time. But like I said previously, Hyundai/Kia dealers are known for very poor customer service, so you'll have to decide if that's still true or a problem for you.
As far as buying used or new, in general I like saving money on used cars. BUT SUVs and light trucks tend to fall into a bit of a gray area. Because they are so popular, the top models don't depreciate very quickly. So you really aren't saving that much money by getting a 2017 Honda CR-V compared to a new one. Furthermore, the brand new one is likely to have a longer warranty AND perhaps have better product features (such as Honda Sensing standard).
I'm not saying you shouldn't look at class-leading CPO vehicles (MX-5 and Tucson are pretty good choices), but that the savings may not be big enough to matter.
As for a specific example, if I was given the choice between a 2016 compact SUV for $22k, and a similarly equipped new Kia Sportage for a little more, then it's a no-brainer. I'll take the new car all day, every day. Since your intent is to own the car forever, I feel having the great warranty is a wise idea provided the Sportage checks off all the boxes that you want.
Buying a car isn't highly logical; you can find out from reviews which few choices you should be looking at. But at some point, it becomes a matter of tastes and emotion comes into play. I try to be as logical/economical as possible so I'm always choosing "best in class" cars vs. pure emotional joy.
According to one reliability survey, Hyundai/Kia are roughly 70th percentile. Subaru is average:
https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2019-us-vehicle-dependability-studyvds
Actual reliability is a separate issue. Toyota is by and large considered the most reliable auto brand (over the long term), but their warranty is more or less industry standard. It's not that they have less confidence in their product, but that they don't need to use warranty as a selling point. In the past, Honda was also considered one of the most reliable makes, but this is less true nowadays. Korean cars are generally considered average or above average in reliability (it depends on model more than country of origin).
So the long Hyundai/Kia warranty means lower total cost of ownership:
If you do need service, cost will be covered for quite a long time. But like I said previously, Hyundai/Kia dealers are known for very poor customer service, so you'll have to decide if that's still true or a problem for you.
As far as buying used or new, in general I like saving money on used cars. BUT SUVs and light trucks tend to fall into a bit of a gray area. Because they are so popular, the top models don't depreciate very quickly. So you really aren't saving that much money by getting a 2017 Honda CR-V compared to a new one. Furthermore, the brand new one is likely to have a longer warranty AND perhaps have better product features (such as Honda Sensing standard).
I'm not saying you shouldn't look at class-leading CPO vehicles (MX-5 and Tucson are pretty good choices), but that the savings may not be big enough to matter.
As for a specific example, if I was given the choice between a 2016 compact SUV for $22k, and a similarly equipped new Kia Sportage for a little more, then it's a no-brainer. I'll take the new car all day, every day. Since your intent is to own the car forever, I feel having the great warranty is a wise idea provided the Sportage checks off all the boxes that you want.
Buying a car isn't highly logical; you can find out from reviews which few choices you should be looking at. But at some point, it becomes a matter of tastes and emotion comes into play. I try to be as logical/economical as possible so I'm always choosing "best in class" cars vs. pure emotional joy.
According to one reliability survey, Hyundai/Kia are roughly 70th percentile. Subaru is average:
https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2019-us-vehicle-dependability-studyvds
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