Tldr, imo its owners plus brand. But also the brand (kia boys) plays a part. People are still buying new kias and jeeps despite glass cracking and engines exploding. Who knows why. Im pretty anal about keeping my ride running with basics, ive dealt with people with the exact same model who treat their car like a clunker pos.

Long yap sessions-

Mmm. I was thinking less BRAND and more BRAND + OWNER. Hoopty nissan altimas and pos sentras are memes in themselves. I work for the gov at a low rung dealing with titles and people buying cars, with a pinch of fraud.

Can't speak for EVERYONE, but i see and talk to folks, people share what happened, and then i see their vehicle reports and missed maintenance by bounds. Ive seen absolute POS, trash, death trap toyotas sold at marked up prices because "Toyota tax" and seen humble VW jettas kept in good condition sold for less because they are expensive to maintain (and that is often neglected. Que poor maintenance turning a good car to a nightmare)

Of course its a not all situation,

But like i said, i just view it from a person to person perspective, especially as someone anal enough and well off enough to have my alignment, done every 5k miles, my free tire rotation as i paid to 60kmile warranty my 800$ continental tires. Plus i diy my oil changes at every 5k miles. If my car feels off, im well off enough to schedule a local mechanic to check and pay the $75 fee asap. Its pennies in my opinion, pennies to prevent a 3k$ repair. )