Why You Maybe Shouldn’t Buy A First Model-Year Car Or A Final Model-Year Car

It’s pretty well established by now that buying a first model-year car is not the best idea, especially if that car isn’t based on another well-established vehicle with a proven powertrain and mechanical/electrical architecture. “By the final year of production, all the bugs will have been worked out, so I should get a final model-year car, right?” Well, not so fast.

Let’s first establish this: The “never buy the first model-year” advice is good; I could probably give you a million examples of design flaws that were changed sometime in the middle of the production run. Here are a few just off the top of my head:

1. Around 2005, General Motors fixed its 2.2-liter EcoTec four-cylinder engine’s timing chain lubrication problem after numerous early (first three model years) timing chain failures
2. In 2013, Nissan replaced its quickly-degrading Leaf battery packs (first two model-years) to a new “Lizard” pack that lasts longer
3. In 2013, Jeep fixed the issues its 2012 and 2013 Jeep Wranglers (first model years with new engine) were having with cylinder head valve guides
4. In 2015, BMW changed its timing chain/guide design of its N20 2.0-liter engines after numerous engine failures (first three model years).
5. In 2014, Subaru made engine changes after 2013 (first model-year) Scion FRS and Subaru BRZs valve spring failures

Here’s a quote from Consumer Reports about first model-year cars:

“…as our data has consistently shown, reliability-minded consumers would be best served by forgoing brand new vehicles in their first model year.”

It makes sense; as much research and development that automakers do before sending to customers, there are going to be some real-world conditions that the automaker will not have accounted for, and if this leads to significant failures and especially recalls, the automaker will likely fix the issue during the vehicle’s production run. Warranty repairs are expensive for automakers, after all.

But while those changes are happening something else will also be taking place: TCR

Technical Cost Reduction

TCR is technically an internal term used at DaimlerChrysler/Chrysler Group, LLC/FCA/Stellantis/whatever the hell people are calling the company I once worked for. It stands for “technical cost reduction,” and, well, I’ll allow FCA to define it in its “Supplier Help Resources” document:

FCA cost reduction program is a partnership with the supplier to reduce the cost of components and systems through innovative ideas that include material, function, form, process, and part management. If a supplier submits their idea into GPSIS, and it meets the FCA business case criteria without Decontenting, reducing Quality or Performance, FCA has 2 teams to support supplier idea development.

The short of it is that the goal is to reduce the cost of building the car not by reducing features, and not by reducing the car’s perceived quality — the point is to reduce cost in a way that’s imperceptible. At least, that’s the theory. In reality, sometimes the cost reductions are noticeable. Oftentimes they involve removing features that manufacturers’ data shows most folks don’t actually use, or they involve reducing the gauge of certain materials, or they involve change materials that companies don’t think customers will miss.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Autopian (@theautopian)

Generally, an ideal TCR, when pointed out to a customer, would result in a reply: “Oh, I don’t really care about that. The car feels the same.” But to diehards, sometimes it’s hard to look at a TCR and not be a bit disappointed just knowing that you’re getting less for your money.

Take my 2021 BMW i3. I’ve been driving a 2014 for over a year, so stepping into my 2021, some cost-saves things become obvious to me. First, the glovebox lock is no longer made of metal; it now appears to be made entirely of plastic.

2014:

2021:

In addition, 2014 BMW i3s came with netting on the back of the front seats; this was a handy place to store documents. BMW removed that starting in 2015.

2014:

2021:

Then there’s the Giga World interior changes. From 2014 to 2017, it looked like this:

You can see a slight change in leather color and fabric; those aren’t the cost-saves obvious to me — it’s the armrests. Notice how they were leather before, and now they’re white leatherette:

These are obviously small changes, and the average customer isn’t going to care that much about a seat net, armrests, or a glovebox lock, so in that way, BMW’s TCR engineers did a good job.

Still, as I’m sure many diehard enthusiasts have experienced when going from an early build car to a later one — not having a feature that you had before, or giving up on quality even a tiny bit when you’ve gotten used to the early vehicle, is a tough pill to swallow.

With that said, I have noticed that earlier-built cars tend to have better fit and finish than later ones, though that’s more anecdotal (though it’s worth mentioning that tooling does wear out over time). With that said, despite TCR, if I had to choose between a first model-year vehicle and a final, I’d choose a final. Not only have some of the big design flaws been fixed so the automaker can avoid more costly warranty claims, but in order to remain competitive, oftentimes there are new features added in over the years, or some once-optional features becomes standard. My 2021 BMW i3S, for example, has fancy Adaptive Headlights that weren’t available on early cars, it has Apple Carplay that wasn’t available on early cars, it has a new iDrive system that early cars didn’t have, and it’s a Sport Model, which wasn’t an option before 2018.

So there’s definitely more to gain and more to avoid when you choose a final model-year vehicle over a first. TCRs, if done correctly, are things you should be able to deal with.