8 Worst Cars To Own in a Recession

The U.S. economic outlook for 2022 and 2023 was a pessimistic one, full of many discerning number-crunchers’ warnings of an eventual, inevitable recession. It remains debatable whether one is on the horizon .

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Some are predicting a recession not far off from now. According to leading economist and Johns Hopkins professor Steve Hanke, the country isn’t out of the woods yet. Citing a decreasing money supply and its slow growth rate, Hanke — talking to Julia La Roche via YouTube in July — said: “I think things are slowing down, and they will probably slow us into a recession by the end of this year or early next year.”

Whether that happens or not, confidence in the U.S. economy is far from soaring, causing consumers to seek ways to feel in control of their finances and plan for hard times. Thinking “recessionally” can be a good thing from a personal finance point of view, especially when it comes to discretionary spending on large purchases, like cars.

Although car prices have stabilized somewhat, the average transaction price for new vehicles is still north of $48,000. So, if you need to buy a car, consider a used model or do your research so you can avoid the worst cars to own during a recession.

While new and old luxury vehicles and high-performance or exotic sports cars depreciate rapidly and are expensive to insure, the worst cars to own during tough economic times are large trucks and SUVs, which are less fuel-efficient and unreliable.

The eight models that follow all suffer from high sticker prices, high maintenance and repair costs, high insurance premiums, high depreciation, high fuel costs — you get the picture. Vehicles are ranked by cost per fuel tank, using AAA’s national gas price average for August 22 and vehicle tank capacity in gallons. Price range, tank capacity and range per tank numbers have been provided by Consumer Reports . Which vehicles should you avoid buying ?

8. Cadillac Escalade

Price range: $81,895 – $155,295

Cost per full tank: $81

Gas tank capacity, gallons: 24

Range per tank, miles: 384

Although the Escalade and the Escalade ESV are less expensive to maintain than many competing SUVs, there’s that huge sticker price to contend with.

Unless you’re getting a crazy recession sale deal, wait until the economy is thriving to buy an Escalade.

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7. Ram 1500

Price range: $39,420 – $96,340

Cost per full tank: $88

Gas tank capacity, gallons: 26

Range per tank, miles: 442

Not only is the 1500 expensive on fuel, it costs about $18,469 for maintenance and repairs during its first 10 years of service, according to CarEdge .

Best to stay away from Ram altogether — its trucks and cargo vans are the seven most expensive vehicles to maintain.

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6. Nissan Titan

Price range: $46,690 – $63,670

Cost per full tank: $88

Gas tank capacity, gallons: 26

Range per tank, miles: 416

It’ll still cost you plenty to own a Titan in a recession, but RepairPal ranked the Titan an impressive second out of 17 full-size trucks for reliability.

“While repairs tend to be more severe than average, these issues occur less often, so major repairs are infrequent for the Titan,” the site indicated.

5. Infiniti QX80

Price range: $74,150 – $88,450

Cost per full tank: $88

Gas tank capacity, gallons: 26

Range per tank, miles: 390

Per CarEdge data, there is a 32.16% chance — 28.08% worse than similar vehicles in this segment — that a QX80 will require a major repair during its first decade of ownership.

Additionally, the average cost to insure a QX80 is about $2,594, per the site, or around $12,970 after five years of ownership.

4. Nissan Armada

Price range: $56,520 – $71,590

Cost per full tank: $88

Gas tank capacity, gallons: 26

Range per tank, miles: 364

Costing around $56,500 for a base model and topping out its trims at $71,590, the Nissan Armada is the second cheapest vehicle in this list, behind its brand partner, the Titan.

It’ll cost you the same amount to fill both of their 26-gallon gas tanks, around $88.

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3. Ford Expedition

Price range: $54,660 – $86,800

Cost per full tank: $94

Gas tank capacity, gallons: 27.8

Range per tank, miles: 445

According to CarEdge, an Expedition will cost you around $9,758 — $6,521 more than the industry average for popular SUV models — during its first 10 years of service in repairs and maintenance costs.

There is also a 26.6% chance that an Expedition will require a major repair during that time.

2. Chevrolet Suburban / GMC Yukon XL

Price range: $57,600 – $82,900

Cost per full tank: $95

Gas tank capacity, gallons: 28

Range per tank, miles: 448

Consumer Reports paired the GMC Yukon XL with the Chevy Suburban in its “Vehicles That Cost the Most to Gas Up” article from April 2024.

Both share similar specs, should be counted on to last more than 250,000 miles and are comparable in price (the Yukon is more expensive). Generally, they will cost you $8,733 for the Yukon XL and $9,536 for the Suburban in 10-year maintenance costs, per CarEdge.

1. Toyota Tundra

Price range: $39,965 – $78,845

Cost per full tank: $109

Gas tank capacity, gallons: 32.2

Range per tank, miles: 547

Although it lags Ford F-Series trucks, the Chevrolet Silverado, Ram pickups and the GMC Sierra in popularity, the Tundra shares Toyota’s reputation for producing vehicles known for their longevity and durability.

However, with a huge 32.2-gallon tank capacity, it’ll take a whopping $109 to fill it up with gas today.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : 8 Worst Cars To Own in a Recession