when buying a vehicle what are your priorities?? automakers are making it nearly impossible to replace anything yourself

Safety, reliability and price are all important to me. I like Hondas and Toyotas.

Reliabilty. Shoot replacing a light bulb takes a team of surgeons theses days

I used to be able to tune my VW with a continuity tester.

I would never buy an american car, they aren't reliable. Japanese are amazing. German cars have lots of quality gear but seem to break down a lot and cost $$$$ to fix.
I think the best indicator of a quality car is the resale value later. Look at Toyota Trucks, their used prices are through the roof, but that is because they last forever and everyone knows it.

Price for most of us is always a sticking point, but past that I look for overall value. The "most bang for the buck" thing.

That's the grownup me, the younger me was horsepower and speed.