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'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
but really, what is the difference between fixing a car in a major accident, and fixing it after branding it as salvage? same repairs.
money is a factor too. A newer Audi could receive $25,000 in repairs because of what it is worth otherwise. But a Fit could be totalled because it needed $8,000 in repairs, relatively straightforward bodywork stuff. Plus, salvage could have been theft recovery.
regardless, if water was involved, that I would never touch. And having full repair history (and pictures) is a must.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
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Just saying the obvious here, but a 5 year old car with 60k miles might have worn tires and all sorts of other issues that will erase some of your savings. Plus, unless she has the 10k cash the financing for a used car is likely to be c.6% or so.
Just a thought....
I am pretty sure that my next car will be a smaller hatch/CUV type. CX3 could work. An X1, Volvo XC40. Hyundai Kona, something like that. Needs to be relatively entertaining to drive, with good performance (no putt putt mobiles allowed!) Back seat room not that important, but want an adequate cargo area (certainly big enough for our Lab).
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I'm steering my sister towards the certified Versa Note, due to the long warranty (vs. salvage title with no warranty), higher seating position than the Fit, and smoother ride than the Fit. Yeah, it's a CVT, but she does almost all in-town driving and is no speed racer, so I don't think she'll mind it.
As for new, she wants to stay under $10k if possible, plus wants a hatch or wagon with an automatic. I've checked new hatches under $15k in my area, and they're all Sparks, Fiestas, Mirages, and a couple of Focii. She doesn't like the Focus and the others are too small. If she could wait 9-10 months, I'd sell her my 2016 Forte5 that will have only ~30k miles on it when the lease is up next year, but she needs a car now.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
The car is pretty loaded, with heated seats, moonroof, hi-zoot audio and touch screen, remote start etc. The rear seat folds flat, which my sister likes. Enough back seat room for adults for short trips, and that's all she needs as she lives alone. It looks "like new" except a minor scrape on the front left bumper. Dealer said that was why the price was reduced, and it seemed like a good price for the car. She likes it. I drove it a bit and it seems like a solid, fun-to-drive little car with the 1.4T engine. Although it is a bit dated of a design, it seems to have good crash protection for a small car.
She sold her 2004 Elantra GT to the daughter of a friend from her church who needed cheap wheels right away. It was sad to see it leave the family after 14+ years, especially since I'd spent an afternoon detailing it the week before (before I knew she was going to sell it). But it looked good for the new owner!
2018 Ford Fusion SE
2018 Honda Accord Sport 1.5
2018 Civic LX
2018 Subaru Crosstrek Premium
The Civic, maybe.
Not sure about the Fusion.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2014 MINI Countryman S ALL4
Subaru, never. And accords usually don’t lease super cheap.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
There's several vehicles in that article, including the Civic LX, that you can get a 36-month lease on for under $230 a month, although you may have to put down a little up front. Even the Crosstek is on Edmunds list, but it's the base model with a stick. I see really good leases locally on the Elantra, Impreza, and new Jetta, and for a little more the Sonata and Legacy.
Mostly I'm looking to get the most bang for my buck. I am eligible to get the GM Family discount (Chevy, GMC) so that could greatly impact my decision. Was looking at 2018 models since I figured I could get a better deal since they might be trying to get rid of them. Anyway. Here is my current list of possibilities. Sorry it's so long. Any input is appreciated.
2018 Chevy Equinox
2018 GMC Acadia
2018 Honda CRV
2018 Toyota Rav4
2018 Mazda CX-5
2018 Subaru Forrester
2018 Cadillac XT5
2018 Lincoln MKC
2018 Nissan Rogue
2018 Infiniti QX60
Thanks so much.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
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I would recommend a couple of year old used one, particularly because of the miles you potentially are putting on it. and as you noted, any of the bumps and dings teens (especially parking in a school parking lot) are likely to pick up. If you stick to say 2 years old, you should be easily able to have it carry her right through college too. An Elantra is a really good choice for that, since they depreciate a bit more than a Civic or mazda. And are good reliable cars. Can also consider a Cruze if you don't mind domestic.
trim level, at least go mid level to get some more desirable features, and look for safety items. An Elantra SE, can often come with the blind spot and back up camera even at a lower price. Other stuff (moonroof, etc.) is more of a frill.
might be better to let your wife pick since she needs to drive it for a year.
so, if I was picking, I would look for a 2017 Elantra SE with BLIS option on it. Should have around 20,000 miles or so.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
As to buy v. lease, if driving 300+ miles/week leasing would not be to your advantage unless you got a great deal on a lease with a higher-than-average mileage allotment.
I recently joined forums- But is there a good resource for how to negotiate lease terms. Also may be a dumb question- but does leasing happen only for new cars or even a used car can be leased? Lastly on Prius- hasn't Toyota run out of 200,000 cars limit that was placed for applicability of Federal tax savings. My toyota dealer surprisingly did not know and asked me to check with my accountant- which I do not have as I file my own taxes.
And normally you can’t lease a used car.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
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2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Your best value will be a 2-4 year old used car, possibly one that was a lease-return.
If you buy the used car from a dealer of the same brand (used Prius from a Toyota dealer, for example) see about getting a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO). CPO cars will cost a little more but have better warranty than regular used cars (which usually only have the remainder of the original factory warranty left). That may provide some peace of mind WRT unanticipated repair costs.
Do you guys think that this is a good buy? I'm not very knowledgeable about cars, so I've done some fair bit of research, but could use some input.
I'm in a social work program for graduate school, that's my primary reason for getting a car; I'll be needing it for my internship. I might sell the car off in 2 or 3 years, so resale value of the car is important to me. According to the dealer who I was working with, I could sell the car for no less than $10,000 as long as I do not hit 180,000 miles. She said that if the hit 180,000 miles, the resale value of the car would be maybe $7,000 or so. Is this information accurate?
Does this seem like a good buy? Or should I keep looking around. Thank you.
the price is a lot lower than comparable car with normal miles. and a brand new transmission is a big plus. hard to really peg the value on an outlier though.
I would buy it for me, but that is because I don't put a lot of miles on per year. So that would be my question. What do you need to use it for? If local stuff and not many miles, it can make sense. If you are going to put 25,000/year on it too, I would say no. As long as it was maintained (regular oil changes), it should have many good years left.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
If you want a guaranteed resale value for your car after 3 years, you might consider leasing. Here's the official offer from Subaru usa on a brand new 2019 Forester wagon....
"Lease a new 2019 Forester for $265/Month
Offer Details Now through October 31, 2018 Lease a new 2019 Forester for $265/Month on a 36-Month Lease (Standard Forester model, code KFB-01). $1,765 due at lease signing. $0 security deposit. MSRP $25,270 (incl. $975 freight charge). Net cap cost of $23,700 (incl. $595 acq. fee). Total monthly payments $9,540. Lease end purchase option is $16,173."
https://www.subaru.com/special-offers/index.html
And you might be able to do better than this official offer.
If a smaller vehicle will do, Hyundai will lease an Elantra for c.$180 a month:
https://www.hyundaiusa.com/financial-tools/special-offers.aspx
Question is: why this car? For example, you could get something like a 2015 Elantra Limited with half the miles for $1000 less. Again, looking at a 2-yr older model with 15k more miles, it would lose the same $3k as the subaru. But you are far less likely to experience repairs from 50k to 65k miles than at over 100k.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
for example, the Forester lease above, that is roughly $11,000 over 3 years. Compared to buying a car for $13,000, you only have to sell it for more than $2,000 to be ahead! The wild card of course, is with any used car, it could potentially give you trouble. But may not.
A Subaru at least is a more substantial car than a prior generation Elantra or some similar used car.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Honestly to most people (especially to us dealers) a car with 180k miles isn't worth a whole lot as it's nearing the end of its life span because of the mileage, where major repairs might be pricier than the value of the car itself. Many potential buyers might skip yours for a different make/model with lower miles and maybe less features for the same price ($10k) than for a high mileage loaded car.
However if you do buy it and put very little mileage on it, the average mileage will balance out for the age of the vehicle. Let's say you keep it for 4 years and only put 20k miles on it, then you'd be selling a 120k mile 6 year old car which is a bit closer to average miles driven for a car (20k/year) then it is now.
If you will put very little mileage on it and keep it for another 3-4 years it might not be a bad deal assuming everything checks out on it. If you'll keep it only a couple years and put a lot of miles on it, you might have trouble selling it for anywhere close to $10k.
Like someone else asked, is there a specific reason you want this particular car instead of something lower mileage in the same price range?
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Edit: I'm doing a search. It seems like most Subaru Legacys with 30k miles are selling for at least $19,000 and those with over 60k miles are going for $16,000. 80k miles car depreciate to $15,000. The Subaru dealer said that they do not buy cars with 140k miles, but they have a wholesaler who would buy the car 2 to 3 years later even if it has 140k miles on it. She said they would be willing to buy it for $7,000 to $9,000 depending on the condition of the car and how well it has been taken care. Doesn't it all balance out to be about the same depreciation? If I get a 30k mile car at $19,000 now, I'd lose $3,000 to $4,000 2 to 3 years later if it's between 60k to 80k miles. Seems like my loss would be the same with the 100k mile car, too, if I'm thinking about it correctly. I read an article on Edmunds that cars depreciate at the same rate between 50k to 100k miles and 100k to 150k miles.
What the dealership says about value in three years? You can blow your nose on that and throw it in the trash.
A $2000 warranty on a car with over 100K miles? Good luck collecting on that.
Read back over the comments from your fellow members. This looks like a bad choice, no matter how you slice it.
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