hybrid vs used compact car

what's your budget?

 

Buy a used car for now. You are likely at the point in your life where finances trumps personal utility. That new car smell just isn't quite worth it yet. In addition to having a car payment with interest, you also have to pay much higher insurance for comprehensive and collision.

I like 95-96 Camry for an older but reliable used car. It would serve you well for a few years, and you have the prospect of being able to sell it for nearly what you paid for it.

 

I have a compact used car right now. It is an 1994 Alfa Romeo 164 LS. It gets 14mpg city and 20mpg highway. 16mpg combined. Each tank of gas costs me about $60 for 15 gallons in a 17.2 gallon tank with a 2.1 gallon reserve. The range is about 250 miles

The Prius C costs me just $26.00 to fill and gets significantly better range! Do the math for a used car you like and compare them. I am seeing differences already.

 

If you are going to be commuting a lot, get a car you love. I'm deciding between the prius C and a used subcompact. About a 10k difference in price. It'll take me over 11 years to recover price, assuming zero interest rate. But i'm leaning towards the C.

 

4 grand? Now we're talking.. Scour the cars-by owner on Craigslist for a 2000s Corolla/Camry/Civic/Accord. It should be possible to find a 1 or 2 owner car in good condition. It is usually possible to discern a problem with a car on a test drive even if you don't know a lot, but take a car nut friend with you if you aren't sure that you will be able to tell.

Then in 3 years buy a used C.

 

Every time fuel prices spike, used economical cars go way up in price. If you do not drive a lot of miles, a decent mid-sized car that gets 25 mpg for about $4-6k is possible.

If you have to drive a lot, bite the bullet and get a new car with great fuel economy. Used cars in this group are over priced right now.

 

Used, 4 cylinder Camry, for sure. Those are plentiful, reliable, usually not abused due to being owned by more "mature" people and they ride great for a passenger car. Much better than an Accord for highway miles.

For 4K, you should be able to find a nice, relatively low miles, well cared for example. Not the most exciting, in terms of styling, but an often overlooked used car value. My now wife used to have a 96 Camry LE back when we were dating and I was always amazed how quiet and well mannered that car was. :thumb:

 

My vote: UCC (used compact car). Find one with reasonably low miles, put some 80K mile tires on it and drive it into the ground or until you've saved up enough for a good car like the Prius!

$4k typically means around year 2000 or so with 100k miles.

 

If you have a decent steady job get something new. Used cars, at least here are expensive. Friend ended up getting a new versa for just over $10K. Look around if the c is too much money. That is unless you actually can find something with low miles that's a good deal now.

If the job isn't good or stable, yeah get a cheap used car.

I know, different advice from everyone else.

 

buy a used one. I drove a 94 integra for couple year before I buy a new car.

 

Buy a less expensive new car, such as a Fit. You will be able to get a better equipped car with good fuel economy that has less to break. The C is really an economy car with a luxury car's ownership cost.

MB860 ?

 

One approach that the Suze Orman et. al. are always spouting is to take your down payment ($4K), buy a used car for that, and then make regular deposits into a savings account as if you were making the payment on the new car that you wanted to buy. Suppose that you had intended to buy a C and have to finance $17.5K (purchase price + tax less down payment). Even at 2.95% your payment is still $315 per month for 60 months. Few people are able to maintain this, but if you were, you'd have almost $20K in the bank after 5 years and could probably pay cash outright for a new car at that point.

 

I know Suze Orman has a tv show, but I would not really take financial advice from the guys on tv

There are a number of facts -
A new car is not an investment, it will go down in value, so yes buying the cheapest car possible is going to depreciate the most.

If you are a recent grad, then the odds are 5 years from now you will be making more money and have a better idea of your career path

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Now there is repair cost, insurance, gas, interest, and depreciation

- When these tv folks spout their knowledge they act as if the car is totally depreciated at the end of the payment, its not.

So let me put out a new choice

Buy a 5 year old car now and another 5 year old in 5 years - choose your own time frame. Or get a new car today. That is one fewer transaction. Financiing is low interest right now on a new car. When you include those other costs that new car today is more but not by a huge amount. Now if you have to keep credit card debt to make your car payment that is a different matter. Buying new lets you drive a new car.

Then the question is does it make sense on your 10 year car to buy a prius c, or something less expensive like a fit. Use your own projected mileage but for the first 5 years you will likely pay more for the prius c. In those out years you will pay for gas.

The big thing will be if you really want the prius c, and can you afford to make the payment without getting into credit card debt.

 

My vote would be for a used car at this point. How old I'd go would depend on just how much driving you plan on and how dependent you will be on the car - by your profile it looks like you are in the city so the miles driven might be lowish also might be able to survive a few days if the car is in the shop by using public transportation.

The two models that I always recommend are the Geo/Chevy Prizm and the Pontiac Vibe. Both are cars that were made in a plant that Toyota shared with GM and are essentially Toyotas with GM badging - the Prizm is a Corolla and the Vibe is a Matrix. Typically they sell at a discount to a similar Toyota badged car and they have Toyota dependability. You could likely buy a Prizm for the $4k that you have in hand and if you do not have a payment you could put aside a bit of cash each month to build up a reserve for any repairs that pop up.

Good luck.

 

If you were going used as in 2 or 3 year old car, I'd personally buy new because it seems the "nearly new" cars are priced very close to a brand new one. And I like the piece of mind and the warranty of new. But if you can find a fair deal on used and the vehicle has a good reliability history, you could also have a much more affordable payment. The good thing about buying new is vehicles like the Prius and Honda Fit hold their value very well which is a negative for buying used. I just traded my 2010 Honda Fit for the Prius c which I drove for 2 years. I put no money down up front on the Fit and only made the minimum payments and wound up with 3 thousand positive equity upon trade in after 2 yrs. it came out to me paying just over 150 a month to drive the Fit!

 

I can't really say whether you should get a new vehicle or used, because I'm not aware of your monthly income or employment situation.

But a couple red flags. You admit that the cost of even an entry level Prius c, would be "expensive" to you, you also admit you are not sure of "the budget".

Well the first step in buying any car, but especially a financed new car, would be know your budget. Stop right now, if you haven't figured that out.

I wouldn't recommend buying a New Honda Fit. I own one, and I think they are excellent ICE sub compacts. But a new one, isn't going to be that much cheaper than an entry level Prius c. If you cannot afford the c? I wouldn't buy a new Fit. Honda doesn't give them away, the buy in on a new one wouldn't be that much cheaper. Infact I paid more than Prius c entry level prices, for my 2010 Honda Fit Sport.

Reading between the lines? I would "guess" you are at a point in life where you should probably go the more conservative economical route.

If you want a degree of efficiency, that would lead to being more potentially more economical, I would look at used Corolla's or a used Honda Fit. Perhaps a used Scion Xa or XB....

I can tell you from experience, that with my driving patterns...mostly city, with my Automatic Honda Fit, I get almost exactly the EPA estimated gas mileage. 28-32-combined around 30....

And it's a very well layed out and designed sub-compact.

Trust me, it's tempting to buy a new vehicle. But you MUST be able to afford it, otherwise it just becomes an Albatross in your life. Once the newness wears off, and the reality of a monthly payment that perhaps you cannot really make, and/or that severely hampers your lifestyle or options takes over, that New Car can quickly start to look like a burden.

I'm NOT going to blanket say, don't get a new Prius c, but the red flags are your admission that the purchase price is prohibitive, and that you haven't figured out the budget. Those are BOTH things you don't want when purchasing an automobile.

Do your thinking about this at home. Do not try to figure out what you want, or what you can afford at a dealership.

Whatever you decide, it should fit a budget you can REALLY live with.

And "fun" new cars...will always exist and be available. In a few years or less? You can always save up, or hopefully be making more income, and re-visit the idea.

In the meantime? Researching and shopping for used cars, can be fun too...and if you get one you like? You'll simultaneously enjoy the fact that it isn't costing you more than you can afford monthly.

 

I say "Go for it" buy the "c". find a 2.9 loan, put the 4K as down payment, go for 60 months, pay a little bit of money a month for gas, it is a 53 MPG+ car. As soon as you buy a used car, you start dumping money into it! If you have a job that will let you get a new car that will last 7+ years easy, with that MPG rating, do it! You graduated, look at the finances carefully, if you can do it, you deserve it!

 

How far you drive each year makes a great deal of difference in how 'economical' a Prius is. I drive over 30,000 miles a year so my break even over a small SUV is about 4 years (I need the cargo space for my job) But if you do not have needs you have not mentioned and do not drive very far per year, an older Toyota may be a wonderful choice.

Or if you commute on this road, (175 miles, not a single house) you may not feel safe in a used car.

http://www.sykotyk.com/supertrip/route140.html
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