Car Advice

[AllforOne]

Alright I’m starting to plan for the next car. Currently have a 2016 Malibu that is approaching 120k and is paid off. We have two young kids (2 year old and a 3 month old) and possibly going for 3. I really would like an EV, but I’m not sure I can afford a brand new one. Would hybrid be ok at this point? I love Jeep wranglers but I’m not sure that’s the best for a family vehicle. Any suggestions?

First: @Lee had great advice upthread about putting aside money each month while you drive the old car into the ground, and then pay cash for the new wheels when the time comes. From a money perspective, cars are terrible -- they only go down in value -- financially, the last thing you want to do is take out a loan and pay interest on something that is losing value.

Second: I'd suggest considering used cars. The market had been crazy post-Covid, with used cars selling for higher prices than new for a while. But that seems to have settled back to normal now. It may still make sense in the end to buy new, but I'd at least look at "newer used" cars (i.e., low mileage, recent models). Just get a Carfax -- if a used car's price seems too good to be true, it's probably for a reason.

Third: we drive Toyotas and have for years, and I doubt I'll ever drive anything else (while acknowledging that there are a lot of other good cars out there). I had a Prius that I got over 190K miles out of, and it was still driving great when I gave it to my son last year (getting myself a new Prius). My wife had a Camry that she drove to about 130K miles, then gave it to her dad (who still drives it to this day -- it has to be over 150K miles by now). She now has a RAV4 and loves it. Since you're looking for an SUV, a RAV or a Highlander (which has three rows of seats -- the RAV has two) would probably be the ones to look at.

 

[TheISHT]

I have an 07 Honda CRV I bought new, 240k, still going strong.

 

[BMAN]

First: @Lee had great advice upthread about putting aside money each month while you drive the old car into the ground, and then pay cash for the new wheels when the time comes. From a money perspective, cars are terrible -- they only go down in value -- financially, the last thing you want to do is take out a loan and pay interest on something that is losing value.

Second: I'd suggest considering used cars. The market had been crazy post-Covid, with used cars selling for higher prices than new for a while. But that seems to have settled back to normal now. It may still make sense in the end to buy new, but I'd at least look at "newer used" cars (i.e., low mileage, recent models). Just get a Carfax -- if a used car's price seems too good to be true, it's probably for a reason.

Third: we drive Toyotas and have for years, and I doubt I'll ever drive anything else (while acknowledging that there are a lot of other good cars out there). I had a Prius that I got over 190K miles out of, and it was still driving great when I gave it to my son last year (getting myself a new Prius). My wife had a Camry that she drove to about 130K miles, then gave it to her dad (who still drives it to this day -- it has to be over 150K miles by now). She now has a RAV4 and loves it. Since you're looking for an SUV, a RAV or a Highlander (which has three rows of seats -- the RAV has two) would probably be the ones to look at.

Appreciate the advice. I’ve never bought a new car and have gone the used route. The Malibu was a certified used with low mileage and has served me well. I dont think I can ever buy brand new.

 

[inliner311]

One last question for you or someone else. My then pregnant wife left her back door open and proceeded to try to back out then smashed the front of my car with it and roughed up hers. Obviously these are cosmetic damages and the cars are still safe to drive. Is it even worth getting these fixed other than looking like trash people? lol

You might want to look and see if you can replace the parts yourself. Car-part.com can tell you all the junkyards in the country with the parts you want and if you find a matching color one you won't need it repainted. You can sometime even haggle with the junkyards especially if you are buying more than one thing.

If you want to be real ambitious, you could go to a pull a part and get all the stuff you want. That's a little harder though than going with car-part.com and finding the junkyards with what you need.

 

[KI4MVP]

Alright I’m starting to plan for the next car. Currently have a 2016 Malibu that is approaching 120k and is paid off. We have two young kids (2 year old and a 3 month old) and possibly going for 3. I really would like an EV, but I’m not sure I can afford a brand new one. Would hybrid be ok at this point? I love Jeep wranglers but I’m not sure that’s the best for a family vehicle. Any suggestions?

what price range are you looking at. The $7500 rebate is point of sale this year and makes an inventory Model Y as cheap as $31,650 and a chevy Bolt as cheap as $23,600.
Some plug in Hybrids also get the rebate. Pacifica, Escape and a couple of others. List is here, I think it's current.

https://www.cars.com/articles/which-electric-cars-are-still-eligible-for-the-7500-federal-tax-credit-429824/

If you're not in Ohio, some states have additional state tax credits on EVs.

 

[Sebastian]

Appreciate the advice. I’ve never bought a new car and have gone the used route. The Malibu was a certified used with low mileage and has served me well. I dont think I can ever buy brand new.

Any real need for rough-weather, off-road capability?

If so, Jeeps or Rovers are indicated.

If not, anything will do.

Aside from other suggestions, there are some pre-owned Volvo SUVs that are quite nice.

 

[AllforOne]

Appreciate the advice. I’ve never bought a new car and have gone the used route. The Malibu was a certified used with low mileage and has served me well. I dont think I can ever buy brand new.

I get it. The Camry I mentioned upthread was one we got with 15K miles, and it ran great (and still is today, ten years later). My wife's RAV and my Prius were both new, but those were both unusual situations. (We got the RAV during that weird time when used cars were selling for more than new -- it would have actually cost us more to get a RAV with some miles on it than a brand-new one. The Prius was redesigned for the model year that I bought.)

 

[macbdog]

Traded in the ST for a used Mazda CX-5 almost a year ago and so glad I did. Thing has been great, was a certain drop in power and giddy up but an upgrade to 90% of the rest of the vehicle.

 

[The Oi]

Have a Telluride.

It’s good.

 

[buzzdog]

I got my wife a new Hyundai Santa Fe back in 2020 and for anyone who needs a comfortable reliable SUV I give it a high recommendation. We got it with a lot of bells and whistles and I love the auto-dimming headlights. Quiet, very nice and comfy seats, decent gas mileage, very good winter driver.

 

[DirtyDan]

I got my wife a new Hyundai Santa Fe back in 2020 and for anyone who needs a comfortable reliable SUV I give it a high recommendation. We got it with a lot of bells and whistles and I love the auto-dimming headlights. Quiet, very nice and comfy seats, decent gas mileage, very good winter driver.

How much did it end up costing if you do not mind giving a ballpark estimate?

 

[buzzdog]

I think it was somewhere around 30k, give or take. I put a bunch down so we didn't have to finance that much.

 

[Lee]

I got my wife a new Hyundai Santa Fe back in 2020 and for anyone who needs a comfortable reliable SUV I give it a high recommendation. We got it with a lot of bells and whistles and I love the auto-dimming headlights. Quiet, very nice and comfy seats, decent gas mileage, very good winter driver.

I have 80k on my 2018 Tucson and still really like it and still runs great.

 

[Damage]

what price range are you looking at. The $7500 rebate is point of sale this year and makes an inventory Model Y as cheap as $31,650 and a chevy Bolt as cheap as $23,600.
Some plug in Hybrids also get the rebate. Pacifica, Escape and a couple of others. List is here, I think it's current.

https://www.cars.com/articles/which-electric-cars-are-still-eligible-for-the-7500-federal-tax-credit-429824/

If you're not in Ohio, some states have additional state tax credits on EVs.

Used Tesla Cars & SUVs for Sale - Hertz Certified

Shop a Hertz Certified Tesla today. We offer a quality selection, incredible prices, a warranty, a buy back guarantee and more. Schedule a test drive online!

www.hertzcarsales.com

 

[Deezus]

Have a Telluride.

It’s good.

I thought you only drove 5000lb Lesbarus with 150hp 4 bangers?