Have to buy a brand new car by today, any suggestions?

[JohnB445]

My car got totaled months ago, now I got the money to buy a new vehicle.

Has to be brand new, since used cars here aren't any better of a deal, and I don't know how to work on cars or want to have to go through getting a mechanic to check on it.

The amount I can afford is $30,000, no more than that. I need something that is reliable, and that's it.

 

[sandman]

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/advice/best-cars-under-30000?slide=30

There are to many variables for me to suggest anything specific ....

 

[SavedByGrace3]

I may be difficult to get foreign cars serviced in the future. Go American.

 

[seeking.IAM]

I think U.S. labeled cars still lag behind in reliability although they are closing the gap. If I am thinking reliability, I am thinking Toyota or Honda. As for "buy American," I don't know what that means. My new Honda hybrid was built in Indiana. I'm pretty sure I once had a GM car built in Canada.

 

[ALittleTalkWithJesus]

My Kia Sportage has taken a good beating the last ten plus years with just the bare minimum recommended maintenance checks at various mileage points (over 250K now). I also loved my Toyota Prius when I worked as a courier. We put well over 300K on that one. But I don't like the newer model that has less cargo space. Since I'd love to go back to a hybrid, I'd consider the Sportage or another hybrid from the above list.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

We bought a Hyundai Santa Fe in 2012. Now 11 years old. We only have 65,000 on the vehicle, and it has been no problems at all. At less than 6000 a year, it is serving us well. For 5 years I lived across the street from the college where I worked, so that really cut back on the mileage. I am applying some maintenance on it every couple/three months, stuff like spark plugs, PVC value, new tires, etc, in order to nip things in the bud... before they even happen. It is the best vehicle we have ever had, and in 10 more years, we will likely get another.

 

[Ceallaigh]

If I were to go new, at a $30k price range, I'd get a Toyota Camry. Or a Corolla for less. Those cars have the reputation of needing the least repairs, the easiest to get parts for, and lasting at least 250k miles. There's lots of stories of ones up past 500k. Toyota is known to "over engineer" their cars. Meaning they're build beyond the standard. And they get good mileage too.

A few months ago I bought a 2000 Toyota Camry for about $3500 off Craigslist. It had 160k miles on it, but that's considered "just broken in". It did need some work typical of an old car like new belts and a fuel filter etc. I expect it to last many years to come, even though I have about a 60 mile round trip commute to work. I'd say for $10k you could probably get an old Camry that's like brand new if you buy it from a private party.

 

[com7fy8]

If you spend 30 thousand on the car . . . you will need to be able to pay for insurance yearly and repairs and maintenance and annual taxes, possibly. And ones might buy an extended warranty.

How far will you have to go to get a car taken care of?

Certain things can be highly specialized, with only the maker's shops able to handle certain things.

And an alarm system's maker or outlet can go out of business so you have no one able to fix it. And no one may have training to remove that product.

So, maybe you need to buy local from a dealer who is known locally for honesty and competence. And get a car that their manufacturer backs.

Or, do get a used from a local proven place . . . even one previously owned by a local customer you know, who knows the car has been taken care of well.

 

[Sketcher]

My car got totaled months ago, now I got the money to buy a new vehicle.

Has to be brand new, since used cars here aren't any better of a deal, and I don't know how to work on cars or want to have to go through getting a mechanic to check on it.

The amount I can afford is $30,000, no more than that. I need something that is reliable, and that's it.

1. There's always another car out there. Take time to look at your options.
2. For a $30,000 transaction, you want to not put pressure on yourself. Therefore, don't rush yourself or allow yourself to be rushed.
3. They'll always try to mark you up for add-ons and options you don't need. Don't let them.
4. Calculate the cost of ownership over the next however many years. This is above and beyond the purchase of the car itself.
5. Pay as much of it up front as you possibly can, 100% is by far the best percentage. If you absolutely have to take out a loan, pay that loan off as early as you can.
6. Look at safety scores and reliability. Cars typically go through minor refreshes every year, and major refreshes (generations) every few years. When doing your research, determine the last major refresh and look at scores for that refresh. For instance, if you want a new Honda Civic, the Civics up to 2021 are not as relevant as the 2021 and up Honda Civics. You want to research the Civics that are 2021 and newer.
7. Good places to begin research are the NHTSA, Edmunds, and JD Power and Associates. The Kelley Blue Book always gives an inflated price. I like looking at reviews from Car and Driver, Motor Trend, etc when shopping for a new car.
8. When at a dealership, don't use their free wifi. They'll have the ability to sniff your connection and use that information to give them a competitive edge in your $30,000 purchase. If browsing their website from home, you want to use a private/incognito window and not have other cars from other dealerships in other tabs. If you use multiple different browsers you can keep that information separated.

 

[Dave G.]

I've seen base model Ford Escapes on 2023 close out for 28K where the 2024 models are out.. We've owned 3 different Escapes over the years with just typical brakes jobs, tire replacement etc. My wife drives a 2013 SE now and I have a 2019 Platinum. Both eco boost turbo charged engines, hers the smaller 1.5 ,mine the 2.0.

The wife is considering selling hers as it doesn't get much use, so she bought a scooter. Second time out on the scooter she took a flop in the driveway returning home ( grocery store, banking, post office, hair dresser are less than a mile from the house) and fractured her foot. Some folks maybe shouldn't be on scooters. Just sayin.

 

[JohnB445]

If I were to go new, at a $30k price range, I'd get a Toyota Camry. Or a Corolla for less. Those cars have the reputation of needing the least repairs, the easiest to get parts for, and lasting at least 250k miles. There's lots of stories of ones up past 500k. Toyota is known to "over engineer" their cars. Meaning they're build beyond the standard. And they get good mileage too.

A few months ago I bought a 2000 Toyota Camry for about $3500 off Craigslist. It had 160k miles on it, but that's considered "just broken in". It did need some work typical of an old car like new belts and a fuel filter etc. I expect it to last many years to come, even though I have about a 60 mile round trip commute to work. I'd say for $10k you could probably get an old Camry that's like brand new if you buy it from a private party.

Thank you, this helped me decide on what to get. I'm surprised that I would have to wait a whole month though to get the car because there is a car shortage. But im sure it will be worth it.

 

[seeking.IAM]

I bought a new Honda this summer. My experience with the short supply is that some dealers are taking advantage of this to put aftermarket add-ons as a requirement of sale to improve their profit margin. Because most people are desperate to get their name on the waiting list they are waiting to pay this, no questions asked. The most popular example around here is additional paint and interior protection at a cost of about $1,000.00, which gives you a 5-year warranty on paint. (I've never had a vehicle with paint degradation in five years). I have one dealer tell me this is how they sell all their cars and deleting it is not an option. Look around. If the first dealership does this, you are likely to find another that does not, which will save you money. In my case, after the first dealership refused to see a car without their add-ons, I found two more dealerships who deleted them with no problem.

My experience also was that I was told an expected delivery date, and the vehicle then miraculously became available weeks prior than planned.

Good luck, shopping!