I just got my License. And need to buy a Car!

I am really just driving too and from work. Do not need anything fancy so i was thinking focus or corolla.

Not sure about leasing vs. buying.

Any assistance or advice would be appreciated.

Vic is one!

congrats on your liscence!!

leasing is good if your buying an expensive car or a model with high depreciation. The stated models i dont believe would fall into that caterogy however if you would like a car which you would then replace in 1-3 year once your more confident its probably better
The other thing to bare in mind is that with a lease would you get one as a new driver and at what expense.

if you dont want anythnig fancy get a entry level high MPG car. Maybe even consider used what makes you need a new car, with the accident rate for first year drivers depending on your age bracket being as high as 50% it could be a chance for you to build you confidence furthur and save some cash for omething fancy

hope that helps

lol car sales -
16 years and i have done it all -

look at a 1-2 year old car something with 30k or so miles, depending on your budget. don't get caught up in 6 year financing that is too long.

kia or hundai has great warranty.

financially speaking, the best way to do things is like ZIP said, buy a 2- or 3-yr old used car with relatively low mileage.

if you're financing, go to the dealership armed with loan quotes from banks or credit unions. do your research, that goes without saying.

Also depends on your state taxes.

Like in California it almost always makes more sense to lease than to buy - regardless on the car model (though it makes more sense for more expensive cars) just solely on sales tax. There's a breakeven point to making buying more worth it...but it's a lot further down the road.

Mostly it's due to paying sales tax on the full purchase price vs. the depreciation+premium value that a lease holds. But this is due to ~ 9% sales tax rate here.

There's tons of options to consider though. Like buying a few year old used car might be a better option, but that might not have lease options available for it (though I'd still argue it'd almost be more worth it to lease even then).

Find a magic carpet dealer, you won't be disappointed

i have a car for sale

both me and my wife have bought our first new cars for daily drivers. i plan on doing what my parents have done for so long. buy new, pay it off in 4 years, and keep it for 10. no car payment for 6 years is always nice. already paid mine off, just got my wifes a few months ago.

yes, both of them are boring nissan altimas. daily drivers are supposed to be boring. if you want fun thats what the boat, camaro, or jeep is for.

hyundai elantra has crazy mpg

the new hyundais and kias are pretty nice cars for the price, and the are very reliable and have a good warranty. always buy something used so you arent the one who takes the hit on depreciation.

ford is also making some really good cars lately. stay away from GM or chrysler/dodge.

Lord Slayer sells cars

I am not a car salesman, but worked in the auto/dealership racket for quite some time about a decade ago, and have purchased vehicles through just about any funding option you could think of...not to mention I'm a die hard car nut.

My best advice is stay away from new cars. 2-5 year old used cars still come with a warranty from the dealer in most cases (and a longer one for a negligible price through a 3rd party insurer), have not had major wear and tear on them, allow you to buy a nicer vehicle than you would for the same price in a new car, and if you are selective/careful in your choice are just as good as a new car in 99 out of 100 situations.

DO NOT lease a car! Leases are designed to make you think you're getting an awesome deal, and then suck money out of you when you're not looking. This is true in any state in the US, no matter the price of the vehicle. You will, on average, pay 10%-15% more for the same vehicle over the life of the lease, and end up with no liquidity whatsoever to show for it.

Here's a very good lease vs. buy calculator to help you determine the exact difference in pricing between the two so you can weigh your options:

http://www.money-zine.com/...r-Lease-a-Car-Calculator/


Focus/Corolla are both very good cars, and I can't say much of anything bad about them other than that they are a bit on the boring side. I'm a big fan of Hondas and Subarus myself, as they give you the same value for the money (in some cases better), lower depreciation, and quite a bit more of that "excitement" factor. What model you go after really depends on what your needs and day to day habits are. In general though, paying a bit more for higher mileage models is always a good idea.

I very much dislike Kia. They are cheaply built with inferior materials, and their "no haggle, no hassle" pricing structure is really just a nice way of saying "fluff you, that's what you're going to pay for it whether you like it or not". Hyundais are improving greatly though, and are a pretty good value for the money, even in comparison to Ford/GM. GM's are great vehicles IMO, I worked for a GM dealership for years, and overall loved their vehicles. Chrysler/Dodge is getting better, but I consider them the IE of the car world - always chasing the curve. Saturn is starting to improve quite a bit, but they are still bastardized GM's so you might as well just shell out the 5% more for the real deal if you want to go that route.

One final thought - If they're in your price range, go look at Fiat 500's! Fiat just recently started importing to the US, and from personal experience, I LOVE THEM! They are one of the highest rated cars in Europe right now, and for VERY good reason. Fun to drive, economical, low depreciation, and tons of great standard equipment. I am strongly considering one for my next vehicle.

Where do you live? How far are your normal commutes? How many times throughout the year might you be inconvenienced by weather if you owned a bike instead of a car?


Better options are:
- Get a motorbike license and buy a small bike
- Get a bicycle and instead of being lazy, idling in traffic combine your commute and a workout. Multitask
- Buy a working older car that an old person is getting rid of. If an old person is selling a 10 year old Tercel or ford escort you can probably buy for <1000. You can't kill those cars and usually elderly people take good care of them.
- Check craigslist or that type of site for some older ones that only need minor repairs to get going. Let's say you buy a beater for 700$ but need to put in 800$ to get it fixed up nice. 1500$ and you've a car you can run for 2 years with probably no maintenance, assuming you don't drive it hard like an idiot. Then sell it for a few hundred for parts. Not a bad deal.


But of course you could just get a decent sized loan for a newer car that far exceeds the need of carrying your body back and forth to work. So what if oil changes, wiper replacements, light replacements, tire changes, repairs, washes, insurance, registration, parking costs, inspection costs, gas, tickets and tolls take you 15 hours of work a week to pay for. At least you'll get to sit in traffic with air conditioning.

I've been on a bicycle for the past 7 months. I owned a car previous to that.

To be honest the bicycle takes a bit of getting used to and at first it can seem a hassle. But you learn along the way and sort out the little issues that pop up. You find solutions and eventually you end up with a smoothe, nearly hassle free operation that requires only a small bit of planning ahead. It's super easy on the pocket book and saves time in the end. Plus you feel better and have more enjoyable commutes.

If you've got a decently reliable transit system in your city then a commuter bike is a great option, with the transit system to fall back on for when stuff happens... like tonight at the grocery store I was unlocking my lock when the key broke. Lesson learned. Buy a lock that doesn't have crappy keys :P

I be using i on a daily basis driving about 30 miles a day.

I live in New England so weather makes a bike not really an option. I always commuted via public transportation but i have a new job where it takes me 1.5 - 2 hours to get to work so it isn't sustainable come winter. Driving turns it into a 15 minute commute. Also bus come once an hour and my job doesn't have a fixed end time s i can never really time it.

I have enough money saved up where i could feasibly spend up to 18k on car and not have to finance.

Yea, Vic Rattlehead from NA is one. (I think Fordy mentioned it too) :P

Never lease.

Never buy new.

Since you are on short work commute get something cheap with 20-30k miles. Small and dont care if its ugly.

Pay off as fast as you can... then CONTINUE TO MAKE THE CAR PAYMENT. Only make the payment to yourself - automatic draft into a special 'next car' bank account. Then when you have to trade in, you have a nice down payment and can pay off the next car faster. :)

30 miles is a short commute? Wow.

I can't imagine spending over 10k for a first car, and as mentioned if you can get something that will run for 2-3 years without any problems for 2-3 grand that's always a good choice.

10k for a first car?! Spend about 900 EU for my first one, it worked fine and I didn't had to be too careful for dents and stuff

I bought my first car for $180 :)
Put another 1k into it and eventually sold it for 3k.

Most of the people here taking about specific makes and models are taking out of there rears. With quality controls and safety tests, with exception to having a higher priced badge or a different exhaust note cars in similar categories are about identical. Also with the exception of a few specific models having certain design flaws. Most notably cadilac cts 07-09 and current model srxs (key fob keeping car computers on a constant on position due to a 180 foot operational range, killing the car batteries. Find a used vehicle, the newer the better with current warranties. Find a style/price range to your liking and finance.

Buy something under $1500. Chances are the car will be wrecked within 2 years.

Also the hyundai brake safety switch is garbage, if you can't switch out of park kick the brake pedal with force till you hear an audible click from the spetter. I believe it might already be on recall. If you made it that far, do not drive it, get it towed. The brakes will not function properly till the switch is replaced.

Why is that sigma? 99% of drivers wreck there first car?

nowie, saturns are certainly not improving. as a matter fact they dont even exist anymore lol.

I'd say 30-50% seems about right for first cars getting wrecked. I might be low balling that one.

Brands clearly play a big role in resale and if you're saying "new is better" then there's more resale to be had. That said why would someone pay for a warranty? If it is a factory one, the value is factored into the selling price of the car. If you're past factory then you're just paying more than you're expected to benefit.

BTW if if a new driver doesn't wreck the car...they put wear and tear on them far worse than an older driver. Though i'm still driving my first car (though for how much longer is questionable).

Older driver? Like the 80 yr olds who drive there cars on tuesdays? Food store and bingo? e 40-50 yr old habitual drink drivers? I'd say 30-50% is way to much. 1 in 2 haven't been in a wreck period.

I'd say 90% of people have been in at least a minor one (made up number but I can't think of anyone to never get in at least a minor event who's been driving over a decade)...

There's a reason young drivers pay FAR higher insurance rates (fact). They have higher accident rates by a mile. Add in the abuse especially young male drivers put on their cars....

Yep it is a fact. Inflated reasoning by insurance companies to swindle more money.

I deal with accidents on a regular basis, my first hand experience... Young male drivers make up a slim percent. Dui drivers cause the majority of accidents.

I've been in several major wrecks, the highest dollar value was about 50k$.
My truck was in a fatal accident costing about 80k$ in repairs. None were my fault 1 involving a young male driver, the rest all being a mix of middle aged drivers.

I pay more now then I did when I got my license at 17. With a nearly perfect diving record, driving commercially 100k+ miles a year for the last 8 years without one accident being my fault.

Hit enter to soon, I hear all the time, "I've never been in an accident before"

Good, but now you should get a helicopter license!

Do not buy a 99 Dodge Intrepid.

Do not buy a 99 Dodge Intrepid.

That is all.

dont buy ANY Chrysler product is a more reasonable statement Cougar. they are fluff

bonus post dumb fluffing thread if ur taking advice from these retards.

Young male drivers make of a fraction of drivers period...most drivers are middle aged. Oh....this is like talking to a republican or a democrat...

I spent $10,200 on my first new car (I had a family pass down for 2 years). I put just shy of 200k miles on it with only two minor repairs (fuel pump and catalytic converter--to pass emissions). Of course when the clutch system needed replacing it involved removing the transmission and made it no longer worthwhile to fix the car, but I consider the roughly 9 years/200k miles a pretty good investment.

I would disagree with NOW on the Fiat. I drove that thing in Italy and was not impressed. I doubt the American version is some giant upgrade.

New England can have some harsh commutes depending on the weather so make sure to get your car washed during the winter to protect the undercarriage. Sounds unconventional, but it's more important in the winter than in the summer because of the salts/chemicals used on the ice/snow road treatments.

Quite frankly, I would probably look for a used car with a good reliability record. The point of it is to get you to and from work. So you want something that has good-to-decent mpg, low maintenance costs (or easy to do yourself) and that's in your price range. I wouldn't spend that whole 18k either--I'd look around 10k with a 1-2 year old used car as a lot of folks mentioned. Drop the other 8k into a 401k (although maybe wait for the Dow to drop down near 9k or so) and let it multiple. That'll be roughly a 1/4 million if left untouched until retirement.

this is the best tip i can give - watch the videos

seriously it is as real as it gets

http://youtu.be/4foUAaOrt38

http://youtu.be/OV5e7WFp3m4

My first car was a hand-me-down when my sister moved out--a '93 Pontiac Sunbird. I floored the accelerator one time and paid ~$600 to fix the transmission afterwards. My sister had also hit a fiberglass ladder, punctured the condenser and radiator, and popped the head from overheating, thus causing me to have to keep putting oil in it for the rest of the car's life. She also hit a parked school bus, but that had no effect on how I drove the thing afterwards. She also hit a deer with it. I had it for ~2 years, then sold it for $1k to people who had no idea how to take care of a car. Last I saw it, the engine was smoking and whining, and the power steering had gone out.

I used that money to pay my grandmother back for loaning me the money to help repair my next vehicle--a '95 Chevrolet S-10, with a manual transmission. It was for my 18th birthday. My parents decided that buying a wrecked S-10 for their son's 18th birthday--without giving him a choice in the matter--would be a great idea. The fact it was involved in a head-on collision didn't matter--until I went to get the spark plugs replaced about a couple years later, when the mechanic showed me the cracks in the head, which was causing the whistling noise. He was able to show me those cracks because he had to take the head off after breaking a spark plug off in it. Another ~$600 down the drain--augmented when I rear-ended someone in my dad's Ford Explorer while looking for an Auto Parts store because the mechanic found a cracked pulley. This was before that electrical problem cropped up--where I turned the key to start the engine, and the only fire I got was the result of 2 wires burning in half in the engine compartment.

I traded that in for a '01 Nissan Frontier--my first vehicle with more than 4 cylinders under the hood. The previous owner had a lift kit installed on it, which is probably why it rode so rough. It had already been wrecked before, but it was cheap, and it ran well (it DID eat up plug wires like mad, tho). A woman with a male passenger in a tiny car made an illegal turn right in front of me, and I drove over their vehicle and found out it's really hard to turn a steering wheel when a front wheel is horribly bent out of alignment. Fixed that, and I still have it, letting my grandparents use it.

And, now, I also have a '09 Chevrolet HHR. Another 4 banger. Rides beautifully. The horn was a little lacking, the evidence of being run off the road multiple times despite me laying on the little stock horn a nice reminder, so I installed a train horn on it. Much better. No one has had trouble hearing me since.

Yes, Thomas is correct:)

Have you test drove anything yet?

Do you want brand new, or how long do you expect to have this car?

There's alot of factors that go into buying a car.

I'd suggest looking for a 2009-2011 Ford Focus. With the 2012 Focus comming out this year in a brand new design, you will find that people have traded in thier Focus's for the new one, and the price on them should be pretty good, as the last year of a body style usually will make it lose value.

If you are looking new, a new Focus S automatic transmission will probally cost you around 18k plus Fee's and Taxes. Before you go into any dealership, look at thier website first, as you will notice probally about 2-4k differnce in the pricing, depending on the model.

Send me a PM if you have any other questions.

@Raf: don't finance if you can at all avoid it.
:P

save your money and stick with mass transit if it's available.

I knew there was a very good reason i didnt trust him!!! Now i know what it is. All car salesman are pricks!!! ;)

<3 you LS

FACT!

But I have been trying to help Raf:)