Wasn't planning on needing to buy a new car this soon - 90k income - advice appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Single 29-year-old making 90k here; I was looking forward to purchasing a car 4-5 years down the road when I would hopefully have a clearer picture of my future in terms of marital status, my income, children, etc. Instead, I totaled the very modest car I owned outright and need a new one, in this market. The car I pictured myself buying in the future is a 42k SUV; I would like a nice car after driving around in my old one for years, but that would be a stretch on my income. What do I buy at this stage of life instead? I have 10k for a down payment. Would leasing something cheap for 3 years make sense? I'm hitting my stride in my career--but I don't know exactly what the future holds and don't want to do anything foolish.

Advice appreciated!

[Anonymous]

I would look at your budget and work backwards. I was in a similar situation to you a few years ago. I bought a mid-size SUV for $25K with just $2 or $3k down. My interest rate was minimal (2.5%) so I had no problem financing it to hold onto cash reserves.

Fast forward 7 years. I met DH, got married, got a dog and had a baby. I still have the same car. It’s big enough for one car seat but I will need a new one if we have a second kid.

I personally didn’t want to lease but it might not be a bad option. I would buy or lease for where you are today. If you meet someone and have a kid in the next few years you can always upgrade. It isn’t worth stretching your budget today!

[Anonymous]

OP I'm in my mid 30s but I drove a gently used, new-ish Mazda3 for most of my late 20s and loved it. You can get one used in good shape for ~10k and it will be safe and reliable, and you can trade it in for something bigger in a few years when you are ready to upgrade and know what you need. I held onto mine until I had my first kid and wanted a SUV.

I saw a lot of my friends go in the opposite direction and buy a fancy car that took up a big chunk in monthly payments, but for me being able to buy the car outright and not have the monthly payment gave me a lot of financial freedom at a time when I could make the most of it (the time to travel, savings towards retirement that have a lot more time to accrue interest, and no need to accommodate carseats or kid gear).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP I'm in my mid 30s but I drove a gently used, new-ish Mazda3 for most of my late 20s and loved it. You can get one used in good shape for ~10k and it will be safe and reliable, and you can trade it in for something bigger in a few years when you are ready to upgrade and know what you need. I held onto mine until I had my first kid and wanted a SUV.

I saw a lot of my friends go in the opposite direction and buy a fancy car that took up a big chunk in monthly payments, but for me being able to buy the car outright and not have the monthly payment gave me a lot of financial freedom at a time when I could make the most of it (the time to travel, savings towards retirement that have a lot more time to accrue interest, and no need to accommodate carseats or kid gear).

The market is so hot for used cars right now you cannot get a Mazda 3 for 10k, even with high miles. And I would not get a car with high miles, not worth the risk.

If I were you, I'd get a gently used car in the 10-15k range with low miles, put down 5k and finance the rest. Carvana has a useful search feature.
https://www.carvana.com/cars/filters/?cvnaid=eyJwcmljZSI6eyJtaW4iOjc5OTAsIm1heCI6MTUwMDB9fQ%3D%3D

[Anonymous]

Yeah I would't go above 20k with your income. You don't want to completely wipe out your savings on this.

[Anonymous]

Buy so you own it and don't have to worry about it in a few years.

[Anonymous]

I bought a 2013 new Honda Fit when my salary was 60K. HHI is now 575, we are a family of 4, and I still love my Fit.

Don’t judge life success by your car!

[Anonymous]

Vehicle price no more than half your annual income ($45,000) per Dave Ramsey. I would say a 30k-35k vehicle financing 20k-25k with your down payment. CarGurus.com is a wonderful search tool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vehicle price no more than half your annual income ($45,000) per Dave Ramsey. I would say a 30k-35k vehicle financing 20k-25k with your down payment. CarGurus.com is a wonderful search tool.

Stupid rule. We make $350k. We should spend up to $175k on our cars? Ridiculous.

OP we are early 40’s and make the above income and have never owned a $42k car. Our next car in a few years might just scrape that but only because of the crazy Covid inflation. No way I’d spend that much on your income.