Our car is dead; how screwed are we?

[Anonymous]

We’d like a RAV4 or Honda CRV. Just got word that our 14 year old car is not fixable so …. We don’t even know where to start.

Open to new or used. Probably don’t have much of a down payment but our credit is good. Our other car is a pickup and not a big one. Gotta have a car and don’t have weeks to wait.

Do we go to a dealer or try carmax or some similar? Do they even have cars on the lots these days or are people waiting months still?

[Anonymous]

Prepare for sticker shock if you haven’t bought a car in 14 years. Used cars aren’t the huge savings they used to be. Interest rates are much higher. I was shocked by what my monthly payment was going to be even if I put 50% down on a car from CarMax — and I have a high credit score.

[Anonymous]

Agree w 14:16. Not much on the used market under $20k unless it has upwards of 80k miles on it. we scoured local dealerships' used car inventory and found a better deal on a used CRV than what we could find at carmax.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We live in Rockville. Is it worth it to look further out, like in Bowie, Clarksburg vs. big dealerships in Rockville/Bethesda? Are they all owned by the same big companies?

Anyone purchased from a rental car company?

[Anonymous]

Buy new. The discount on used for those cars isn't worth it. They just redesgined the crv so maybe you can get a 2023 for a bit less?

[Anonymous]

Get new, used completely does not make sense today. You are saving a negligeable amount by going used.

Furthermore, if not married to the idea of a specific make/model, check out here (and Google around more as well) for incentives on specific makes and models. Quite a few 0.9apr deals out there.

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/best-car-deals

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We live in Rockville. Is it worth it to look further out, like in Bowie, Clarksburg vs. big dealerships in Rockville/Bethesda? Are they all owned by the same big companies?

Anyone purchased from a rental car company?

Not sure if this is a thing still, but some dealerships are putting a “market adjustment” on their cars. This is a surcharge on top of the sticker price. Fitzgerald Auto Mall and Frederick Subaru (recent places we bought cars) didn’t do this. The market adjustment is a reaction to supply chain issues. I don’t know if this is still a thing, or if it’s another shady practice that dealerships are pushing?