$10k for used car for college kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I might look at EVs— you can probably find a relatively newish spark or leaf— will have range of less than 100 miles but how much does he need? Fuel and maintenance will be a lot cheaper and it’ll probably be more fun to drive.

you will never find an EV for 10000 that is reliable. maybe 30000

this just isn't true. EVs have almost no moving parts so they are much more reliable and cheaper to own as they age. The only downside is the battery can lose some range. It's not hard to find a used EV that had a smaller range when new, and has a smaller range now, under 10k. It might not be practical for a kid who goes to school several hundred miles away but reliability won't be the problem.

It's like when people worry about range dropping in traffic-- EVs are fundamentally different and range increases in traffic.

I really appreciate the PPs posting about EVs, and I would love to own one, but I don’t think this is very practical in my situation since DS goes to school a 4-6 hour drive away depending on traffic and weather conditions.

It is ok because no EV is below 10k....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd be worried about airbag functionality.

Based on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Buy new. Better value & safer vehicle.

LOL no. You can't buy a new car for 10k, and it's certainly not a better value.

The safest best is probably a Corolla with under 120k miles. My last Corolla made it to 400k milles with normal maintenance and sythetic oil changes every 10k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Buy new. Better value & safer vehicle.

Thank you for your advice from the land of privilege. I can afford $10K. I can’t afford new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buy new. Better value & safer vehicle.

Thank you for your advice from the land of privilege. I can afford $10K. I can’t afford new.

If you have $10,000, you can buy a new car. Consider a Honda Civic with little or no money down. Use the $10,000--or the remainder--to make monthly payments for three years, then continue payments with earnings or sell it.

Any used car selling for $10,000 or less in this market is going to cost you a lot of money for repairs.

[Anonymous]

volvo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:volvo

when the kids were little and I was in grad school, I did this and volvos were great and I had a great Volvo mechanic (who has since retired sadly). Any suggestions about makes/models that are good used?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:volvo

when the kids were little and I was in grad school, I did this and volvos were great and I had a great Volvo mechanic (who has since retired sadly). Any suggestions about makes/models that are good used?

Chevy Malibu
Chevy Cruze
Chevy Impala

American Sedans depreciate more, low miles one are plentiful do to older drivers and maint and parts dirt cheap. If in 10k range depreciation is necessary to get one that is not super high miles used

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buy new. Better value & safer vehicle.

Thank you for your advice from the land of privilege. I can afford $10K. I can’t afford new.

If you have $10,000, you can buy a new car. Consider a Honda Civic with little or no money down. Use the $10,000--or the remainder--to make monthly payments for three years, then continue payments with earnings or sell it.

Any used car selling for $10,000 or less in this market is going to cost you a lot of money for repairs.

You really don’t get it, so you.

[Anonymous]

Loling at this. I know that used car prices have gone up, but the cars I drove when I was in college apparently would make people completely lose their minds here.

I'd give the kid your hyundai and buy a new car for yourself. I know you said you don't want to but that's the approach I'd take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buy new. Better value & safer vehicle.

Thank you for your advice from the land of privilege. I can afford $10K. I can’t afford new.

If you have $10,000, you can buy a new car. Consider a Honda Civic with little or no money down. Use the $10,000--or the remainder--to make monthly payments for three years, then continue payments with earnings or sell it.

Any used car selling for $10,000 or less in this market is going to cost you a lot of money for repairs.

You really don’t get it, so you.

NP but PP makes a solid point. I wouldn’t even sell new car. I’d lease in OP’s position.

$300 lease for 3 years is $10,000 (or $200 lease after $3kdown). You have a brand new, safe car, that you never have to worry about maintenance or repair for. A $10k car now won’t be worth anything in 3 years and even if it is, it will likely be more worth less than what you spent on repairs or maintenance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buy new. Better value & safer vehicle.

Thank you for your advice from the land of privilege. I can afford $10K. I can’t afford new.

If you have $10,000, you can buy a new car. Consider a Honda Civic with little or no money down. Use the $10,000--or the remainder--to make monthly payments for three years, then continue payments with earnings or sell it.

Any used car selling for $10,000 or less in this market is going to cost you a lot of money for repairs.

You really don’t get it, so you.

NP but PP makes a solid point. I wouldn’t even sell new car. I’d lease in OP’s position.

$300 lease for 3 years is $10,000 (or $200 lease after $3kdown). You have a brand new, safe car, that you never have to worry about maintenance or repair for. A $10k car now won’t be worth anything in 3 years and even if it is, it will likely be more worth less than what you spent on repairs or maintenance.

I don’t understand. If I buy used, I have a car that is fully mine to get rid of whenever I want. It may require lots of maintenance, or I may get lucky. It could even go for more than 3 years.

If I lease, I pay 10K over 3 years and then at the end of 3 years, I don’t have any ownership interest in the car unless I pay another 10-15 K to buy it out?

How is leasing a better deal in this situation?

[Anonymous]

Leasing is the less risky option because your total car costs (besides gas) are fixed at $10k, while the used car could potentially cost more in repairs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Leasing is the less risky option because your total car costs (besides gas) are fixed at $10k, while the used car could potentially cost more in repairs.

Yes, less risky but pretty much guaranteed to lose your ass.
You are guaranteed to be out 10k in the span of 3yrs. A 10k Civic or Corolla will last a minimum 300k miles, which is about 15 years.

[Anonymous]

A new car can cost less over 3 years due to no money down & special interest rate incentives. Much safer. Just use the $10,000 to make the monthly payments, then sell or get a job to continue payments.

Of course, if OP has terrible credit, then this may not be an option.