Looking for a car after being carless for 20 years

[Anonymous]

After 20 years in DC without a car, I'm thinking about getting a car for the first time. Last time I had one was in college, and it was my parents' old car, so I know nothing about the buying or leasing process. Where do I even start? I'm pretty sure I'd rather lease than buy. I will be doing street parking. And I don't want anything brand new. I'd like to keep total lease plus insurance under $300 if possible. I have no idea what make or model I want, but am not too picky. Do you generally lease from a dealership or do you get lease financing elsewhere? I've read a little about Chase Auto Preferred, is that a good option? Any advice would be great. Should I start with visiting dealerships to test drive and figure out what I like? I'm kind of intimidated by the negotiation process when I really know nothing about how this all works. Thanks for your tips!

[Anonymous]

Do you really have no idea what you want? A few considerations to start:

How many people do you expect to routinely be in your car? Just you, then you don't care about having a two door or four door, or how much room is in the back seat. But if you routinely have passengers or need to install car seats, you need a four door.

How many miles will you put on the car and what type of driving will you do? This will dictate whether you should have any concern about fuel economy or if it would be worth it to consider a hybrid or electric vehicle. Also annual mileage could tip the scales on the lease vs. buy calculation.

Do you need cargo capacity for light hauling, transporting a bicycle or kayak or other awkwardly sized item? Maybe an SUV would be better than a sedan.

Is parking a concern? We once had an older home with a very short garage so we couldn't buy anything longer than x feet, for example.

And so on...

[Anonymous]

You can’t lease a used car. If you lease, it will be a new car.
Since you’re street parking, I would not recommend a leased car. You will be responsible for fixing/paying for every scratch and ding when you return the car to the dealer at the end of your lease. You car will get f#cked with if you are parking it on the streets of DC.

My recommendation is to test drive a bunch of used cars and then buy one. Get something certified pre-owned, less 2-4 years old, less than 30K miles. A boring sedan with Apple CarPlay will likely be perfect for your needs. You likely won’t drive more than 5K miles per years, especially if you won’t drive to the office once life resumes after COVID.

Kia and Toyota sedans are great used vehicles. Maybe also look at the Subaru Crosstrek if you want something a bit sportier and with AWD. My buddy recently bought a 2016 Kia Forte with 30K miles for $11.5K from Fitzgerald in Rockville. Solid deal. They are also a Subaru dealership, so you could check out their used inventory on the same trip.

[Anonymous]

Don’t lease a car you are going to park on the street. You will have thousands in bumper damage.
Just get a used civic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t lease a car you are going to park on the street. You will have thousands in bumper damage.
Just get a used civic.

Used Civics are for suckers. Buy a new Civic and sell it after 3-4 years to someone who overpay for them used.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can’t lease a used car. If you lease, it will be a new car.
Since you’re street parking, I would not recommend a leased car. You will be responsible for fixing/paying for every scratch and ding when you return the car to the dealer at the end of your lease. You car will get f#cked with if you are parking it on the streets of DC.

My recommendation is to test drive a bunch of used cars and then buy one. Get something certified pre-owned, less 2-4 years old, less than 30K miles. A boring sedan with Apple CarPlay will likely be perfect for your needs. You likely won’t drive more than 5K miles per years, especially if you won’t drive to the office once life resumes after COVID.

Kia and Toyota sedans are great used vehicles. Maybe also look at the Subaru Crosstrek if you want something a bit sportier and with AWD. My buddy recently bought a 2016 Kia Forte with 30K miles for $11.5K from Fitzgerald in Rockville. Solid deal. They are also a Subaru dealership, so you could check out their used inventory on the same trip.

NP here, but with similar questions. The "youngest" car I've ever owned was 12 years old, and that was a solid used car. Why not in the 5-7 yo range?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t lease a used car. If you lease, it will be a new car.
Since you’re street parking, I would not recommend a leased car. You will be responsible for fixing/paying for every scratch and ding when you return the car to the dealer at the end of your lease. You car will get f#cked with if you are parking it on the streets of DC.

My recommendation is to test drive a bunch of used cars and then buy one. Get something certified pre-owned, less 2-4 years old, less than 30K miles. A boring sedan with Apple CarPlay will likely be perfect for your needs. You likely won’t drive more than 5K miles per years, especially if you won’t drive to the office once life resumes after COVID.

Kia and Toyota sedans are great used vehicles. Maybe also look at the Subaru Crosstrek if you want something a bit sportier and with AWD. My buddy recently bought a 2016 Kia Forte with 30K miles for $11.5K from Fitzgerald in Rockville. Solid deal. They are also a Subaru dealership, so you could check out their used inventory on the same trip.

NP here, but with similar questions. The "youngest" car I've ever owned was 12 years old, and that was a solid used car. Why not in the 5-7 yo range?

Goes out-of-date quicker with regard to safety and tech. Also, warranties expire for various aspects of the car around the 5-7 year mark. If you get a lemon, you’re screwed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can’t lease a used car. If you lease, it will be a new car.
Since you’re street parking, I would not recommend a leased car. You will be responsible for fixing/paying for every scratch and ding when you return the car to the dealer at the end of your lease. You car will get f#cked with if you are parking it on the streets of DC.

My recommendation is to test drive a bunch of used cars and then buy one. Get something certified pre-owned, less 2-4 years old, less than 30K miles. A boring sedan with Apple CarPlay will likely be perfect for your needs. You likely won’t drive more than 5K miles per years, especially if you won’t drive to the office once life resumes after COVID.

Kia and Toyota sedans are great used vehicles. Maybe also look at the Subaru Crosstrek if you want something a bit sportier and with AWD. My buddy recently bought a 2016 Kia Forte with 30K miles for $11.5K from Fitzgerald in Rockville. Solid deal. They are also a Subaru dealership, so you could check out their used inventory on the same trip.

You can lease a used car. In fact very popular. My BMW dealer did BMW with three year leases new then when returned released them another three years as a CPO extended warranty another three years. Leasing is based on purchase price and depreciation so second lease even better.

[Anonymous]

OP, a 2017 Toyota Corolla seems like a solid choice given your budget. Easy to park in a city, and known to be one of the most reliable and lowest cost-to-maintain cars out there.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=carGurusHomePageModel&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d295&zip=20009#listing=285790660

You could buy this for $13k, plus fees and taxes (DC charges between 6 and 8% as a one-time tax when you buy any car and register it here).

Getting advice here is a great start, but I highly recommend reaching out to a family member, friend, or even a co-worker who is knowledgeable about the car-buying process. Ask them for help. I guarantee there is someone in one of your circles who knows the drill and can help you navigate this.

Final thoughts:
--In your scenario, don't lease. Just buy a good used car.
--Don't strictly shop by monthly budget. Be aware of the total cost. Nothing wrong with having a monthly budget in mind, but be aware that in today's world of crazy lending, you can make many vehicles fit a monthly budget by getting a longer loan term. There are people out there buying cars with 96 month loans! A good rule of thumb is to keep the loan length at 60 months max and pay it down sooner if possible.
--Go to your bank and/or credit union to get a pre-approval on a loan before you go car shopping. That way, you can ask the dealer if they can beat that rate and term. If they can, finance through the dealer. If they can't, no problem--go through with the loan you've been pre-approved on from your bank. Lots of local credit unions here provide good car loan rates, so it doesn't have to be the same bank or CU that you hold a checking account at.

[Anonymous]

Swap a lease or lease trader

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Swap a lease or lease trader

Not a bad idea, but if OP takes on a lease and street parks it, she will be forking over $$ at lease end due to damage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swap a lease or lease trader

Not a bad idea, but if OP takes on a lease and street parks it, she will be forking over $$ at lease end due to damage.

Actually used car prices have greatly risen. The estimated residual value in 2017-2019 leases are higher than forecasted. You could buy it back at end. Plus if you do low mikes per year and car ate up most of lease miles seller will give a big concession

[Anonymous]

https://www.swapalease.com/mobile/lease/details/2020-Chevrolet-Trax.aspx?salid=1508671

Best deal. Under 200 a month for 2020 car with 400 miles

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t lease a car you are going to park on the street. You will have thousands in bumper damage.
Just get a used civic.

Used Civics are for suckers. Buy a new Civic and sell it after 3-4 years to someone who overpay for them used.

Well I just finally upgraded from my Civic that I bought in 2001. No issues with it at all but I was tired of waiting for it to die and we needed more space! Had it for almost 20 years. Though I'd advice you to just buy one new because those things last forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, a 2017 Toyota Corolla seems like a solid choice given your budget. Easy to park in a city, and known to be one of the most reliable and lowest cost-to-maintain cars out there.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=carGurusHomePageModel&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d295&zip=20009#listing=285790660

You could buy this for $13k, plus fees and taxes (DC charges between 6 and 8% as a one-time tax when you buy any car and register it here).

Getting advice here is a great start, but I highly recommend reaching out to a family member, friend, or even a co-worker who is knowledgeable about the car-buying process. Ask them for help. I guarantee there is someone in one of your circles who knows the drill and can help you navigate this.

Final thoughts:
--In your scenario, don't lease. Just buy a good used car.
--Don't strictly shop by monthly budget. Be aware of the total cost. Nothing wrong with having a monthly budget in mind, but be aware that in today's world of crazy lending, you can make many vehicles fit a monthly budget by getting a longer loan term. There are people out there buying cars with 96 month loans! A good rule of thumb is to keep the loan length at 60 months max and pay it down sooner if possible.
--Go to your bank and/or credit union to get a pre-approval on a loan before you go car shopping. That way, you can ask the dealer if they can beat that rate and term. If they can, finance through the dealer. If they can't, no problem--go through with the loan you've been pre-approved on from your bank. Lots of local credit unions here provide good car loan rates, so it doesn't have to be the same bank or CU that you hold a checking account at.

2017 Corolla sold for about $15,500 when new. So you are looking at a depreciation of only $2500 for 4 years. This shows just how idiotic it is to buy a used Toyota. If you regard the useful life of a Corolla to be 20 years, then a $15,500 price would mean $775 per year of depreciation assuming that the car is equally as desirable in its first year as its 20th year. Four years at $775 is $3100 of depreciation. Clearly, then, it's a much better deal to buy the car at $15,000, drive it for 4 years, and sell it for $13000 and experience only $625 pear year depreciation, while driving a new car!