Reply to Looking for a car after being carless for 20 years

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=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.[/quote]

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![/quote]

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