Toyota Corolla wagon.

Anonymous wrote:Find a used Subaru Outback. They are very reliable.

No, they’re not.

If they have a CVT they’re basically failures waiting to happen. Might fail at 40k miles, might fail at 140k miles. But at some point, that CVT is going to fail.

Also bad wheel hub bearings, bad CV axles, bad head gaskets.

Anonymous wrote:Find a used Subaru Outback. They are very reliable.

Sorry, not really, they'll be fine first 3-5 year after which you'll experience more issues than a Toyota or Honda. Just do a search on "subaru paint quality". We replaced a 2013 Outback with a 2010 Honda (yes, an older car), and it was overall much better put together than the Subie, and the clearcoat on the paint is superior, hardly ever scratches....unlike the Subie paint that gets a scratch every time you look at your car

We had a Honda Fit the first couple years of our kid's life and really loved it. It was easy to drive in the city and could carry a surprising amount of stuff, especially if we put half the backseat down. That said we recently upgraded to a CRV since we like to take road trips and the Fit was starting to feel a bit tight, and we're really happy with it (although it does feel kind of big to me when I drive it still).

We got a 2018 for $19K which was a price I was satisfied with. I found it on Cars.com and told the dealer that's the one I was interested in at the price on the website (note it doesn't include tax, title, and license so keep that in mind if you look at the prices online). I suppose we could've haggled for it but I can't stand doing that so I just went for one that had a price I thought was fair enough. It was really easy - much better than going to the dealership and looking on the fly at what they have on the lot, IMO.

Test drive and see what you like. I would go bigger as with car seats and luggage there isn't much room.

For city driving and parking, I would lean towards a hatchback or small SUV for parking. RAV4, Mazda3, Corolla Hatchback, Honda CRV, Subaru Forester. If you have the money, than the Ferrari FF.

Agree that a Civic or Corolla would suit your needs and be easier to find under $20k.

You don’t need a hybrid if you will only drive on the weekends. That’s just silly. I would get a used civic. Not carvana. That’s a rip off.

Find a used Subaru Outback. They are very reliable.

I've always loved the car-free lifestyle because I live centrally in DC and can walk everywhere or take public transport in normal times. The pandemic makes me think that I might finally have to get a car so that my family and I can go places and not feel stuck (I personally don't feel that comfortable using public transport at the moment, and not sure when that will change). We may also need to make trips to grandparents for childcare purposes over the next 6 months depending on what happens with schools.

We'll probably use this mostly on weekends, with occasional weekday trips and very occasional road-trips.

I like the idea of a hybrid (prius, RAV-4 hybrid) and don't want to spend a ton of money (under $20k ideally).

We are two adults and one young child. We don't plan on having any more kids so it's just the three of us.

What should we buy?

Should we buy used? from Carvana? or a dealer directly?

I really don't know anything about this as I've never owned a car in my adult life- help!