Car buying suggestions
I need to update my car, rodents find it very tasty. I drive 5k/yr, this car is used for office commute and grocery shopping. Do I buy new or used? Electric or gas? I drive too less to justify hybrid. Luxury or standard? How much is it reasonable to spend on commuter car? Seattle rain doesn't make it reasonable to bike/ebike/skateboard in winter, I wish they had those covered motor bikes. 200k Don't need power, it'll just burn that premium gas in slow 520 traffic. Small hatchback or small suv, something like civic/Crosstrek/gla/hrv/qx30/q3/kona/elantra/soul...
Used mazda 3 2014/15. The lesser you spend the better. I'd also look at Hyundai Elantra and VW Jetta.
How is Jetta from maintenance pov. elantra is something I'm considering, but won't make sense to buy used, you can easily buy new at msrp-5k and 3 yrs from now kbb will show a price more than what you originally paid.
I end up doing a tiny job every 4-5 months on my 2011 Jetta. I'd say it's alright, not so bad that it's a deal breaker. Didn't know that. How does that work? All cash payment?
Buy something Japanese and used (Toyota, Honda, Mazda) or lease something new and fun (BMW, Mercedes, Tesla?)
Thanks!
This. If you can justify the cost of getting something new, go for it. Else Civic, Camry, Accord, Altima etc should be fine.
Get a $35 Consumer Reports subscription
Nissan Leaf. You can get one for like $4.
If you're going for a small SUV, get what everyone else in Seattle gets: Subaru Outback, maybe a few years old used to save on depreciation cost. If you want to be a little bougie but still not stand out too much while you don't want your tech coworkers to judge what you drive, get an Audi Q3 or BMW X3.
Get a used Honda Fit from within 5 years
Nissan leaf
Hyundai elantra is super cheap and reliable
Too many variables. You need to provide some constraints e.g. budget, your car style... like power or high-resale etc.
Budget is open, 10k to 40k. Updated other information in the OP.