Buying a new car on black Friday
This will be my first car. I won't be keeping it for more than 5 years. I test drove Honda accord ex gas and hybrid. I liked the hybrid more because of that fast pickup in sport mode. But the hybrid is $2K more than the gas one. Is it worth it going for the hybrid ? Considering the resale value after 5 years or any rebates or fuel savings. I don't mind giving up on that fast pickup/sport mode if it means I will be saving more over 5 years. I honestly don't mind buying a pre owned 2018 as well because it might save me more money in 5 years right ? Would really appreciate any advice on this. Thanks.
Hybrids are high maintenance
No they’re not. Less maintenance actually.
Certainly won’t be a problem for first 5 years.
Hybrid will help you immensely with parking and is worth the extra 2k. If you’re looking at Honda, Toyota, etc.. I’d think you’re much better off buying new and their resale values are excellent. Also, the extras won’t add to the resale, like sport stuff, moon roof, etc. The showroom/dealer selling such stuff as preowned might be benefited but not you as a first point seller (this applies to almost all car brands).
Always buy 3 to 4 year old car
If I am buying a used 3 year old car how much miles should I be looking at ? I am sorry, totally newbie here.
Depends on the area, but average miles driven in US is around 15k mi/year. Ebay/Craigslist to get a sense of price range for your model and ideally pick up a used garage queen ideally. If you want a recent car, a leftover year model can be a decent savings.
Always buy 1 year old German for best value, or 2-3 for Japanese brand
Carvana does a Black Friday $1000 off every car. Might be worth a look.
Buy a real car for Christ sakes.
What's a real car?
The one that goes like THIS! 😎
If I am buying a used 3 year old car how much miles should I be looking at ? I am also confused whether to go for hybrid or gas. Can anyone clarify this to me please ? I am sorry, totally a newbie in this.
Around 25k, most people drive around 8k per year
For Honda, under 50k is good too. You may add 50k more in 5 years.
Average people drive 15K/year in CA so you should look for 30-60K. If it’s Toyota or Honda then 65K will be ok.
As someone who’s owned a hybrid for almost 10 years I’d def pay $2k more for the hybrid.
Always buy a couple years used if you want to do the fiscally responsible thing. Knowing how many miles a year you'll drive will help a lot in figuring out how much, if any, a hybrid would save you.
It will mostly be to and from work. Apart from maybe occasional drive around. And I don't plan on living more than 10-15 miles away from my work.