Car Advice

I’m planning on buying a car after closing on a condo. I have a wife and a young toddler and we are planning on having another next year. We live in NYC: the wealthier and more spacious part of Bronx. We anticipate having parking in the condo garage. We see cars as primarily a utility, I have limited driving experience, and my wife hates driving (and feels like her skills are subpar). I prioritize safety and reliability: I don’t want to take a lot of time away from family and work to deal with repairs and I want everyone safe. I don’t mind spending more for comfort and great technology. I want enough space to take the kids on monthly trips to parks and restaurants in the outer boroughs, upstate NYC, and Jersey. I also want my wife in a bigger and safer car as buffer for her subpar driving skills. I know very little about cars other than Toyotas are reliable. I have $50-60k that I’m willing to burn on an all cash purchase but if I can get a low interest rate, I’ll borrow. Our credits scores are outstanding, we have zero debt, and +2 years of savings, so I’m only worried about market forces harming our low interest rate prospects. We’re currently saving $10-13k a month, depending on how nicely the stock market is treating my company, so we have buffer for comfortably absorbing a monthly payment. A car would have to exceed our expectations on everything described above for us to pay more than $60-70k. I’m thinking of getting a hybrid 2020-22 Toyota Highlander. What other cars should I be looking at? Also, there is big issue of theft of catalytic converters, especially Hondas, in my area, so I’d like to avoid those unless there’s a really compelling reason to get one. #cars #car #nyc #driving