I've never owned a car. In my 20s I scoffed at the idea, saying, "traffic sucks, parking sucks, just live within walking distance to your office, take taxis or Uber everywhere else, easy". But now because of COVID I'd rather not get in a car (or bus or train) with strangers. Owning a car is suddenly starting to really appeal to me. Maybe I'll even develop a taste for road trips. The fact that there are electric options now also means I don't have to feel guilty about burning gasoline when driving. But this might have been the worst time to have such an epiphany. Used car prices are insane right now... I just want a cheap PHEV or EV, nothing too fancy. If I buy now I can get a 5 year old car with low mileage for $25-30k. I figure if I wait until mid to late 2023 I might see some deals in the $15-20k range. Every website, article, video, etc. says to wait, but I work in tech, so these numbers seem kind of small in the grand scheme of things. Am I just penny pinching at this point? Or is it worth waiting to save $5-10k on a used car? TC: 230k
I’ve heard that mining metals for EV car batteries is more harmful that burning gasoline. Is that true?
Depends how you calculate, but it also depends on how much driving is done with the car. If you build a car and it just sits in a warehouse forever, then an ICE car pollutes less. But if the car is driven for 100k+ miles the story is very different. Also, even if the emissions are similar (which they aren't in practice), I selfishly would like them to happen far away in factories and mines and refineries, rather than coming out of my tailpipe every day and stinking up the city I live in, lol
Here's a good video about the topic: https://youtu.be/6RhtiPefVzM
You can easily afford a decent 40k car. Preferably Tesla, but I’m biased. Rn is a good time. Price drop + EV tax credit
With my TC I don't qualify for the credits. There's a cap at 150k MAGI for new vehicles, and 75k MAGI for used vehicles. I bet most Blind users don't qualify for the used vehicle credit...
Hmm even ignoring credits you should be good in terms of affordability
You can get a brand new Chevy bolt EV for 20-25k, but it charges slow. For road trips I'd go gasoline or hybrid. In that case you can get a brand new Toyota Corolla for 22k or so. I'm also biting the bullet and getting a car soon. Used may be a better option later this year, but right now new seems to be a better deal if you want something from the last 5 years with sub 50k mileage.
Yeah, the Bolt looks great to me. Too bad I don't qualify for the EV tax credit because of my TC, or I'd be on it in a heartbeat. So the base trim is actually 26.5k and the higher 2LT trim is 29.7k. Or if I go for the "EUV" variant, the Premier trim is 31.7k. Meanwhile I see ads for 5-year-old used Volts (their discontinued PHEV) with 50k miles and Premier trim level for 25k or so. Tough choice. BTW I think the slow charging issue on the Bolt is kind of overblown. Unless you're doing 200+ mile drives frequently, I don't think the DC fast charging speed matters much, and the Level 2 charging which you're likely to use much more often is actually completely fine (it can charge to 100% overnight). Anyway, on road trips it's probably good to take a break and stretch your body once in a while instead of sitting in the driver's seat from sunrise to sunset :)
For around 30-35k, you can get a used tesla model 3 with 30-50k miles.
True, but Teslas are not for me. Their design philosophy of putting almost all functions on a giant touchscreen instead of having buttons really turns me off ― I like to keep my eyes on the road, and definitely don't want to be swiping through menus while I'm driving. And anyway I don't want to support their insane CEO, lol.
For 30-35k you'll get a standard model 3. Range anxiety on it is insane. You can do 220 miles on a full charge and if you hit the accelerator in anger a few times you are waiting for an enternity at a supercharger. Not to mention the cost associated with installing/paying for charging infra at home. You cannot take roadtrips / drive to trails and God forbid get stuck on a freeway in the winter. Teslas are good second cars. As a primary car they suck. And 35k$ for a car with 50k miles is stupid
Used Civic for s max 20 K. Car is a liability
True, but even used Civics will be going down in price over the next 6-12 months, so I think my question is relevant even if I chose to buy a used Civic.
Buying a car is a huge expense. You are better off to put that monthly payment in a property and take a taxi, uber, bicycle etc when you have to.
I think you didn't read all of my post. (I admit it is kind of long.) Important points: - I'm looking for a $15-30k car, not some $100k luxury SUV or anything. (BTW I can pay $15-30k directly out of my RSUs when they vest, no need for monthly loan payments.) - I don't want to take Uber anymore because of COVID - I want to try going on longer trips in my own car, which I can't do with taxi/uber/bicycle
Cost price of the car is not all. Factor in Maintenance, parking, insurance, tax and gas. You will also potentially overuse it for stuff you used to run/walk to. So you might end up being lazier Op: I am in the same boat as you. Used to do bike + bus, can't get into a bus anymore coz of covid. Now I just do rental car when I need. Uber/lift when I need. Run/walk/Instacart for groceries.
Good points. If I was still living in the city, I think your plan would make sense for me, but after the pandemic started I moved into a more suburban/rural area. I use Instacart for groceries, but I can't really go anywhere on foot. Uber/Lyft is not much better than a bus from a COVID perspective IMO. I can go on walks around the neighborhood for exercise, but I still feel really trapped at home without a car here :/
Too late. Most cars onsale at the end of the year. Wait
If you have use for the car now, buy it now. Quality of life is more important than that small amount of money with your tc you can afford it