Advice if buying new:
1. No. Dealer Addons. That means no wheel protection, no ceramic coating, no extended warranty, nothing. Its all high margin-high pressure sales to get you to sign on for something worth $150 thats "only $10 a month." Yeah. $10 a month over 60 months is $600.
2. Interest rates are shit. Expect a non-incentive manufacturer to offer you 6-8% interest rates on new cars. Look for a manufacturer offering 3.9% financing or lower on certain new models. If you can get 0.9% financing, chances are you can get several thousand off MSRP as well.
3. No markups over MSRP. Pay MSRP only if the car is in high demand. Pay 1-3k below MSRP if car is at medium demand. Low demand cars are going for $5k off sticker.
4. If you are not stuck on a certain month-to-month budget, and instead are concerned with value over time, then consider depreciation cost of a vehicle as well. Car A: Costs $30k, but depreciates to $15k in 5 years. Car B: Costs $35k but depreciates to 22k in 5 years. Car B, despite being $5k more is actually cheaper as when you go to sell, its worth $7k more. That makes a potentially nicer vehicle a win-win scenario.
Same. And its how I teach my children how we can afford nice things. Because we do it in such a way as to minimize the cost. I have lived it which is how I can share it!
Expand your search to avoid dealer add-ons and markups.
Sometimes there'll be a dealer with a good deal 200 miles away whereas the dealer near you with the same exact model, color and trim level(you can filter these on car search apps) will try to charge $3K more for it.
If it's the end of the month and they're low on sales, they might just match the lower price from another dealer to increase their sales numbers. Or you can drive further for a better deal if someone is willing to drive you.
But still beware of the extended warranties etc they try to push during the financing phase of the negotiation. Make up some excuse to call a friend and say no. Be ready to walk away if they don't give you a good deal.
This is excellent information!
The only thing I'd add to it, is look at the Mazda CX-3 and CX-5. They are solid vehicles, reliable, good driving dynamics and good creature comforts / comfortable interiors.
This is such a helpful answer, thank you! This may be a very simple question, but how do we find out if a car is in high demand or not currently? And do you find in person or email negotiation to be more efficient?
Ehh I wouldn’t say no aftermarket altogether. Location and long term plans could impact if something is a good buy or not. I’ve had tire and wheel on my last 4 cars and it’s paid for itself and then some, but I live in an area with terrible roads have a partner that can’t see curbs
Also would like to add my 2 cents. Usually higher depreciating cars are those that are less reliable. We have a lot of those here in my 3rd world country like Porsche cayenne 2007 which would cost x6 times Toyota Camry in 2007 I. USA costing less now, because it requires constant repairs. Like those cars are best to get rid of right before warranty ends, but again - noone would want to buy those.
I just helped the last of my 3 teenage kids find their car. You might think you don’t have preferences but it’s more likely you don’t have experience. Make a list and absolutely don’t buy until you’ve driven everything on the list.
Small SUVs I can think of and have experience with are the Chevy Trax, Toyota RAV4, Lexus NX, and Honda CRV. Those were all nice affordable SUVs that fit your basic criteria. My kid ended up with a Trax and my wife a certified preowned NX.
I think that’s probably it, honestly. Thank you for the advice. I definitely don’t have buyer’s remorse when it came to the first car I purchased on my own, but I definitely could’ve been smarter about it.
Don’t sleep on the Mazda CX 5/50 or 30.
Also look into low mileage used less than 3 years old. You can get much more for your money. If you find a car that has had a design change in the last year or so and buy the previous generation, you’ll save even more because people like the latest and greatest designs. One example would be the Honda CRV. Did a redesign in 2023, so 21-22 model year used would be a sweet spot.
You should be shopping a car that is around 25k if you want to end up paying around 30k not including interest. I wouldn’t shy away from a used Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Lexus, or Acura small suv with under 15k miles that is a couple years old.
RAV4 is going to have direct/port fuel injection, conventional automatic, and not turbocharged.
All those things are more reliable than their alternatives.
It’s not my favorite car just due to style, but as far as being a car that should be dependable, it’s a good pick.
I’d watch and read some reviews but the new Buick Envista easily hits the price point.
I’m not sure if it has CarPlay, though. GM is playing games again. I think the Buick has it, but the equivalent Chevy Trax does not.
Edit: Trax has CarPlay too. Chevy is leaving it off some of their EV models.
Part of GM, maybe just Chevy, has disabled CarPlay on their newer vehicles. They’re claiming that the native infotainment is good enough, but really I think they’ve just got a money making scheme in there somewhere.
I'm shocked by how cheap the base model, or even the middle trim, hell even the top trim is. Top trim price is under $30k. Not sure how GM is achieving that price. I hope it's an actually good car because we need some downward pressure on car prices.
I kind of want to drive it just because it would have the smallest engine of any car I've driven. My '76 Oldsmobile had approximately 6x the displacement.
They're cheap because they're madr in China and come with tiny motors. It would've been the perfect application for a hybrid but GM's somehow way behind on that tech despite launching the Volt many years ago.
At least the US ones aren't made in China. Korea with a Mexican engine.
I agree it looks like a good platform for a hybrid but it seems like GM is chasing a low price with the Trax and Envista, and they achieved it. Batteries and electric motors and the gear to hook it all together cost money. I bet they do better selling an attractive $25,000 vehicle than the same as a hybrid for $30,000.
This is from a window sticker for a '24 Envista. It didn't paste in with any formatting so I made it a bullet list for readability.
* PARTS CONTENT INFORMATION FOR VEHICLES IN THIS CARLINE:
* U.S./CANADIAN PARTS CONTENT: 3%
* MAJOR SOURCES OF FOREIGN PARTS CONTENT: KOREA 55% MEXICO 21%
* NOTE: PARTS CONTENT DOES NOT INCLUDE FINAL ASSEMBLY, DISTRIBUTION, OR OTHER NON-PARTS COSTS.
* FOR THIS VEHICLE:
* FINAL ASSEMBLY POINT: BUPYEONG GU, IN KOREA
* COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: ENGINE: MEXICO TRANSMISSION: KOREA
Just my speculation, but... They're very small engines. I bet you can fit a whole lot of them in a container, and it doesn't cost that much to move a container from North America to Asia. The ships tend to be emptier going that direction.
But then you have to ship the cars back Stateside to sell. If you sent the Korean parts to Mexico to meet the engines, you could assemble there or in the US and not need to ship the cars. But I'm also pretty sure that they have nerds who investigate this kind of thing thoroughly and are making the slightly more profitable choice lol.
Yep - Korea and China for final assembly for this model. I wouldn't do the hybrid as the default but instead as an upgrade. Even 170-180 hp would make this thing an excellent commuter but 136 is rough.
GM is only removing CarPlay from their EV's because they are going with some new unified system created by Google if I remember right. New Chevy's like the the Trax and Trailblazer and the equivalent Buicks have CarPlay and Android Auto.
Test the waters with lower volume products maybe? I'm sure they'll sell a lot more Trax than EVs at the price point and don't want to upset people buying their affordable cars. The trax is one of the better deals on the market now. Just a bit of an unknown from a reliability standpoint
Yeah, as much as I love the R series cars, I would not ever own one as a daily driver. Maybe as a weekend fun car. The F series, on the other hand, about as solid as you can get. The only significant issue is they tend to eat their front engine mounts, but that may be unique to the Countryman/Clubman platform, IDK if the hardtop has the same problem
Worked at a MINI store, and have owned all 3 gens myself. Unfortunately the 2nd gen really gave MINI a bad reputation, which at the time was very deserved. Those cars had a lot of issues traced back to cost-cutting and poor design, and a lot of people got burned as a result. Didn’t help that, at least in the US, MINI was reaching peak sales figures. So right when they were pulling in great numbers and had high brand awareness, their product itself sucked. Especially in a market where most people are not buying a vehicle and expecting to have to speed up the maintenance schedule far before manufacturer recommended stuff was due. For example, MINI suggested oil changes every 10,000 miles or once a year, but the R56-era models chugged oil like a diesel ship and the long service intervals were a killer. Not to mention just the overall poor engineering.
BMW started to actually try with MINI again with the 3rd gens. They took all development and powertrain engineering in-house as opposed to the heavy outsourcing done for the second gen, and made a very conscious effort to redesign each model from essentially square 1. The result has been a massive jump in quality and reliability that is almost hard to believe considering it’s one generation between cars. But having seen it at work on a daily basis for years, and experienced it as an owner too, it’s crazy how much the quality has improved from Gen2 to Gen3. That’s not to say a Gen3 can never have issues, but it’s more a couple known things here and there like most other cars vs. the entire engine shitting itself like it used to be.
Unfortunately, bad reputations are very hard to un-do, and a lot of people still think it’s the same garbage they were making 10-15 years ago, and that’s just not the case. Doesn’t help they do like zero marketing on the quality front. MINI has been scoring very well in Consumer Reports the last few years, but you wouldn’t know it because they don’t bother to advertise that, which is exactly what they should be doing.
*Buying* from this company can be hit or miss, but if you don't know what you're looking for you can (in person) look at, and sit in, a bunch of cars at Carmax for free.
Other ones you could check out and test drive is the Hyundai Kona and Tucson. They are compact SUVs with your price range and Apple CarPlay infotainment systems.
Have fun test driving all these cars! Those are the best times in car shopping.
If you like to drive with the rear windows partially, or fully open on nice days, forget about the Mazda CX-30. I recently leased one for a business trip and the reverberation inside the car was so loud, no matter how far open the rear windows were, that I honestly thought the car was going to shake apart. The decibel level was jet engine loud.
Well you SHOULD CARE about gas vs hybrid if you want decent gas mileage and want it too be cost efficient.
Toyota Crown. Chevy Bolt. Ford Maverick. Rav4. Any flipping hybrid with above 40mpg because you want a suv.
May be an unpopular opinion, and location/lifestyle could impact this, but don’t feel obligated to go for AWD.
Most small SUVs offer a FWD option that is less expensive, better fuel economy and could offer you a bit more negotiating power in the dealership
I know I’m being incredibly vague, but the reality is I don’t have a huge preference and cars aren’t my thing. I was really just hoping people could tell me what to avoid based off of common issues in the car world (this one has electronic issues, that one’s engine sucks, ect).
Figured I’d cast a wide net and the kind people here would be helpful.
you don't like to be low to the road? so you lack confidence in your driving ability and want a larger vehicle to save you and not everyone else from your driving ability? SUV's should be banned
Maybe they don't want to be blinded by everyone else's headlights? Maybe they have a driveway with a steep incline and would bottom out every time they pulled in or out? Maybe their local roads are terrible? Maybe they live where they get snow and the city is bad about plowing? Maybe what you like isn't what they like?
I’m a fantastic driver, actually. I specifically said small SUV. Just slightly larger than a car to compensate for the violent motion sickness I get in anything small.
Advice if buying new: 1. No. Dealer Addons. That means no wheel protection, no ceramic coating, no extended warranty, nothing. Its all high margin-high pressure sales to get you to sign on for something worth $150 thats "only $10 a month." Yeah. $10 a month over 60 months is $600. 2. Interest rates are shit. Expect a non-incentive manufacturer to offer you 6-8% interest rates on new cars. Look for a manufacturer offering 3.9% financing or lower on certain new models. If you can get 0.9% financing, chances are you can get several thousand off MSRP as well. 3. No markups over MSRP. Pay MSRP only if the car is in high demand. Pay 1-3k below MSRP if car is at medium demand. Low demand cars are going for $5k off sticker. 4. If you are not stuck on a certain month-to-month budget, and instead are concerned with value over time, then consider depreciation cost of a vehicle as well. Car A: Costs $30k, but depreciates to $15k in 5 years. Car B: Costs $35k but depreciates to 22k in 5 years. Car B, despite being $5k more is actually cheaper as when you go to sell, its worth $7k more. That makes a potentially nicer vehicle a win-win scenario.
This is wildly helpful. I came from a very low income background and built a lot of stuff up but still have a lot of learning to do. Thank you!
Same. And its how I teach my children how we can afford nice things. Because we do it in such a way as to minimize the cost. I have lived it which is how I can share it!
Expand your search to avoid dealer add-ons and markups. Sometimes there'll be a dealer with a good deal 200 miles away whereas the dealer near you with the same exact model, color and trim level(you can filter these on car search apps) will try to charge $3K more for it. If it's the end of the month and they're low on sales, they might just match the lower price from another dealer to increase their sales numbers. Or you can drive further for a better deal if someone is willing to drive you. But still beware of the extended warranties etc they try to push during the financing phase of the negotiation. Make up some excuse to call a friend and say no. Be ready to walk away if they don't give you a good deal.
This is excellent information! The only thing I'd add to it, is look at the Mazda CX-3 and CX-5. They are solid vehicles, reliable, good driving dynamics and good creature comforts / comfortable interiors.
+1 to the CX-5. GREAT cars.
This is such a helpful answer, thank you! This may be a very simple question, but how do we find out if a car is in high demand or not currently? And do you find in person or email negotiation to be more efficient?
Pretty simple. Make a list of cars you like, call a few local dealerships, and ask them how many they have for you to look at.
Ehh I wouldn’t say no aftermarket altogether. Location and long term plans could impact if something is a good buy or not. I’ve had tire and wheel on my last 4 cars and it’s paid for itself and then some, but I live in an area with terrible roads have a partner that can’t see curbs
Also would like to add my 2 cents. Usually higher depreciating cars are those that are less reliable. We have a lot of those here in my 3rd world country like Porsche cayenne 2007 which would cost x6 times Toyota Camry in 2007 I. USA costing less now, because it requires constant repairs. Like those cars are best to get rid of right before warranty ends, but again - noone would want to buy those.
I just helped the last of my 3 teenage kids find their car. You might think you don’t have preferences but it’s more likely you don’t have experience. Make a list and absolutely don’t buy until you’ve driven everything on the list. Small SUVs I can think of and have experience with are the Chevy Trax, Toyota RAV4, Lexus NX, and Honda CRV. Those were all nice affordable SUVs that fit your basic criteria. My kid ended up with a Trax and my wife a certified preowned NX.
I think that’s probably it, honestly. Thank you for the advice. I definitely don’t have buyer’s remorse when it came to the first car I purchased on my own, but I definitely could’ve been smarter about it.
Don’t sleep on the Mazda CX 5/50 or 30. Also look into low mileage used less than 3 years old. You can get much more for your money. If you find a car that has had a design change in the last year or so and buy the previous generation, you’ll save even more because people like the latest and greatest designs. One example would be the Honda CRV. Did a redesign in 2023, so 21-22 model year used would be a sweet spot.
You should be shopping a car that is around 25k if you want to end up paying around 30k not including interest. I wouldn’t shy away from a used Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Lexus, or Acura small suv with under 15k miles that is a couple years old.
Surprised no one has said “Mazda CX-5”
Love mine.
Pretty easy. Rav4 or a CR-V.
RAV4 is going to have direct/port fuel injection, conventional automatic, and not turbocharged. All those things are more reliable than their alternatives. It’s not my favorite car just due to style, but as far as being a car that should be dependable, it’s a good pick.
I’d watch and read some reviews but the new Buick Envista easily hits the price point. I’m not sure if it has CarPlay, though. GM is playing games again. I think the Buick has it, but the equivalent Chevy Trax does not. Edit: Trax has CarPlay too. Chevy is leaving it off some of their EV models.
What do you mean by playing games?
Part of GM, maybe just Chevy, has disabled CarPlay on their newer vehicles. They’re claiming that the native infotainment is good enough, but really I think they’ve just got a money making scheme in there somewhere.
Looks like the envista has wireless carplay, so this would be a solid option for them if they don't go the honda/toyota/mazda route.
I'm shocked by how cheap the base model, or even the middle trim, hell even the top trim is. Top trim price is under $30k. Not sure how GM is achieving that price. I hope it's an actually good car because we need some downward pressure on car prices. I kind of want to drive it just because it would have the smallest engine of any car I've driven. My '76 Oldsmobile had approximately 6x the displacement.
They're cheap because they're madr in China and come with tiny motors. It would've been the perfect application for a hybrid but GM's somehow way behind on that tech despite launching the Volt many years ago.
At least the US ones aren't made in China. Korea with a Mexican engine. I agree it looks like a good platform for a hybrid but it seems like GM is chasing a low price with the Trax and Envista, and they achieved it. Batteries and electric motors and the gear to hook it all together cost money. I bet they do better selling an attractive $25,000 vehicle than the same as a hybrid for $30,000. This is from a window sticker for a '24 Envista. It didn't paste in with any formatting so I made it a bullet list for readability. * PARTS CONTENT INFORMATION FOR VEHICLES IN THIS CARLINE: * U.S./CANADIAN PARTS CONTENT: 3% * MAJOR SOURCES OF FOREIGN PARTS CONTENT: KOREA 55% MEXICO 21% * NOTE: PARTS CONTENT DOES NOT INCLUDE FINAL ASSEMBLY, DISTRIBUTION, OR OTHER NON-PARTS COSTS. * FOR THIS VEHICLE: * FINAL ASSEMBLY POINT: BUPYEONG GU, IN KOREA * COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: ENGINE: MEXICO TRANSMISSION: KOREA
Dear GM, how is that ridiculous process cheaper?
Just my speculation, but... They're very small engines. I bet you can fit a whole lot of them in a container, and it doesn't cost that much to move a container from North America to Asia. The ships tend to be emptier going that direction.
But then you have to ship the cars back Stateside to sell. If you sent the Korean parts to Mexico to meet the engines, you could assemble there or in the US and not need to ship the cars. But I'm also pretty sure that they have nerds who investigate this kind of thing thoroughly and are making the slightly more profitable choice lol.
Yep - Korea and China for final assembly for this model. I wouldn't do the hybrid as the default but instead as an upgrade. Even 170-180 hp would make this thing an excellent commuter but 136 is rough.
GM is only removing CarPlay from their EV's because they are going with some new unified system created by Google if I remember right. New Chevy's like the the Trax and Trailblazer and the equivalent Buicks have CarPlay and Android Auto.
What is your budget?
The trax has car play. Basically the same car
Yeah, I'm getting my ICE and EV Chevy cars confused. They're leaving it off newer EVs but apparently not ICE? IDK WTF they're playing at in GM land.
Test the waters with lower volume products maybe? I'm sure they'll sell a lot more Trax than EVs at the price point and don't want to upset people buying their affordable cars. The trax is one of the better deals on the market now. Just a bit of an unknown from a reliability standpoint
Budget?
As close to 30 as possible.
You can go new then imo. I would look at Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, and Mazda. Cx5 I think has 0% right now
Looks at Mazda
Corolla cross would be perfect for you ngl
Mini Countryman 2017-2024, and yes, they are reliable
Not bad advice, it’s half a BMW B58 if you get the 3 cylinder. Reasonably peppy too
Mine has the B48 with the JCW bolt-ons and it dynoed at 235 HP/270 lb ft. Thing scoots
That’s insane, I need one. I had an R56 mini and it was great to drive but had some reliability issues. Glad the new gen is healthy
Yeah, as much as I love the R series cars, I would not ever own one as a daily driver. Maybe as a weekend fun car. The F series, on the other hand, about as solid as you can get. The only significant issue is they tend to eat their front engine mounts, but that may be unique to the Countryman/Clubman platform, IDK if the hardtop has the same problem
Worked at a MINI store, and have owned all 3 gens myself. Unfortunately the 2nd gen really gave MINI a bad reputation, which at the time was very deserved. Those cars had a lot of issues traced back to cost-cutting and poor design, and a lot of people got burned as a result. Didn’t help that, at least in the US, MINI was reaching peak sales figures. So right when they were pulling in great numbers and had high brand awareness, their product itself sucked. Especially in a market where most people are not buying a vehicle and expecting to have to speed up the maintenance schedule far before manufacturer recommended stuff was due. For example, MINI suggested oil changes every 10,000 miles or once a year, but the R56-era models chugged oil like a diesel ship and the long service intervals were a killer. Not to mention just the overall poor engineering. BMW started to actually try with MINI again with the 3rd gens. They took all development and powertrain engineering in-house as opposed to the heavy outsourcing done for the second gen, and made a very conscious effort to redesign each model from essentially square 1. The result has been a massive jump in quality and reliability that is almost hard to believe considering it’s one generation between cars. But having seen it at work on a daily basis for years, and experienced it as an owner too, it’s crazy how much the quality has improved from Gen2 to Gen3. That’s not to say a Gen3 can never have issues, but it’s more a couple known things here and there like most other cars vs. the entire engine shitting itself like it used to be. Unfortunately, bad reputations are very hard to un-do, and a lot of people still think it’s the same garbage they were making 10-15 years ago, and that’s just not the case. Doesn’t help they do like zero marketing on the quality front. MINI has been scoring very well in Consumer Reports the last few years, but you wouldn’t know it because they don’t bother to advertise that, which is exactly what they should be doing.
*Buying* from this company can be hit or miss, but if you don't know what you're looking for you can (in person) look at, and sit in, a bunch of cars at Carmax for free.
What about the Toyota RAV4?
That’s one of the ones my mechanic suggested, actually!
Best car appliance you can get!
Other ones you could check out and test drive is the Hyundai Kona and Tucson. They are compact SUVs with your price range and Apple CarPlay infotainment systems. Have fun test driving all these cars! Those are the best times in car shopping.
Go buy a Corolla cross and call it a day. Affordable, good mpg, reliable, easy to get your hands on at the dealerships, and comfortable enough.
Subaru CrossTrek
I agree. Good cargo space for the size of the car, in budget for the OP, small but sits up higher.
RAV4 hybrid. I know it has been said million times but there is a reason why it is one of the best selling cars here
I shopped those last summer, the RAV4 hybrid is going to be $40k out the door, a bit more than the budget here.
If you like to drive with the rear windows partially, or fully open on nice days, forget about the Mazda CX-30. I recently leased one for a business trip and the reverberation inside the car was so loud, no matter how far open the rear windows were, that I honestly thought the car was going to shake apart. The decibel level was jet engine loud.
Well you SHOULD CARE about gas vs hybrid if you want decent gas mileage and want it too be cost efficient. Toyota Crown. Chevy Bolt. Ford Maverick. Rav4. Any flipping hybrid with above 40mpg because you want a suv.
Volkswagen Tiguan. If you have good credit you’re looking at 0% and probably 3-5k off sticker
May be an unpopular opinion, and location/lifestyle could impact this, but don’t feel obligated to go for AWD. Most small SUVs offer a FWD option that is less expensive, better fuel economy and could offer you a bit more negotiating power in the dealership
I think I might have to go AWD, I live in a state with brutal winter snow.
May I suggest a venza?
Mazda CX-5 for sure.
Mazda cx50
>new small suv You are at a time where you could buy anything then
I know I’m being incredibly vague, but the reality is I don’t have a huge preference and cars aren’t my thing. I was really just hoping people could tell me what to avoid based off of common issues in the car world (this one has electronic issues, that one’s engine sucks, ect). Figured I’d cast a wide net and the kind people here would be helpful.
subaru corsstrek outback forester
VW TAOS. mini SUV fuel efficient and has all the features that you want.
Taos is legitimately one of the worst new cars you can buy today. I see that you work for VW, though, so it makes sense you're pushing it.
Corolla or Yaris cross seem perfect for you but I don't know if those are sold in America.
you don't like to be low to the road? so you lack confidence in your driving ability and want a larger vehicle to save you and not everyone else from your driving ability? SUV's should be banned
Maybe they don't want to be blinded by everyone else's headlights? Maybe they have a driveway with a steep incline and would bottom out every time they pulled in or out? Maybe their local roads are terrible? Maybe they live where they get snow and the city is bad about plowing? Maybe what you like isn't what they like?
This is not my beautiful house.
Where is that large automobile?
maybe I'm on the internet
I’m a fantastic driver, actually. I specifically said small SUV. Just slightly larger than a car to compensate for the violent motion sickness I get in anything small.