This time around, yes I will be searching for 2017 cars as well (a little bit used with a lot of $ off, sounds good to me). I'm not opposed to finance, but I do know I can NOT afford a down payment because I literally don't have the money. 5 months of unemployment this year drained my savings.
All I know is this, I will not be comfortable buying a car outside of warranty without money in my savings. Because if a repair comes up, and I can't afford it I don't want to charge it to my credit card (which I won't be able to for the next 1+ year due to me getting back on my feet and owing $ back to family) . So Finance or lease, whatever I do - this has to be #1 priority.
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Why never buy first year new model?? lol :D
Right. So one more shot: yes, older cars will involve maintenance that is not covered by warranty. The good news is that they also cost significantly less, so you have more room in your budget to plan for those repairs. And you need to plan that into your budget regardless of what you buy, because even brand-new cars need things like oil changes and tires. So if you think you have $250/mo. free, limit yourself to a car that you can swing for $200/mo., and then save that extra $50/mo. in a "shit happens" fund. You may not be able to do this now, when every penny needs to go to the debt -- but it is critical once that debt is gone. Because shit always happens.
And you don't buy a first-year model because many times the manufacturers don't have all the kinks worked out. [Ask me how I know]
FWIW, I get the sense that your car-buying focus is driven by a significant degree of what's "cool." You have clearly come around to the need to economize, but I don't think you've really let go of the desire to have a spanky new car, so you rationalize that choice as, well, I
need a new car because it has to be reliable and I can't afford repairs and and and. The problem is that you cannot afford cool right now. If your primary worry is truly reliability, a brand-new Hyundai Accent lists at $14K, a Toyota Yaris at $15K (and of course you won't pay list). But here's the secret: if you buy a used version, you also get the balance of the warranty (you don't even need "certified used" for that), so you should easily be able to pick up a lightly-used one of those for under $10K that comes with the protection you want.
I'd suggest looking at your situation logically, not emotionally. No. 1: This focus on reliability is emotional, not logical. The reality is that almost everything that goes wrong with cars in their first 8-10 years is NOT covered by warranty. You live in a temperate climate, so you don't have to worry much about flooding or corrosion or extreme temperatures, which means that a properly-maintained, boring, reliable vehicle should last for at least 200,000 miles. The odds of you picking a crappy one are small if you do the research.
No. 2: Remember that you are looking at a limited time. Your budget cannot handle unexpected costs right now, because you have massive debt on a single income. OK. How long is that going to last -- a year? Maybe two? So the reality is that you don't need a car that is reliable forever -- you just need one that will make it through the next couple of years. So why lock yourself into a permanent solution to a temporary problem?
Put those together, and it is clear that the advantage provided by a new car is that IF it breaks down, and IF that is caused by something covered under warranty, and IF that happens within the next two years, you won't have to put the repairs back on your CC. OK. What is the likelihood of that actually happening with something like a 2012 Yaris? Answer: really, really, really low. And what is the cost if it does? What, another month or two to get the debt paid off? Paying an extra $10K+ on a spanky new car, simply to avoid the risk of something that isn't going to happen over the next two years, and that would cost you a small fraction of that figure if it did, is an emotional decision, not a smart financial one.
So, again, I would recommend buying the cheapest, least-cool, most reliable POS you can find, which should keep you well under $10K (and yes, every dealer and every credit union will finance a used car). Then, once you have the debt paid off and have established a reasonable emergency fund, if you still want a cool new car, you can start saving for it. It doesn't have to be "never" -- it just cannot be "right now."