Hi all, I'm looking at either buying or leasing a car.
About me in a nutshell: 28, Single, no kids, Co-inhabiting with boyfriend of over four years/ Live and work in Washington DC. I make 62,500 a year pre tax, about $45,000 after tax. I have a Roth 401k at 12%, matched by current employer at 5%. I've got about $50,000 in various assets (CDs, mutual funds, saving accounts etc. other IRAs etc.) and have zero debt as I just paid off my student loans this month.
My dilemma.
I have literally never owned a car. I have a drivers license and drove my parents car back in high school and that's about my car ownership experience. I've driven zipcars and smart cards and all the car sharing options. I live in DC and work in the same area and I'm looking to get a car for the weekend get aways. Part of the downside of living in DC is the fact that most of the cool hip kids my age go out and blow their money on brunches and avocado toast etc. The things I like to do are free or close to it (hiking, birdwatching, kayaking, swimming, bike riding on my Walmart rollback $175 mountain hybrid, walks) plus the occasional splurge on wine or beer tastings. Getting to the these types of things really needs a car since it's maybe 1 hour by car to Shenandoah and less time to local state parks, and maybe 3 hours if accessible at all by public transit. Renting a car is crazy expensive from Union Station or the nearby airports due the price markups and the zipcars are great for an hour, not so great for a full day or two.
The big part of me wants to go to the local mazda dealer, where I found a deal for $169 a month for 2016 mazda 3 with 10,000 miles a year and I would negotiate the down-payment down or completely away. It's appealing because I don't have a clue on how to take car of a car. Never even changed oil. I'm leaning towards the lease since I don't know the first thing about any of this and at least the amount is set and can be budgeted for each month vs. random breakdown and unable to fix. I'd love your thoughts.
Also let me know if it's helpful context for a full breakdown of expenses/assets etc as indicated in the Full Case Study pinned post - happy to edit and drop in. Not sure how much detail is too much detail!