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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: M0ntana on April 02, 2018, 07:29:04 AM

Title: Sadly looking to buy a second car
Post by: M0ntana on April 02, 2018, 07:29:04 AM



TD/LR: I dislike cars and don't know much about them. I am looking for the best bang-for-buck commuter I can find. Reliability, low ownership costs and good mileage are my priorities. What should I buy?

All right guys, it is with no joy in my heart whatsoever that I come to ask for advice about buying a second car. For some background, I am a 28 year-old lawyer from Canada, and I have started living the mustachian dream about a year ago. I have been using 100% public transportation to commute to my present job, but have recently accepted a partnership offer from a firm less centrally located, which means public transportation is out of the question unless I want to dedicate more than 2 hours to it each way (which I really am not). Also, I easily cover 3-4 courthouses around the city, which makes not owning a car of my own a real PITA at times.

I presently share a leased (I know...) 2016 Kia Soul with my partner that we got before I saw the mustachian light. It is a decent car, but my partner has to use it AT LEAST 2-3x per week for work (she is also a lawyer working half from home, half from a firm that she can only get to by car). We will most likely carpool whenever we can since my new office is located close to hers, but the fact that we could be stuck in long trials outside the city means I can't really depend on that.

I am therefore looking for car recommendations. I have about 40 km to do to get there, mostly highway, but we'll be moving closer to our firms at the end of this summer, cutting this commute at least in half. I don't particularly enjoy driving and see it as a huge waste of time - and cars are a huge waste of money to me - so I really don't mind a "boring" car. I would like to get good mileage on it since fuel has become quite expensive, and would like something very reliable that won't dry my emergency fund with repairs and the likes. Since this new partnership has a largely eat-what-you-kill type of compensation scheme, I am being (very) conservative basing my budget on my present income, which is around 4K$ a month net (80K$/year gross).

I have been looking at 3rd gen Prii liftbacks (2010+), but find it hard to believe how expensive they are (16K$+). Another option is a 2010+ Matrix, which also seems like a decent buy. My only requirement is that being a rather large fella (6'1, 185 lbs), I feel very cramped in small hatchbacks (Fit, Imprezas, Prius C, etc.) For reference, the Soul is a great fit for me. How many km/miles should I go for on a used car? I plan on keeping it for at least 5 years if possible.

Thanks a lot guys, looking forward to hear your advice.

Cheers,
-M
Title: Re: Sadly looking to buy a second car
Post by: RWD on April 02, 2018, 09:05:00 AM
You seem to be on the right track. Have you looked into the Nissan Leaf? Other options to consider are the Honda Civic Hybrid, Honda Insight, Nissan Altima Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Chevy Volt, Mazda 3, etc.

Are you sure 2010 Priuses are $16k? I'm seeing the average price on Autotrader of $9k.
Title: Re: Sadly looking to buy a second car
Post by: shelbyautumn on April 02, 2018, 10:58:55 AM
I have an 09 Corolla that was given to me for my high school graduation in 2008 and I love it. Mine has around 130,000 miles on it and is still running like new. I've only had to do basic maintenance on it (Oil changes, transmission fluid, new tires, etc) and it's never broken down on me. When I lived in California and drove mainly freeways I easily averaged 40 mpg+. Now that I do mostly city driving, I average 32ish mpg. I also lived in Colorado Springs for a few years and with decent all-weather tires it did great in the snow!
Title: Re: Sadly looking to buy a second car
Post by: Just Joe on April 02, 2018, 03:26:32 PM
How about a small SUV like the HRV or older smaller CRV? Not as efficient as a Fit but might be better for your build.
Title: Re: Sadly looking to buy a second car
Post by: sokoloff on April 02, 2018, 03:46:30 PM
I am looking for the best bang-for-buck commuter I can find. Reliability, low ownership costs and good mileage are my priorities. What should I buy?
Something that you fit in that is otherwise on the small side and made by a Japanese manufacturer would be my recommendation.

I daily a '15 Nissan LEAF and love it. Downside is that you can only really count on 70 miles between charges in the wintertime.
DW drives a '05 Honda CR-V and loves it. As the wrench-turner, I also love it. Downside is the mileage is only high 20s around town, but at 6K miles per year, we spend about $40-60/month on gas, so not the end of the world by any means. A 50 mpg car might save us $20-30 per month.

The LEAF has needed only wiper blades in 42 months of ownership.
The CR-V has needed about $500 in parts (inc oil changes) in 6 years, plus about $500 in tires.
Title: Re: Sadly looking to buy a second car
Post by: M0ntana on April 03, 2018, 07:21:11 AM
You seem to be on the right track. Have you looked into the Nissan Leaf? Other options to consider are the Honda Civic Hybrid, Honda Insight, Nissan Altima Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Chevy Volt, Mazda 3, etc.

Are you sure 2010 Priuses are $16k? I'm seeing the average price on Autotrader of $9k.

Yeah I suppose any kind of hybrid would do the trick. 2010 do indeed sell for less, but have the worst score on CarComplaint and usually higher odometers than I am willing to take... For 2011+ liftbacks under 100 000km, 15K-16k$ really seems to be the base point, yeah.
Title: Re: Sadly looking to buy a second car
Post by: M0ntana on April 03, 2018, 07:23:11 AM
I am looking for the best bang-for-buck commuter I can find. Reliability, low ownership costs and good mileage are my priorities. What should I buy?
Something that you fit in that is otherwise on the small side and made by a Japanese manufacturer would be my recommendation.

I daily a '15 Nissan LEAF and love it. Downside is that you can only really count on 70 miles between charges in the wintertime.
DW drives a '05 Honda CR-V and loves it. As the wrench-turner, I also love it. Downside is the mileage is only high 20s around town, but at 6K miles per year, we spend about $40-60/month on gas, so not the end of the world by any means. A 50 mpg car might save us $20-30 per month.

The LEAF has needed only wiper blades in 42 months of ownership.
The CR-V has needed about $500 in parts (inc oil changes) in 6 years, plus about $500 in tires.

I'd absolutely LOVE a Leaf, but the fact that I live in a townhouse with no driveway makes it nearly impossible to charge the car at home. I have investigated the option of plugging it down the block at a public station, but I could see this becoming waaaay too much of a hassle down the road. Looking at these numbers, I can see why an efficient fuel-driven car might make more sense if I can get it for cheaper, and it's looking like I most definitely can... Back to the drawing board I guess!

Cheers for all your help, guys!
Title: Re: Sadly looking to buy a second car
Post by: RWD on April 03, 2018, 09:04:18 AM
You seem to be on the right track. Have you looked into the Nissan Leaf? Other options to consider are the Honda Civic Hybrid, Honda Insight, Nissan Altima Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Chevy Volt, Mazda 3, etc.

Are you sure 2010 Priuses are $16k? I'm seeing the average price on Autotrader of $9k.

Yeah I suppose any kind of hybrid would do the trick. 2010 do indeed sell for less, but have the worst score on CarComplaint and usually higher odometers than I am willing to take... For 2011+ liftbacks under 100 000km, 15K-16k$ really seems to be the base point, yeah.

I see you're using kilometers. What country are you in and and unit of currency are you using? I was assuming US location where 2011 Priuses with under 60k miles are an average price of $12.6k. That's equivalent to $16.1k in Canadian dollars, so everything makes more sense now if you're in Canada.
Title: Re: Sadly looking to buy a second car
Post by: Car Jack on April 03, 2018, 09:10:03 AM
3 year old Honda FIT or 3 year old Honda CR-Z if you can do 2 seats.

I wanted to say "You're a lawyer, you only have 2 choices.....BMW 7 series and Mercedes S class".