Unique car buying situation, advice would be appreciated.

[MrD]

After finally convincing my wife to part ways with her aging Xterra and getting an insane quote from Carmax I have decided I may want to give her my current car and buy a cheap one for myself. I only drive around 7-8k miles a year so I figured I would give her my 2011 Sonata that is paid off since she commutes daily. The option of going to a single car household is impossible, trust me I have tried for that in the past.

I travel a lot for work so this car would primarily be used for driving to the airport (hence why I drive so little).

I really can't decide what to go with as I have absolute terrible luck with cars. After selling her car to Carmax we will have $5500 in cash. Do you guys think I should go for a super cheap car for like $5000? Or possibly go for a car that will likely have no issues for $10000? I am looking to buy either Hyundai / Honda / Toyota.

[AZDude]

What kind of cash do you have? You can get something like a late model, low mileage Accent for maybe $8K if you look around. Figure $1K for taxes, etc... and you need about $3500 in spare cash. Is that doable?

[MrD]

What kind of cash do you have? You can get something like a late model, low mileage Accent for maybe $8K if you look around. Figure $1K for taxes, etc... and you need about $3500 in spare cash. Is that doable?

Yes that is doable, cash won't be an issue. My main goal with this next car is to reduce risk. So if spending a little more will help avoid future repairs that is what I want to do. I very sensitive on this topic as in the past 6 years I have had 4 $2000+ repairs to two separate cars (that is why I bought my Sonata). A low mileage Accent may be a good call, I just worry I may be a bit too big for it at 6'2" but admittedly I have never been in one before.

[AZDude]

My wife has an accent. I'm 6'1" and can drive it just fine. Plus, test drives are free. Good idea, go to Carmax, where they are low-pressure, and test drive some cars you are thinking about. Choose the one you like, and then scour around the city for the best price for that vehicle.

[lbmustache]

Some ultra cheap reliable vehicles:

- Hyundai Accent
- Previous gen Hyundai Elantra (2006-2010)
- Kia Soul
- Honda Fit
- Toyota Yaris

[acroy]

Some ultra cheap reliable vehicles:

- Hyundai Accent
- Previous gen Hyundai Elantra (2006-2010)
- Kia Soul
- Honda Fit
- Toyota Yaris

this list, plus
-Nissan leaf
- Uber ($5k will buy a lot of rides to the airport)

[snogirl]

I bought my mom a Pontiac Vibe which is re-labeled Toyota Matrix.
It is a great car & has no issues whatsoever.
The fact that it says Pontiac lowers the price but under the hood it is all Toyota parts.
Before the Vibe, I helped her buy a high mileage 2004 Honda Civic.
That was THE best car for until it got totaled in 2013.
It sounds worse that it was, but believe it or not old Civics in minor accidents
get totaled more because the bring high $ at auction even wrecked.
That car needed absolutely nothing but gas & tires.
We drove it to Maine every year for vacation.
FWIW my mom is 80 and I wouldn't put her in a crappy used car.
Before I started doing this, her domestic cars died and cost a ton of $.

[Drifterrider]

After finally convincing my wife to part ways with her aging Xterra

You didn't say it was broken.  You want to get rid of something just because it is old?????

[ShoulderThingThatGoesUp]

Some ultra cheap reliable vehicles:

- Hyundai Accent
- Previous gen Hyundai Elantra (2006-2010)
- Kia Soul
- Honda Fit
- Toyota Yaris

this list, plus
-Nissan leaf
- Uber ($5k will buy a lot of rides to the airport)

Would an EV be concerning if it were to just sit at the airport while OP is away on business for a week? Would he have charge left when he got back?

[JAYSLOL]

I bought my mom a Pontiac Vibe which is re-labeled Toyota Matrix.
It is a great car & has no issues whatsoever.
The fact that it says Pontiac lowers the price but under the hood it is all Toyota parts.
Before the Vibe, I helped her buy a high mileage 2004 Honda Civic.
That was THE best car for until it got totaled in 2013.
It sounds worse that it was, but believe it or not old Civics in minor accidents
get totaled more because the bring high $ at auction even wrecked.
That car needed absolutely nothing but gas & tires.
We drove it to Maine every year for vacation.
FWIW my mom is 80 and I wouldn't put her in a crappy used car.
Before I started doing this, her domestic cars died and cost a ton of $.

Pontiac Vibe is an excellent choice (or Toyota Matrix, but they usually cost a little more).  You should be able to pick one up well within your budget with low-ish miles.  Just make sure it has a clean title and get it inspected by someone you trust, oh and not from a car dealer.  I'm actually looking for one at the moment too.  Toyota Yaris (hatchback) would be my top choice if it were just me driving in it, the 06-08 ones go fairly cheap now, just get one with reasonable milage (sub 125k) and they should last 10years or more with not much more than oil and gas put in them.