I'm not a big car guy to be able to properly give advice on which cars to buy. But why do you want a hybrid? (not judging, just curious why you are limiting yourself to this).
Ah yeah, I don't mind!
First of all, I have no information on cars at all, but many people I know always tell me: "Get a Prius. It will save you hundreds and hundreds of dollars of gas money.
Also you said driving to/from work, but what's more important is an estimate on how many miles you will drive. Since a lease only includes so many miles, you can end up spending a lot more if you drive more than what you paid for.
Around a week, I drive up to 50+ miles including some shopping I go with my friends or to go lunch or dinner. Work also isn't that close. Around 5 miles to work.
And another thing to consider is car insurance which will relate to what kind of car you buy as well.
Ah yes. Thankfully, my parents had given me my license when I was 16 and have kept a really clean record until now. Also, since I worked my butt off in school, and with good grades, the insurance totals around $132.02.
What you buy comes down to what you really want. Keep in mind that if most of your driving is on the highway then a hybrid probably won't help you all that much.
And I'm not a fan of dealerships. In this case you're simply paying them a markup for finding the car you want first. My advice is always to figure out exactly what you want, find it from a local person, have it professionally inspected and then buy it if it's a good deal for you.
I only take local streets. Highways I rarely take.
Ah yes. I went with my dad to a dealership today to ask for a car and he would not let us go. He kept on pressuring us and kept on trying to ask us to buy the dang car today as it will be gone soon. Thankfully, we left without any more hassle. Thanks for the advice.
Nothing wrong with getting a hybrid or electric, but based on the needs you described, I don't think there is a compelling reason to go that route. Unless you are doing a LOT of driving, you will not notice any significant gas savings over a car like a Civic or a Corolla, and you can get a non-hybrid used Civic or Corolla (or similar car) a lot cheaper than you can get a hybrid.
Huh, really? If that is so, I don't really need a hybrid. Yeah, I don't drive too much. If that is the case, I could settle for a Civic or a Corolla.
And if you are going with something older, something to consider is that if the battery goes out on your old hybrid, it may cost anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 or more to replace (and if you want to go electric/hybrid for the sake of being environmentally conscious, a small car that gets good mileage, even if not a hybrid, is going to have close to the same environmental impact as an electric/hybrid).
Ah, I'm trying to look into the 2012-2014 range of cars. Not too old and not the most recent ones. Oh yeah, I have no knowledge of all the battery and all those stuff so I'm gonna need someone else to help me out with that.
As far as where to buy, here are some thoughts:
I would start off at CarMax to just test drive and try out a lot of different cars to see what you like and get a feel for how they handle and how much they cost. Since they carry all kinds of different brands, and usually have a big selection, you can really become familiar with what you like just by spending a few hours there on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon sitting in some cars, doing some test drives, and asking questions. The sales staff are usually low pressure and don't care if you don't end up buying anything. Treat it as research. But you probably do not want to ultimately buy from them, since you can almost always get a better deal elsewhere (because they go straight off the KBB value, with a certain percentage profit margin, and they do not allow you to haggle on the price at all).
Unfortunately, the nearest car max for me is 3 hours and 30 minutes away from. Is it worth travelling that much??
After shopping/test driving at CarMax, go to Craigslist and start some searches for the types of cars you are looking for. I would advise looking at dealerships AND private sellers initially, see a few, and then decide. By doing these two steps, you should start to feel like you have a good sense of what you like and how much it SHOULD reasonably cost. That way, you know you are getting a good deal with whatever you end up buying.
Craiglist is good. Good call!
The upside from buying from CarMax or a dealership is that you usually should get a limited warranty of some type. The downside is, you overpay. You will get the best deal if you can find a friend of relative that is fairly knowledgable about cars and buying from a third party. There is always some risk involved in doing that. But it is how you get the best deals, as long as you are comfortable that the person you are shopping with has enough knowledge to make sure you aren't buying a lemon. If buying from anywhere OTHER than CarMax, whether dealer or third party, demand to see a Car Fax report. That will tell you whether the car has been in any major accidents. In general, unless you are a wiz at car-related repairs or know someone who is, stay away from a car with a "salvage title." You want a clean title (meaning the car has never been in a serious accident that totaled it out).
Ah yes, I read online that I should always see the Car Fax report and if they refuse, I should just walk out of the dealership saying, "Hell no." Or something along those lines.
And yeah, for the third party, I will have to ask around as I don't know anyone at the top of my head right now.
If you don't know much about cars, I know it can be intimidating. Hopefully, you have a friend or relative that can help. A few things to look for, other than just seeing how it handles when you drive it, and checking to make sure it has a clean title: Look at at least four places: (1) Look under the hood. Is the engine relatively clean for the car's age? Some wear and dirtiness is okay. But if the entire engine is black and grimy, that should be red flag. Check the oil. Is it clean, or black and burnt looking? If the latter, it probably means either poor maintenance or a problem with the car. Look at the belts. Do they look like they are in good shape, or do they look worn out or cracked? If you have a friend that is more knowledgeable about what to look at under the hood, great. But those are the basics.
Yeah. Venturing to the outside world for me was the greatest fear because back then I had absolute no knowledge on how to get a job, pay my taxes, manage my credit card, etc. But overtime I learned and I know in the end, I will be able to buy a nice car without too much hassle.
(2) With the car off, stand behind the car and have a friend start the engine. Is there a puff of white smoke? If so, you have problems and don't want that car. The exhaust should look normal. But in an older car, an initial black puff at startup isn't usually a problem. White is.
(3) Check the tread on the tires. Are any of them bald?
(4) Under the hood, in the trunk, in the wheel wells, and in the door jambs, look for evidence of the car being re-painted. Not necessarily a problem. But if it becomes obvious that the car has been given a fresh coat of pain, you want to know why. Is there maybe an accident in the car's history that they aren't telling you about?
All useful advice I will follow. If you hadn't posted that, I might have bought a wrecked car. Snap shotting this lol.
In addition to all that, if anything just feels odd or out of place about the transaction, don't buy the car. No matter how much you like it, you will find another one you like just as much within a week or two. It isn't worth it if something just doesn't feel right or feels shady.
Yeah. Sometimes I get a gut feeling that something is wrong and it ends up happening. I was out buying shopping one day for some clothes and I saw this really cool dress on Forever 21 and the seller told me that this was for final sale and this was the cheapest out of all the stores that sold them. It was around 123.99. Something felt so wrong about that guy so I declined and the next day, I went to Ross because my friend desperately wanted to browse clothes and I saw that same dress on clearance for 49.99.
Hope this helps. FYI, I just went through this same process. I was in a car accident. And money is a bit tighter than normal right now, so although we could have taken money out of savings to buy a much nicer, newer car, I bought a 2004 Civic with 140k miles on it for under $4,000. It has a few minor issues, but nothing we can't handle. Overall, I'm happy with it. I miss my better car, but this one will be reliable for the next few years, and then I can upgrade. Not going into debt or overpaying will be worth it in the long run. If you can keep a similar perspective, I think you will be happy with the long-term effects of the decision.
This definitely helped! You were in my shoes and you helped me to understand much more.
And I hope you are ok and everyone is safe after the car accident. I know it can be very brutal and scary. And yeah, I don't want an extremely fancy car that looks cool and all that. I'm just looking for a car that works, no matter how beat up it is. Safe and efficient. Done.
I can attest to what Bosk is saying.
I spent 20k on a brand new Honda Civic out of college. My wife spent 2k on a 10+ year old Honda Civic out of college. A couple years ago during subzero temperatures, guess which car started and which one didn't? Hint: mine didn't start 
One thing I'll add that I don't know if Bosk has said... make sure you see maintenance logs on your used car. My wife bought her car from someone a friend knew had maintained it on time over 10+ years. That's really important, and I would never buy anything used without seeing a proper maintenance log, or at least maintenance records.
Oh wow, thanks for that. I totally thought that your new car would be the one to start. xD
Great, thanks for the information. Will keep it to heart when checking a new car and will update progress.
Topic: Leasing or buying my first car? (Read 2033 times)