Need car buying advice.

[Turnpike]

Originally from Seattle, currently in Boston, and moving to Louisiana in June/July for 1 year only. After that 1 year stint I will be somewhere else in the country, where I do not know but most likely back to the east or west coast. I do not currently own a car but will need one after my move. My budget range is 15-20k, and I am pretty set on a Mazda3. My questions:

Should I buy new or used? Depreciation for this car seems so low that used prices aren't far off from new.

Sell car after 1 year or move it to where I end up? I'm not sure what taxes/license expenses there are for moving a car from Louisiana to Seattle, DC, or Boston, etc. Perhaps if I buy new I would be throwing a lot of money out the window on depreciation?

 

[FoBoT]

just buy a car and drive it around

they have roads connecting all those places together

 

[Turnpike]

Thank you Capt Obvious.

 

[doze]

You should be able to save 25~30% buying used but as mentioned you are probably better off buying now and driving....

Are you moving for school or work? Where in Louisiana?

If you are not a permanent resident then there is no real reason to register your vehicle in that state. If you are moving around for school then simply leave your car registered to a permanent address. If you are there for work and get pulled over then tell the cops you are in for work on a temporary basis.

edit: spelling

 

[Turnpike]

Buying right now is not an option, as parking is an expensive issue in Boston. My license is from WA state. I will be in Shreveport, LA.

 

[Vette73]

If you need a car like that just buy a cheap $5000 or so used car in good shape.

 

[Turnpike]

I do not want to put up with reliability issues of a $5k car.

 

[lobbyone]

You can find $5000 used Civics or Corollas!

 

[Turnpike]

Yes, but they are usually >7yo and I don't want to deal with cars with >70k miles and the maintenance issues involved. I can afford a newer vehicle but do not want to get nailed on taxes, fees, etc involved in moving the car to another state after 1 year.

 

[fallensight]

Weather or not you buy new or used, do an extensive test drive. You want to put the car though what you would do in normal driving. Make sure you get the temp gauge up into normal area, especially on a used car. Heating things up wil reveal a number of issues if the car has them.

 

[regnez]

Originally posted by: Turnpike
I do not want to put up with reliability issues of a $5k car.

Then get a $5k car without reliability issues. Any Toyota, Hyundai, or Honda that is newer than 2002 or so will not give you any problems, as long as you make sure it has a clean history.

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: regnez

Originally posted by: Turnpike
I do not want to put up with reliability issues of a $5k car.

Then get a $5k car without reliability issues. Any Toyota, Hyundai, or Honda that is newer than 2002 or so will not give you any problems, as long as you make sure it has a clean history.

Have you looked at the used car market lately? You can't find anything 02 or newer for anywhere close to $5k. Look for at least $8k for something reliable and used, probably $10k.

 

[Wuffsunie]

You need a car for just transportation, or to make an impression at work?

If it's just for moving around a bit, get something used. You can get a drivable car for easily <$5K if you look around a bit for a good private sale. As other people said, make sure the history is clean. And even if you have to put in some repairs, it's likely to come to far less than the $15K upper limit you have.

If you need something nicer, do some research and find out what's likely to depreciate the least from the time you get it to when you flip it back on the market.

 

[Compton]

Just buy an old Cutlass Supreme for $500. You can find them all over Louisiana.

 

[regnez]

Originally posted by: thepd7

Originally posted by: regnez

Originally posted by: Turnpike
I do not want to put up with reliability issues of a $5k car.

Then get a $5k car without reliability issues. Any Toyota, Hyundai, or Honda that is newer than 2002 or so will not give you any problems, as long as you make sure it has a clean history.

Have you looked at the used car market lately? You can't find anything 02 or newer for anywhere close to $5k. Look for at least $8k for something reliable and used, probably $10k.

I just got a used 2000 Hyundai Tiburon for $3800 from a dealer, so I figured you would be able to get a '02 or newer for ~$5000 easy from a private seller. Looking through autotrader.com. though, seems you're $10k figure is better than my $5k guess. :brokenheart:

 

[Turnpike]

Yes, I could get away with a $5k car. My whole life I've driven used cars, all of which were usually >7yo models for the time. I'm done with grad school, got this one year stint in LA, and want to treat myself to a car with <35k miles. I can and want to pay for the piece of mind of having a newer vehicle. I'm not buying a luxury sedan I cannot afford, a Mazda3 is essentially an economy compact that will hardly really impress anyone at work. Since I will be moving around, I just don't want to be double taxed by different states... I suppose thats my main concern and I'm having trouble finding out that info.