RNM GS3

No i dont get it sorry.
Show me what i wrote that corresponds to your wording.....and fill me in on the joke.

vertiasnyc

Thanks RNM GS3, i'll take that into consideration

Fizzboy7

Don't just get a Lexus because of the name. Get a car that serves your needs and situation best. If you are in debt, I would focus more on climbing out of that and spending less for wheels. There are a lot of not so old Hondas and Toyotas that will end up being reliable and affordable.
If you must do the Lexus thing, avoid any that have been owned by younger guys who could have abused them or modified them (avoid the IS300). The best scenario would be a one-owner car formerly owned by a quiet, elder lady or grandmother.

tex2670

In CT, I'd probably stay away from RWD cars. You would definitely need a set of winter tires if you got RWD, plus a place to store them.

tex2670

Ha ha--I get it! He wrote "u" instead of "u r" or even "you are". Hilarioius!

Sulu

I agree. Why spend (and keep spending) the bucks that you don't have buying and trying to maintain a used (and perhaps abused) luxury car? Why not spend it on something simpler and cheaper, like a Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord or Toyota Camry? These 4 cars have a great reputation for lasting forever and ever and ever. Sure, they may be boring and ordinary, but because they are simple to drive and relatively simple to maintain, they become cheap to own.

And you don't need AWD either; FWD is good enough. AWD has only really been heavily sold in the past 10 years or so and the reason they have been selling is due to Marketing. The car companies have been incredibly successful in telling us that AWD will keep us safe. But most of us (even here in the Great White North of Canada) still rely on FWD; we may not even be religious in switching over to to dedicated winter tires when the temperatures start to drop. Yet, we are NOT stuck when it rains or it first starts to snow.

If you are really worried that a little FWD Civic or Corolla will slip and slide, get an Accord or Camry. The bigger, heavier car really does help on slippery roads. If you are really concerned, get a set of winter tires. You do not need the extra mechanical complexity of AWD.

tex2670

The only thing that I would point out about FWD vs AWD is today's tire sizes. I grew up in CT, and have always lived in the Northeast. When my parents' FWD cars with 13" tires the size of frisbees trudged thru the snow, it was a piece of cake. Same with my 2001 Saturn. But these past 2 winters, even with snowstorms < 3", I saw many FWD cars that just couldn't go. Maybe those drivers had bald tires--who knows. But today's tire sizes don't cut thru the snow like cars did 10+ years ago.

Sulu is north of the border, so no doubt, he's got tremendous winter driving experience. And CT residents know how to drive in the snow--which, sadly, is generally not true here in the Philly area. Just something to consider.

FrankReynoldsCPA

I would advise against an old Lexus at this point in your career. It will nickle and dime you to death.

Parts for a Lexus(or even a Toyota for that matter) are very expensive....and when you're shopping for a 15 yr old Lexus under budgetary pressure, you'll probably end up with one that's been neglected and needs work.

I just graduated about a year and a half ago and have been working at an accounting firm. I spent a little more than your budget and bought an almost brand new 2012 Ford Fusion. It's certainly not flashy, but it's reliable as hell and allows me to set money aside, which is the biggest thing you should be doing right now. You need to throw money at that debt. BTW, insurance on luxury vehicles is also not very cheap.

Sulu

My first car (of my own) was a 1987 Toyota Corolla, with 13", 80-series (HIGH profile / narrow) tires. It is a well-known fact that wider tires (lower profile sidewall) tend to float on snow and rain puddles while narrow tires (high profile) sink down to actually touch the road surface. That was about the time that all-season tires came to be standard equipment. I never used snow tires; never a problem

Not that long ago (to some of us), no one drove small, Japanese FWD cars; we all drove big RWD American metal. When the snow started to fall, we all put snow tires on the back (drive) axle and continued on our merry way. If that was not enough, we put bags of sand into the trunk or rear cargo area. No problem. Never heard of AWD but only having RWD never stopped us.

Good advice. A good-condition Ford Focus or Chevy Cruze are probably other good choices for a first car.

ESBabe

If you can find a 2010 Audi a4 2.0l AWD auto or manual if you can drive a manual becuase where I live you could get a 2010 fully loaded for 19,000 dollars with 10,000 miles and put like 200$ dollars down but that was a different story with Car payments to make.👍

vertiasnyc

I've been browsing around craigslist, and found a couple of RX 300s from 1999-2001 within 5-7k price range with 90-120k mile range.

As others mentioned that parts are expensive, I've looked into it and found posts on the forum about people who used less expensive compatible toyota parts.

I owe slightly above 30k for student loans, but I should be able to cover it within 3-4 years.

Although the lexus RX temptation is sinking me in, I think it's about time for me to crawl out haha. I was drawn to it since my cousin bought it in 2000 so this is a long romance.

Unfortunately, I have to lower my budget to $5-$7k for relocation purposes.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

I agree with BrettJacks, an accountant. He's looking out for your financial future. A car isn't an asset, it's an expense. Gas/fuel economy, insurance cost including which deductible you choose, repair frequency and costs and even fwd (less likely to have a winter accident) are all REAL factors for a person carrying debt and should be a primary concern vs instant gratification. You'll be in a debt free position sooner in life this way. THAT'S SUCCESS, not the biggest house and the fanciest car with a load of debt. Sorry to lecture, but life long debt sucks. Consumer reports magazine (library)is one source of low cost, reliable cars. Also, Edmunds.com offers TCO (true cost to own) rating on cars. Just Google "dependable economical fun cars for $10,000". Lexus is high on the list as well as any Toyota, Honda related product. If you but the lower TCO car vs a poorly rated car, you can save $1500-3000 a year, every year. That's based on savings for gas, insurance and repairs. It doesn't include the $1000-2000 you'll save on the purchase price for the same model year/mileage. I'll bet that if you do a little research you'll find at least 4 models/brands of car that are good looking and fun to drive as well as economical. There are even near luxury cars on that list! Best wishes for the future.

mmarshall

The reason is that today's average tires are markedly lower-profile than those of 10 years ago. Lower-profile tires, all else equal, lower the amount of traction available on wet and slick roads.

vertiasnyc

Thank you BrettJacks and swfla! However, I would have to disagree with BrettJacks about a car not being an asset. I think a car is a fixed/tangible asset. Just like a property you own, it does cost money to maintain.

BrettJacks, I looked at consumer reports. For vehicles under 10k, the toyota rav4 04-05 is listed, but the prices online are still over $7k.

Similarly could be said for the 2005 crv.

tex2670

You should be able to find a used CR-V or Subaru in that price range which would be newer and have less miles than a 15 year old Lexus.