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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.
Private party or dealer (list price doesn't always = sale price)? What kind of mileage?
With a $5000-7000 car. It's still possible to make a good decision for dependability, cost to repair and fuel economy. But it really narrows down your choices. You can forget a Lexus, Acura or any other near luxury car IMO, the age and mileage would be too high to be reliable compared to non-luxury sedans or coupes. My friend is a used car dealer. he frequently buys reliable cars for under $5k (often from private sellers) and marks them up $1-2k after a little TLC work. Point is, at your price point, I'd look to private sellers rather than dealers. Also, in my experience, lots of people are smart enough to look for high rated cars, this makes them harder to find, more in demand and priced a bit higher. Toyota and Honda are two examples.
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.
I think I was misunderstood. I never said anything about a car not being an asset.
I will say though that it's a depreciating asset rather than an appreciating asset. Granted, a sub $10,000 Lexus has already lost most of its value.
Here's a suggestion. It's what I probably should have done but didn't.
Buy something like the CRV or RAV-4 if you find a good deal. $5-7k is not a bad price to pay for a car at your stage in life. If you can take as little debt as possible to do it, the better off you are.
Plan your future car. Maybe a nicer Lexus than the $10,000 15 year old one. Calculate what your monthly payment would be on it. Don't buy it. Take that payment and invest it every month for 5 or 6 years. Then if your situation at that time is good, go buy a nice car.
^ I think you can buy a decent Lexus for under 10k, its just going to take some time to find the right one. Paid $9k for my one owner 1992 SC300 with 60k miles, 5 speed, stack of service records, immaculate condition(not a door ding or scratch on it, perfect interior, no rust, everything works). 3 years and 25k miles later I've spent $200 for a clutch slave cylinder and put a new set of tires on it.
As for ones to buy, I'm a big fan of the 2JZ straight six models(IS300, SC300, GS300). Fewer things to break than the bigger LS430.
I think I was misunderstood. I never said anything about a car not being an asset.
I will say though that it's a depreciating asset rather than an appreciating asset. Granted, a sub $10,000 Lexus has already lost most of its value.
Here's a suggestion. It's what I probably should have done but didn't.
Buy something like the CRV or RAV-4 if you find a good deal. $5-7k is not a bad price to pay for a car at your stage in life. If you can take as little debt as possible to do it, the better off you are.
Plan your future car. Maybe a nicer Lexus than the $10,000 15 year old one. Calculate what your monthly payment would be on it. Don't buy it. Take that payment and invest it every month for 5 or 6 years. Then if your situation at that time is good, go buy a nice car.
Thanks BrettJacks, I will be on a look out for a CRV or RAV-4
I just graduated college last week, and plan on starting my first job in August. I have to relocate to a city in CT, where there is very limited public transportation; therefore, I need to purchase a car. Currently, I am drowning in loans; therefore, I would like pay more or less $10k. After browsing through the web, I noticed how impressive the LS 430, RX 300, and IS300 are. I am looking for either one of those cars -LS430 on the top of the list- with mileage under 100k. I will use this car for daily travels to work within the city and occasional visits back home to NYC about twice a month. For the LS 430 I am leaning towards 2003-2004, and 2003 for the RX 300. Which car would you recommend? Where would you recommend to purchase? Which one would be the most reliable? and should I worry about purchasing a Lexus that is 10-15 years old?
All the best,
Nik
I worry about getting anything that old unless it's easy to fix and parts are cheap. '97-01 Jeep Cherokee, $3000-4500 all day and most are 4x4. Liability only on my '98 XJ is $35 a month.
I may have exaggerated about actually "drowning" in loans. I think I am in the average loan amount for undergraduates who graduated
Thanks NickTee, it sounds like a really good idea looking at the cost of replacement parts, but what is the probability of something being replaced? In addition, what year for the ES do you recommend? I read mixed reviews about that model.
Any thoughts about the GS?
Looks like I'm being pushed away Lexus haha
I would stay away from any luxury car or spending 10K on a used car if you have any kind of debt and have to move to a new pricey city. Your priority should be paying off the debt and trying to save some money which will be extremely difficult when first starting out and living in a new pricey city, not getting a pricey used luxury car which can end up costing a lot of money in repairs/maintenance.
Do you currently have reliable transportation, if so why not just save the money and drive that a little more until you get your debt paid off. If you don't have reliable transportation I would cut your budget in half to around $5000 or less and just get a more affordable reliable non luxury used vehicle like a late 90's or early 2000's Honda Accord, Honda civic, Honda CRV, Toyota Rav 4, Toyota Camry, Toyota Celica, etc. I would avoid anything rwd in CT, there is no place in CT that does not receive a decent amount of snow in the winter.
Get the debt paid off and save some money before even thinking about a used Lexus or other luxury car.
There is a very diverse age range on this forum and i would love to hear the different cars everyone had as there first. In your post please include the year of the car, odometer, price, age of purchase, also year purchased if inclined to do so if not that is fine i dont want to make people feel uncomfortable.
That being said my first car was a 2000 Mitsubishi eclipse rs 5spd I was 16 at the time, I paid $3750 for it i bought it in 2006-2007 odometer had 130,000 on it.......that being said it was a pile if garbage lol
Last edited by 05ls430518; 01-30-18 at 04:13 PM.
Reason: Messed up title
1980 Subaru DL, station wagon. Manual Trans, 4wd. Paid $100 + 6 pack of beer (needed someone older to buy the beer for me).
Drove it 4.5 years with 0 maintenance except for oil change and tires. 3rd gear went out, and drove skip shifting for 3 years. 84K miles I put on it. Got rear ended. Insurance gave me $2250. Replaced the hatch at the junkyard for $80.
1999 LS 400 (still my main baby), paid $0 since it belonged to my grandparents and they were both not really in position to safely continue to drive, it had 79,000 garage kept miles and this was in 2011 when i was 17
still have it now with 162,000 miles on it, apart from the telescopic steering adjustment motor (i know poor me lol) and the radio LCD being in the "hieroglyphics" state as some have called it everything else has just been maintenance or preventative maintenance
it's a big problem for me this car, i can't find anything i like better! people will frequently comment on my videos asking if it's a good first car and my response is usually no, being that it'll effectively spoil all successive cars for you lol...
first car i actually bought would be the 2009 crown vic i guess for $1,500 but that was purely as a station / messing around car, something to use for short trips (you don't want to spend too much time in it lol) and to sit outside in the parking lot at work or to use in bad weather when the roads are all salty. oh and it does donuts EXCEPTIONALLY well and you don't really mind beating on it since it's such a pos and who cares they're a dime a dozen. i swapped out the rear axle for a limited slip one for $500, also the left cat and intake manifold needed to be replaced but that totaled to like $550 since it's the crown vic and being cheap to repair is one of the main reasons i wanted to reduce the chances of something happening to the LS
A 1970 mgb. Bought it at 16. I paid $250. It had sat out in front of the guys house for over a year not running. Pulled it home with the help of a friend. I had the car running in a few hours the same day. Drove it past the guys house that afternoon. He was having a BBQ with a bunch of people. The looks on their faces was one of awe. Drove it till I left for the army.
I had my heart set on getting a brand new IS350 in 2006 as my first car. My parents weren't having it and compromised by getting me a used 2001 Lexus IS300 with 70k miles for $17k. Still kick myself for selling it. I did finally get an IS350 a few years later.
05-27-15, 07:51 AM
