New cars under $20,000

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I’m still driving my 2007 Forester that I bought new.  Our other car is also 2007, and TD’s toy Miata (which I will not sit in for more than 20 miles) is 2016.  

My car is in good shape, both mechanically and the body, so am hoping to get another few years out of it.  I will very likely replace it with something similar.  

[minnesotapaintlady]

May 3, 2023 15:49:41 GMT -5 movingforward said:

May 3, 2023 15:38:21 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

But, that's kind of life changing no?  2 years of not having to work is pretty big in my book!

Maybe...I like my job so working an additional 2 years wouldn't necessarily be a huge deal for me. Though I guess that could change anytime (you never know). For me, life changing would probably be $200K. With that I could completely payoff my mortgage. I know that's not the YM way, but not having a mortgage would definitely change my life.

That's why it's all relative.  98K would pay off my mortgage and still have enough left over to cover almost a years worth of expenses.

I guess it all depends.  For some 98K is just pocket change, for others an amount that would be nice to have fall in their laps but not necessarily change anything, and for some it could truly be a life changing amount, especially those that are trapped in their circumstances because every dollar is going towards living expenses and/or servicing debt.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

It probably also depends on where you live.   Here where I live I could almost buy a house entirely for cash with $98k.   $98k elsewhere wouldn't even get you a cardboard box in an alley. 

I would consider being able to get onto the property ladder a significant life changing event.  

[andi9899]

I always go the Nissan route. My Rogue is a 2013 and has right around 100K miles on it. It runs like new. I keep up on the maintenance and have a pretty good mechanic. I only put around 4K miles on it per year since I WFH, so it should last a long time yet. Whenever T2's Mitsubishi quits, which could be a while yet, I'll see if she wants my car. If not, I'll keep it. If she wants my car or can't afford to get her own, I'll let her have it and get myself a newer Rogue.

[andi9899]

May 4, 2023 8:13:14 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

It probably also depends on where you live.   Here where I live I could almost buy a house entirely for cash with $98k.   $98k elsewhere wouldn't even get you a cardboard box in an alley. 

I would consider being able to get onto the property ladder a significant life changing event.  

You'd be surprised. I decided to window shop on Zillow and put in $200K as the price limit and got nothing but crap. Add in that I want one story only and I got nothing. It used to be that you could buy a house for $100 or even less. Not anymore.

[wvugurl26]

DH says he's tired of hearing about how he is looking at cars that cost more than the house I was raised in. I mean I bumped it up to the one I was raised in not the one I was taken home to from the hospital. That bought him an extra $20k.

Prices on everything seem crazy. We have a friend looking to buy her first house and she can't find anything in her price range. And this is what I would consider one of the cheaper counties in the state. There's nothing under $200k that isn't a or way too far out in the sticks.

She's a teacher with less than five years in so at least in this county her wages aren't super high. Her income is half the median household income for my county.

She's very frugal and has been saving for a down-payment for at least five years. She bought a CR-V new and paid it off in 2.5 years. The sky high interest rates haven't brought the prices down by much either.

[chiver78]

May 3, 2023 21:33:09 GMT -5 grumpyhermit said:

When I bought my car in 2016, the plan was to keep it ten years, and then start looking. It will be seven this year, and only has around 32k miles, as I lived super close to work the first six years of it's life. 

The new plan is to hold on to it for as long as it's sound. Besides the costs, it's also a manual, and those are getting harder and harder to find, and I'm not sure I want to make the transition back to automatic just yet. 

this is exactly why I'm still driving my 3. although, I'm being told that my exact model is the only one still being produced in manual transmission.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

May 4, 2023 8:30:43 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

May 4, 2023 8:13:14 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

It probably also depends on where you live.   Here where I live I could almost buy a house entirely for cash with $98k.   $98k elsewhere wouldn't even get you a cardboard box in an alley. 

I would consider being able to get onto the property ladder a significant life changing event.  

You'd be surprised. I decided to window shop on Zillow and put in $200K as the price limit and got nothing but crap. Add in that I want one story only and I got nothing. It used to be that you could buy a house for $100 or even less. Not anymore.

It's changing.  We just got asssed for $93k and there is no freaking way the house is worth that damn much.  Yet the value of the land it's sitting on went way down. 

But in general for the moment you can get on the property ladder still here for $98k.   

Omaha not so much and the property taxes are going to kill you even if you manage to find a house for that much.

[movingforward]

May 4, 2023 8:13:14 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

It probably also depends on where you live.   Here where I live I could almost buy a house entirely for cash with $98k.   $98k elsewhere wouldn't even get you a cardboard box in an alley. 

I would consider being able to get onto the property ladder a significant life changing event.  

I agree. A lot depends on where you live and your circumstances. The average cost of a home in my area is now $600K. My net salary is around $95K a year so for me $98K equals almost a year of net income. Not life changing for me (though I would still love to have it). I can see where it could be though in the circumstances you are referring to, for people that know how to use it the right way to change their lives. I don't think most people do though. I know at least 3 people that blew through their inheritances in no time and it has made absolutely zero difference in their lives. One friend inherited close to $200K from her father when she was 30 years old (he died young of stomach cancer at the age of 55). She blew through $200K in about 3 years. Fast forward to her age now of 45 and she has none of that money left and is consistently broke.

My ex sister-in-law inherited $90K. She and my brother blew through it in about 9 months. Five years later they got divorced and he filed bankruptcy. They had $100K in credit card debt when they divorced . They lived in a very low cost of living area. Bought a nice house for around $90K (of course this was several years ago). Together they made over $100K. They really should have been doing well financially.

[Opti]

May 4, 2023 4:04:45 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I’m still driving my 2007 Forester that I bought new.  Our other car is also 2007, and TD’s toy Miata (which I will not sit in for more than 20 miles) is 2016.  

My car is in good shape, both mechanically and the body, so am hoping to get another few years out of it.  I will very likely replace it with something similar.  

Do you get to garage one or more of your vehicles? My 2002 3 series really started to age after I had to sell the house, and that vehicle was never garaged again after early 2007.

It really makes a difference.

[Opti]

May 3, 2023 21:33:09 GMT -5 grumpyhermit said:

When I bought my car in 2016, the plan was to keep it ten years, and then start looking. It will be seven this year, and only has around 32k miles, as I lived super close to work the first six years of it's life. 

The new plan is to hold on to it for as long as it's sound. Besides the costs, it's also a manual, and those are getting harder and harder to find, and I'm not sure I want to make the transition back to automatic just yet. 

Manuals are hard to find. Now that I am in my 60s and the allergy/sinus thing has been very hard the last few years, I'm thinking of going automatic. I worry I will forget how to drive manual though, once I don't regularly use a vehicle that is stick shift.

I would prefer though to find an older car that is key, not drive by wire. I have driven serval loaner cars with drive by wire key fobs or push button starts, but I don't like them. When I am this sick, time is meaningless and its hard for me to know if something has taken 5 seconds or 5 minutes. With a car with keys, its more obvious what state the car is in ... for me.

[Opti]

May 3, 2023 20:53:33 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

I am a car person, but I fight my new car wants by paying attention to the prices. Cars cost too much these days. So Imma drive what I have for as long as I can. I’m spoiled by not having had a car payment for 15 years, and since sliding my debit card for more than $1k at once makes me feel like my heart is going to jump out my chest, trying to pay cash for a new car might kill me for real.

I paid off the BMW in 2007 or 2008, even though I probably should have waited a year. I can live in a car. I can't drive a house even if I had one as cheap as some of you have. My house cost roughly 10 times what the car was back then. Houses are even worse now. A converted one-bedroom apartment is above $200K. 

For now, there should be a correction around the size of the WFH run up sometime in the future. 

[Opti]

May 3, 2023 11:07:59 GMT -5 daisylu said:

May 3, 2023 10:50:24 GMT -5 Opti said:

I would definitely not choose the Versa. I rented one when my car was in the shop longer than expected. I loved the gas mileage, but the seating was real painful for me. Even for a short under 5 mile commute one way. A coworker has a Rio and I have been in the passenger side so I personally would look at that one. I would check out the Mirage as well.

$98K is life changing for many people under moderate income. Many will stop working without that much in savings, etc. It would be life changing for me. It would be life changing for me right now. I could buy something outright, lease and try, or in any event more than half of that could be saved or invested. 

I guess it depends on your definition of life changing. IMO, unless other things change it would be a short term relief. If you (collective) don't increase your wages or lower expenses you will end up right back where you are.

Here's some life-changing numbers for you although I might delete.

Rent in the 2016 to 2017 lease $1055/mo.
Rent for part of 2022 tax year $1360/mo.

Rent for latter half of tax year until lease renewal $1510/mo  (I renewed my lease as I had no job during the renewal period 
nor had UE yet been paid. The rent/utility relief from NJ came late, and it was a near thing. UE total was small under $3K. Rent was for 3 mos. so over $3K)
Proposed rent for lease renewal, $1600/mo.  Got it knocked down a small bit, will kick in this summer.

#underfunded

[andi9899]

May 4, 2023 9:17:00 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

May 4, 2023 8:30:43 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

You'd be surprised. I decided to window shop on Zillow and put in $200K as the price limit and got nothing but crap. Add in that I want one story only and I got nothing. It used to be that you could buy a house for $100 or even less. Not anymore.

It's changing.  We just got asssed for $93k and there is no freaking way the house is worth that damn much.  Yet the value of the land it's sitting on went way down. 

But in general for the moment you can get on the property ladder still here for $98k.   

Omaha not so much and the property taxes are going to kill you even if you manage to find a house for that much.

I went looking for a house again and dropped the limit. If I want a 4 BR house with one story, I'm going to have to cough up $500K. I think I have a few years before I'm ready to pull the trigger. I'm hoping prices don't stay that high. However they probably will. I'm just going to keep stashing cash as best as I can and hope the kids get it together enough to be self sufficient by then.

[andi9899]

May 4, 2023 9:26:24 GMT -5 movingforward said:

May 4, 2023 8:13:14 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

It probably also depends on where you live.   Here where I live I could almost buy a house entirely for cash with $98k.   $98k elsewhere wouldn't even get you a cardboard box in an alley. 

I would consider being able to get onto the property ladder a significant life changing event.  

I agree. A lot depends on where you live and your circumstances. The average cost of a home in my area is now $600K. My net salary is around $95K a year so for me $98K equals almost a year of net income. Not life changing for me (though I would still love to have it). I can see where it could be though in the circumstances you are referring to, for people that know how to use it the right way to change their lives. I don't think most people do though. I know at least 3 people that blew through their inheritances in no time and it has made absolutely zero difference in their lives. One friend inherited close to $200K from her father when she was 30 years old (he died young of stomach cancer at the age of 55). She blew through $200K in about 3 years. Fast forward to her age now of 45 and she has none of that money left and is consistently broke.

My ex sister-in-law inherited $90K. She and my brother blew through it in about 9 months. Five years later they got divorced and he filed bankruptcy. They had $100K in credit card debt when they divorced . They lived in a very low cost of living area. Bought a nice house for around $90K (of course this was several years ago). Together they made over $100K. They really should have been doing well financially.

An acquaintance of mine had gotten $200K from the death of her father who was killed by a drunk driver. This was right as COVID was starting to shut everything down. She burned through it in about a year and is now living with her mom. She was too young (around 24ish) to just be handed a large sum of money like that IMO. I know some that age might be smart with it. Most kids in their 20s, mine included are not ready for that kind of responsibility. If I die right now, the money goes to my dad. The girls are contingent. That may change in the future, but not right now.

[minnesotapaintlady]

May 4, 2023 11:14:58 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

May 4, 2023 9:17:00 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

It's changing.  We just got asssed for $93k and there is no freaking way the house is worth that damn much.  Yet the value of the land it's sitting on went way down. 

But in general for the moment you can get on the property ladder still here for $98k.   

Omaha not so much and the property taxes are going to kill you even if you manage to find a house for that much.

I went looking for a house again and dropped the limit. If I want a 4 BR house with one story, I'm going to have to cough up $500K. I think I have a few years before I'm ready to pull the trigger. I'm hoping prices don't stay that high. However they probably will. I'm just going to keep stashing cash as best as I can and hope the kids get it together enough to be self sufficient by then.

That would buy you a McMansion with acerage around here.  A simple ranch house can be had for around 250K.  I'm kind of kicking myself for not going up some on the one I offered 142K on about 8 years ago.  They sold it for 160K and it's probably worth about 250K now. 

[movingforward]

I bought my townhouse 6 years ago for $263K (1400 sq ft). Two like mine just told for $408K and $413K. I am so glad I bought when I did. The housing market is freaking insane here. I refinanced around 2 years ago at 2.99%. My mortgage plus HOA fee is now less than the monthly rent on a one bedroom apartment.

[wvugurl26]

DH bought our townhouse in August 2014 for $202k. They were built in 2001. We've seen several with fewer updates than ours sell for $300k or more in the last year.

We would like to have more space/better laid out space but the houses that appeal to us are $700k or more. If we had no hobbies and never traveled it would work. We aren't interested in being house poor.

[andi9899]

May 4, 2023 11:28:29 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

May 4, 2023 11:14:58 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

I went looking for a house again and dropped the limit. If I want a 4 BR house with one story, I'm going to have to cough up $500K. I think I have a few years before I'm ready to pull the trigger. I'm hoping prices don't stay that high. However they probably will. I'm just going to keep stashing cash as best as I can and hope the kids get it together enough to be self sufficient by then.

That would buy you a McMansion with acerage around here.  A simple ranch house can be had for around 250K.  I'm kind of kicking myself for not going up some on the one I offered 142K on about 8 years ago.  They sold it for 160K and it's probably worth about 250K now. 

Normally that would be the case here too. To see that high of a price tag around here is crazy! If I give up a BR, I can get away with $350K. That's insane!

[grumpyhermit]

May 4, 2023 8:59:33 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

May 3, 2023 21:33:09 GMT -5 grumpyhermit said:

When I bought my car in 2016, the plan was to keep it ten years, and then start looking. It will be seven this year, and only has around 32k miles, as I lived super close to work the first six years of it's life. 

The new plan is to hold on to it for as long as it's sound. Besides the costs, it's also a manual, and those are getting harder and harder to find, and I'm not sure I want to make the transition back to automatic just yet. 

this is exactly why I'm still driving my 3. although, I'm being told that my exact model is the only one still being produced in manual transmission.

The last time I looked, the only trim still being made in a MT was the highest, and that put it close to or above 30k. 

[minnesotapaintlady]

May 4, 2023 12:36:53 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

May 4, 2023 11:28:29 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

That would buy you a McMansion with acerage around here.  A simple ranch house can be had for around 250K.  I'm kind of kicking myself for not going up some on the one I offered 142K on about 8 years ago.  They sold it for 160K and it's probably worth about 250K now. 

Normally that would be the case here too. To see that high of a price tag around here is crazy! If I give up a BR, I can get away with $350K. That's insane!

Do you need 4 bedrooms living alone?  If you don't have them, the kids can't move back into them.    I can see 3.  One for my BR, one for an office, and one for a guest room or a place for a boomerang kid.  I'll save the bunk beds.  If they both come back they have to share!

[NastyWoman]

May 4, 2023 10:38:18 GMT -5 Opti said:

May 3, 2023 21:33:09 GMT -5 grumpyhermit said:

...

Manuals are hard to find. Now that I am in my 60s and the allergy/sinus thing has been very hard the last few years, I'm thinking of going automatic. I worry I will forget how to drive manual though, once I don't regularly use a vehicle that is stick shift.
...

I don't understand this.  Why would you worry about forgetting on how to use a stick shift? Like everyone else, I can tell you from experience that you will never get any younger than you are today. You have for years said that your allergies are horrendous. Do you really anticipate that these allergies will get that much better in the near future that it will negate the effect of aging? That does not seem all that likely to me, so worry about losing a skill you will have no future use for? 

That would be equivalent to me worrying about the fact that I no longer can speak Thai. I was quite conversant in that language at one time but that ability is gone now. However, I neither live there anymore nor do I feel the need to go there on vacation after living in the country for 6.5 years. So the language is gone but so what? 

[minnesotapaintlady]

Driving a stick shift is not something you forget how to do.  I've owned nothing but automatics the past 25 years but can still hop into a manual and take off with no problem.  Not that it's all that necessary of a skill anymore.  Mostly just my neighbors 3/4 truck that I use for towing.

[NoNamePerson]

May 4, 2023 15:10:42 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Driving a stick shift is not something you forget how to do.  I've owned nothing but automatics the past 25 years but can still hop into a manual and take off with no problem.  Not that it's all that necessary of a skill anymore.  Mostly just my neighbors 3/4 truck that I use for towing.

I drove stick from 1983 to 2006!! Could do it today if needed too. I couldn't even drive stick when I bought 5 speed from friend with the stipulation that she teach me to drive it. (I learned on automatic) After a week of driving "lessons" she cut me loose.  When I bought an automatic in 2006 I had to drive with my hand stuck under my leg and seat or I would try to shift gears   To this day I miss the feel of driving stick but heavy traffic and not so quick reflexes in my old age it wouldn't be a smart thing but I sooooooooooooooo miss shifting!!  

[Deleted]

I saw a sign on the back of an SUV at Aldi the other day (sorry, can't remember the maker).  The sign said "Caution, manual transmission-this vehicle may roll backward".  I never saw that before but it's a good reminder not to get up the tailpipe of another vehicle

[NoNamePerson]

May 4, 2023 16:13:09 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

I saw a sign on the back of an SUV at Aldi the other day (sorry, can't remember the maker).  The sign said "Caution, manual transmission-this vehicle may roll backward".  I never saw that before but it's a good reminder not to get up the tailpipe of another vehicle

Nothing like looking in rearview mirror and seeing look of concern on asshole who is on your bumper and you start to roll backwards just a bit. Anyone who drive stick knows what I'm talking about  

[giramomma]

May 4, 2023 9:17:00 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

May 4, 2023 8:30:43 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

You'd be surprised. I decided to window shop on Zillow and put in $200K as the price limit and got nothing but crap. Add in that I want one story only and I got nothing. It used to be that you could buy a house for $100 or even less. Not anymore.

It's changing.  We just got asssed for $93k and there is no freaking way the house is worth that damn much.  Yet the value of the land it's sitting on went way down. 

But in general for the moment you can get on the property ladder still here for $98k.   

Omaha not so much and the property taxes are going to kill you even if you manage to find a house for that much.

Housing has pretty much doubled since 2011. Houses in my neighborhood went for 200-250, then.  Now they are going for 450-500K. It's crazy.

I am kicking myself for not buying a second home in a city that I liked. We stayed there in a VBRO after I got done with chemo in 2021. Houses were 50K.

No, no. I had to be responsible.

Now the houses are going for 150K.

[Opti]

May 4, 2023 16:26:06 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

May 4, 2023 16:13:09 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

I saw a sign on the back of an SUV at Aldi the other day (sorry, can't remember the maker).  The sign said "Caution, manual transmission-this vehicle may roll backward".  I never saw that before but it's a good reminder not to get up the tailpipe of another vehicle

Nothing like looking in rearview mirror and seeing look of concern on asshole who is on your bumper and you start to roll backwards just a bit. Anyone who drive stick knows what I'm talking about  

Do that when necessary. However I have avoided places and hills because my parking brake broke one day and it wasn't worth even finding out how much it would take to fix.

Oh no, I wonder if the tow guy forgot that my parking brake was broken and tried to engage it? I might have to rely on the kindsness of strangers in some places if I had to be on a steep slope for more than a light or two. Often wish I had a smaller version of those led signs you see for construction

I could put in phrases like this car is a manual
Parking brake broke years ago, be advised
this car is heavier than it looks to those who mistake it for a Chevy Cobalt or similar

[Opti]

May 4, 2023 16:13:09 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

I saw a sign on the back of an SUV at Aldi the other day (sorry, can't remember the maker).  The sign said "Caution, manual transmission-this vehicle may roll backward".  I never saw that before but it's a good reminder not to get up the tailpipe of another vehicle

I want to teach a class about traffic awareness especially in bad weather conditions like snow. Too many people do not think what will happen if they do not maintain a minimum speed or if the semi in front of them can't negotiate ... brain freeze


going to make food.

[Pink Cashmere]

May 4, 2023 15:10:42 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Driving a stick shift is not something you forget how to do.  I've owned nothing but automatics the past 25 years but can still hop into a manual and take off with no problem.  Not that it's all that necessary of a skill anymore.  Mostly just my neighbors 3/4 truck that I use for towing.

I agree.

The car my Grandfather bought me in high school was a stick. The next 3 cars I bought were sticks. I never got tired of driving a stick, and I still miss it.

I drove my cousin’s stick Camaro several years after I bought my first automatic. It’s like riding a bicycle again after a long time Imo. Your skills might be a little rusty, but it doesn’t take long to find your groove again.