New or Used Car Advice for Recent College Grad
Never buy a new car if cost is an issue. A big chunk of the price will disappear to depreciation as you drive it off the lot. If you want a shiny new car with the latest equipment (and if you can afford it!), buy a lightly-used car. Normally I would recommend a 1-3 year old car. 95% of the value, with a big cost savings. But this depends on your financial situation. Given that you just need a commuter car for mostly highway driving, in a place where the weather is easier on cars, you could be fine with a 5-6 year old import. Camry's, Accords, Civics, etc are all well-built, reliable, and affordable due to their numbers. As for financing, shop around. Don't blindly use dealer financing. Check with banks and especially local credit unions and see what rate they can offer you. Then, when you are ready to go, get pre-approved (this is when they pull your credit) and get the car. 17.5 thousand miles/year is pretty high mileage.  You could find an Accord or Civic of comparable age with much lower mileage than that, and it wouldn't be a stretch for someone (even with your limited credit history) to get a loan on an old car like that.  You might try to have your parents cosign on a loan depending on their financial circumstances.  That's how I bought my first car 13 years ago. The biggest surprise you might want to consider is the cost of full collision auto coverage which will be required by whatever bank you finance through.  Get quotes for that before signing any papers.  (I spent $2000 more on a motorcycle because the more powerful one cost $2000 less/year to insure just a few years after I bought that first car.)  Speaking of which, another thing to consider given the nice LA weather is a motorcycle.  The total cost of ownership is much lower than a car.  You will probably not want to pursue that option if you do not have medical insurance, and you may not want to anyway.
"Without knowing the details of your financial situation, I can only offer general advice.  It might be worth having a financial counselor look at your finances and offer some custom advice.  You might be able to find someone that will do this for free by asking at your local church. I would advise you not to try to get another loan, and certainly not to start charging things to a credit card.  You are correct when you called it a ""nightmare.""  You are currently struggling with your finances, and getting further into debt will not help.  It would only be a very short-term fix and have long-lasting consequences.   What you need to do is look at the income that you have and prioritize your spending.  For example, your list of basic needs includes: If you have other things that you are spending money on, such as medical debt or other old debt that you are trying to pay off, those are not as important as funding your basic needs above. If there is anything you can do to reduce the cost of the basic needs, do it.  For example, finding a cheaper place to live or a place closer to your job might save you money.  Perhaps accepting nutrition assistance from a local food bank or the Salvation Army is an option for you. Now, about your car: Your transportation to your job is very much one of your basic needs, as it will enable you to pay for your other needs.  If you can use public transportation until you can get a working car again, or you can find someone that will give you a ride, that will solve this problem.  If not, you'll need to get a working car. You definitely don't want to take out another loan for a car, as you are already having trouble paying the first loan.  I'm guessing that it will be less expensive to get the engine repaired than it will be to buy a new car at this point.  But that is just a guess.  You'll need to find out how much it will cost to fix the car, and see if you can swing it by perhaps eliminating expenses that aren't necessary, even for a short time.  For example, if you are paying installments on medical debt, you might have to skip a payment to fix your car.  It's not ideal, but if you are short on cash, it is a better option than losing your job or taking out even more debt for your car. Alternatively, buying another, functional car, if it costs less than fixing your current car, is an option.  If you don't have the money to pay your current car loan payments, you'll lose your current car. Just to be clear, many of these options will mess up your credit score.  However, borrowing more, in an attempt to save your credit score, will probably only put off the inevitable, as it will make paying everything off that much harder.  If you don't have enough income to pay your debts, you might be better off to just take the credit score ding, get back on your feet, and then work to eliminate the debt once you've got your basic needs covered. Sorry to hear about your situation.  Again, this advice is just general, and might not all apply to your financial details.  I recommend talking to the pastor of a local church and see if they have someone that can sit down with you and discuss your options." But.. what I really want to know.... is it illegal, particularly the   clause REQUIRING a trade in to qualify for the advertised price? The price is always net of all the parts of the deal. As an example they gave the price if you have $4000 trade in. If you have no trade in, or a trade in worth less than 4K, your final price for the new car will be more. Of course how do you know that the trade in value they are giving you is fair. It could be worth 6K but they are only giving you a credit of 4K. If you are going to trade in a vehicle while buying another vehicle the trade in should be a separate transaction. I always get a price quote for selling the old car before visiting the new car dealer. I do that to have a price point that I can judge while the pressure is on at the dealership.. Buying a car is a complex deal. The price, interest rate, length of loan, and the value of the trade in are all moving parts. It is even more complex if a lease is involved. They want to adjust the parts to be the highest profit that you are willing to agree to, while you think that you are getting a good deal. This is the fine print: All advertised amounts include all Hyundai incentives/rebates, dealer   discounts and $2500 additional down from your trade in value. +0% APR   for 72 months on select models subject to credit approval through HMF.   *No payments or 90 days subject to credit approval. Value will be added to end of loan balance. 15MY Sonata - Price excludes tax, title,   license, doc, and dealer fees. MSRP $22085- $2036 Dealer Discount -   $500 HMA Lease Cash - $500 HMA Value Owner Coupon - $1000 HMA Retail   Bonus Cash - $500 HMA Military Rebate - $500 HMA Competitive Owner   Coupon - $400 HMA College Grad Rebate - $500 HMA Boost Program - $4000   Trade Allowance = Net Price $12149. On approved credit. Certain   qualifications apply to each rebate. See dealer for details. Payment   is 36 month lease with $0 due at signing. No security deposit   required. All payment and prices include HMA College Grad Rebate, HMA   Military Rebate, HMA Competitive Owner Coupon and HMA Valued Owner   Coupon. Must be active military or spouse of same to qualify for HMA   Military Rebate. Must graduate college in the next 6 months or within   the last 2 years to qualify for HMA College Grad rebate. Must own   currently registered Hyundai to qualify for HMA Valued Owner Coupon.   Must own qualifying competitive vehicle to qualify for HMA Competitive   Owner Coupon. "Welcome to Personal Finance and Money. This answer will depend a lot on what is most important to the buyer, for example, whether it is important to always be in a newer car, to save money, or strike a balance between the two. There are trade-offs and I don't think there is one right answer for all circumstances. Leasing Leasing does make financial sense for at least two types of people I'm aware of: The company I work for provides company cars to sales executives, which we lease. We lease because it wouldn't be appropriate for a salesperson to meet a client in a car that clearly appears used. Similarly, I know people who value being in a newer car all the time, and for them, leasing makes more financial sense then buying a new car every 2-3 years, and selling their old car which is now 2-3 years old and has depreciated significantly. They understand that they are paying more to always be able to be in a newer car. I used to work with a manager who, every time the new model of the car he owned came out, would see the car and buy it on the spot, even though he already owned last year's model, and he didn't need two cars. He just couldn't help himself; he felt he had to have the new model. It's no use sermonizing about how he ""should"" learn to save money by just being content with what he had. In reality, if he is going to buy the new model every year no matter what, he should lease rather than buy. From my experience, I would only recommend leasing if you would otherwise be buying a new car on a regular basis, and the lease would be less expensive. This is probably the most cost effective way to maintain the highest possible quality, but would cost much more than buying and holding a new car or buying a value used car. I don't see reliability as much of a factor here since the seller will have a very good idea of how much maintenance will cost, but you will pay a premium to be able to pay a fixed cost for maintenance instead of risking a worse-than-average experience. Buying New According to Edmunds and BIGResearch, only a relatively small number of people are ever in the market for a new car at a given point in time. While you do pay quite a bit more to own a brand new car instead of the same car that is 2-3 years old, there are several reasons I'm aware of why people buy new cars: Number 4 is probably the biggest reason, and many people are willing to pay for the certainty of knowing that the miles are correct, the parts are new, the car is in good working condition, etc. Additionally, some makes of cars have much higher resale values than others (such as Hondas), meaning that there isn't as large of a drop in price between a new car and a used car. Many people consider buying a new car the best way to ensure they get the best reliability since they know the initial condition of the car and can care for it meticulously from that point on. This can especially make sense when the buyer intends to keep the car for the like of the car as the buyer will then benefit from having no car payments once it is paid off. Buying Used Buying a used car is the most affordable option, but for a given quality of car the reliability can be a significant potential pitfall. It can be very difficult for a non-professional to tell whether they are getting a good value. Additionally, it is hard for an owner who wants to sell a used car in excellent condition to get the true value of the car, and much easier for an unscrupulous seller to to get the market price by selling to an unaware buyer (the ""lemons"" problem in economics). You could buy an inspected car with a limited warranty from a retail seller like CarMax or a dealership, but you often pay a significant premium that cancels out much of the biggest reason to buy used - saving money. However, there is an opportunity to save money when buying used if you're willing to compromise on the condition of the car (if you don't care whether a car has hail damage, for example), or if you are able to wait until you find a motivated/distressed seller who needs to sell quickly and is willing to sell at a discount. If cost is your primary priority, buying a used car is likely the best option, but I would recommend the following in all circumstances: If the seller isn't willing to offer both of these, I would walk away. When buying used, you will also need to consider maintenance, which will vary significantly based on the make and model of the car as well as the condition, which is another risk you need to be willing to take on if you choose to buy used." "Debt cripples you, it weighs you down and keeps you from living your life the way you want.  Debt prevents you from accomplishing your goals, limits your ability to ""Do"" what you want, ""Have"" what you want, and ""Be"" who you want to be, it constricts your opportunities, and constrains your charity. As you said,  Graduated in May from school.  Student loans are coming due here in January.  Bought a new car recently. The added monthly expenses have me concerned that I am budgeting my money correctly. Awesome! Congratulations.  You need to develop a plan to repay the student loans.  Buying a (new) car before you have planned you budget may have been premature. I currently am spending around 45-50% of my monthly (net)income to cover all   my expenses and living. The left over is pretty discretionary, but things   like eating dinner outside the house and expenses that are abnormal would   come out of this.  My question is what percentage is a safe amount to be   committing to expenses on a monthly basis? Great!  Plan 40-50% for essentials, and decide to spend under 20-30% for lifestyle.  Be frugal here and you could allocate 30-40% for financial priorities. Budget - create a budget divided into three broad categories, control your spending and your life. Goals - a Goal is a dream with a plan. Organize your goals into specific items with timelines, and steps to progress to your goals. You should have three classes of goals, what you want to ""Have"", what you want to ""Do"", and who you want to ""Be""; Ask yourself, what is important to you. Then establish a timeline to achieve each goal.  You should place specific goals or steps into three time blocks, Near (under 3-6 months), medium (under 12 months), and Long (under 24 months).  It is ok to have longer term plans, but establish steps to get to those goals, and place those steps under one of these three timeframes. Example, Good advice I have heard includes keeping housing costs under 25%, keeping vehicle costs under 10%, and paying off debt quickly.  Some advise 10-20% for financial priorities, but I prefer 30-40%.  If you put 10% toward retirement (for now), save 10-20%, and pay 10-20% toward debt, you should make good progress on your student loans." Rule of thumb is always BUY, NEVER lease, unless you plan to use it for a business where you can expense the lease payments. Leasing is the biggest scam.  Lease is just a fancy word for renting and the dealerships PRAY that people like us lease. As for new or old, new cars have better warranty but you may get a great deal on a 1-3 year old used car. You're looking at a used car, which is good, but I think you can still be much wiser with the type of car you're looking to purchase. Maybe I'm such a fuddy-duddy because I didn't own a car until I was 25, but let's break this down with a small comparison: If you drive 1,000 miles per month with gas at $4/gallon -- which is absurdly conservative, I think -- for five years, then you're looking at an extra $60/month for just gas, and probably twice the payment, compared with a perfectly reliable but more fuel-efficient car from the same year.  (Disclosure:  I own a 2004 Corolla and love it.  I got mine in 2007 for under $10k, and I paid cash.) $300/month or so is a good chunk of change, no?  I'd do even more, and pay that loan off (which will almost certainly be less than $500/month) faster by throwing $500/month at it.  You'll save hundreds of dollars in interest. Edit based on your additions: There's one thing that you don't see yet that I have.  It's only because you're in your early 20s and I'm pushing 40. It is far easier to sock money away when you're single and don't have a family to take care of. (I'm assuming you're not married yet and that you don't have kids.  Hopefully it's not a poor assumption.) I would be saving like crazy now if I were in your position.  You have a great job for fresh out of college.  My first job started ten years ago after grad school at the same salary you're making.  Man, it was so easy to save money back then.  Now that I'm married with a daughter, a lot of that cushion goes away.  I wouldn't trade it for the world, but that's the price of being head of household. If you have any intentions of not being a hermit for the rest of your life (and I hope you do) then you'd be wise to save as much as you can now. "As someone who has a very similar debt amount and environment (new grad, nice new paying job, want a car, etc), I'd like to share something with you. Life has unexpected costs. Luckily I didn't buy that new car the first few months out of college like I had planned to; I'm glad that I didn't because, as a fledgling ""adult"", despite having lived on my own while in college while working part-to-full time there are some things you just don't realize until it either happens or it happens to someone else. Here are some of those things: I could go on but I won't. $95K is good money and I would definitely recommend spending it a bit to enjoy yourself. But I would honestly tell you that taking your monthly expenses, adding a few hundred on top of that and then multiplying  that sum by 3 would be a smart savings amount before picking up a car loan. Maybe that's an excessive savings but I've seen way too many people burn out over their cost-of-living and their failure to adjust appropriately when shit hits the fan. So instead of having to deal with the stab at your pride when having to lower the cost/quality of living that you'll probably grow accustomed to at a $95K salary, just prepare for the worst.  Oh, and did I mention... A NEW JOB IS NOT A SECURE JOB Consider yourself to likely be the first asset dropped from the company if even the tiniest thing goes wrong. I know way too many people who were fresh hires at Intel, Boeing, and a few other big tech companies that pay around what you make and, despite being bad asses in college, they were dropped like a bad habit when their employers hit rough patches. To those even more experienced than me, please feel free to add to the list. I'd personally love to know them myself." I agree with the deposit part. But if you are buying a new car, the loan term should meet the warranty term. Assuming you know you won't exceed the mileage limits, it's a car with only maintainence costs and the repayment cost at that point.