I am 17 years old and am about to buy my first car! My parents said they will split it with me 50/50. I have about $14,000, so that enables me to buy a car for $28,00 or less… This is like my dream, but i am completely undecided on what to get. My mom wants me to get a hybrid car, and my dad wants me to get a sports car.
What should I get and why?!
3 Responses
I bought a 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid recently. It is the best of both worlds: big enough to take my whole family and pets places and it’s a hybrid, so I waste less gas!
Ford also makes a hybrid SUV.
Good luck!
Your first car will not be the car you drive for the rest of your life, so don’t worry about a sports car (plus they’re more to take care of and insurance is higher). A hybrid car would be cheaper in the long run as it has better mileage, plus you might be able to pull some government money for buying one. An SUV would probably be the most practical, since you can truck around your friends and equipment, whatnot. However, SUVs do incur higher fuel costs. What you have to do is decide whether or not you are willing to pay the higher long-term costs for the practicality of an SUV or “niceness” of a sports car, or if you would rather suffer the embarassment of driving a hybrid for the long-term savings. Either way, keep in mind that you will likely either destroy your first car or get rid of it when you leave college at the latest.
Here is a website that will help you with all your concerns, wants and don’t wants in a car. I was in the same boat several years ago, and I somehow stumbles upon this neat website that I know will be most helpful to you.
Go to “www.myproductadvisor.com”. Click on “New Autos” near the middle of the page on their website. From there, you will be answering a series of questions of what you want or don’t want in a vehicle. The survey usually takes about 15-20 minutes to complete. After completing all your answers, you will then click on “Recommendations” tab and the site will show you the first five vehicles that they believe is the closest match based from all your answers. I wish you will find the “right” vehicle for you! Take care.
P.S. Check out the annual Consumer Reports “New Car Buyer’s Guide” that are currently on newsstands right now. This magazine will help you see which cars are the most dependable. They will also give you their professional opinions on what they either liked or didn’t like about a particular model. Is it fuel efficient? Does it ride nice? Does this vehicle do well in crash tests? All this kind of information is in there for your enquirers.