Would you buy a new car in this market?

If you have all cash, negotiate for a lower price.

I certainly wouldn’t buy a new car if your money is tight. For several years, I’ve bought cars from a dealer that are a year or two old. Why pay for a new car that will start depreciating as you as you drive it off the lot?

If you are looking for something simple and reliable, I might look for something like a Toyota Corolla.

If you don’t have the cash, then go to a credit union or bank and get a loan from them for the amount that you’re willing to buy a car for. Once you have secured the loan then go to the car lot and negotiate the price.

School as in college or high school? Do you need a car?

Cars are in high demand because there are so few being manufactured due to the chip shortage. You’re going to pay way too much for a new car.

I agree with the others – look for a decent used car.

@JLeslie I’m looking at college next year and was trying to plan ahead. I’m sure whichever college I go to/am admitted to will be far from home.

^Wait until you’ve been accepted to a college and have committed to going there. At this point, there are too many unknowns. If you choose a college in a city, you won’t want a car. In a large city, sometimes a car is a liability. Right now, concentrate on school and your extracurricular activities.

@Hawaii_Jake thanks you do make a great point. I tend to try and do too much at once, I need to slow down and prioritize things.

Some schools don’t even allow freshman to have cars except in special circumstances.

No.

In fact shopping for any vehicle is on my list of Painful Things to Avoid – just above gouging my own eyes out.

BUT – if you reallyreallyreally need a car, buying used probably makes the most sense right now. Here’s a survey report on price trends from one national source :
https://www.iseecars.com/used-car-prices-by-state-study

Bottom line is that the insane markups on used cars from Jan/Feb of this year have dropped considerably. Even so the average cost is still over $23k for anything 5 years old or newer, and if want to try financing expect to pay over 17% interest if your credit score is just average.

Red cars are involved in accidents more than any other color of car.
Buy a car that is one year old, a lease car. You’ll save money.

…But don’t let me spoil your day. Fact is, if you’re willing to drive something 10 years or older, have your own cash & know where to look, you can find some pretty cool rides :

2004 Mercedes C240, 72,305 mi $6995
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=652104405&driveGroup=RWD&city=Portland&state=OR&zip=97209&location=&requestId=564749857&searchRadius=50&endYear=2012&marketExtension=include&maxPrice=12000&isNewSearch=false&showAccelerateBanner=false&sortBy=relevance&numRecords=25&dma=&listingTypes=USED&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Frear-wheel-drive%2Fportland-or-97209%3FrequestId%3D564749857%26dma%3D%26searchRadius%3D50%26location%3D%26endYear%3D2012%26marketExtension%3Dinclude%26maxPrice%3D12000%26isNewSearch%3Dfalse%26showAccelerateBanner%3Dfalse%26sortBy%3Drelevance%26numRecords%3D25&clickType=listing

I was shopping for a new car a few weeks back. The lots don’t have many new cars due to the chip shortage and the supply chain.
I ended up just putting a new transmission in my old car.

Having a car in college is usually more of a liability than an asset. Any college I’ve attended or visited had a robust network of free busses that cruised around campus, off-campus housing, and local business areas (back in my day we called them “malls”—just think of the exact opposite of Amazon: you had to walk around and get the stuff you wanted to buy and then deliver it to your own house yourself).

It’s a fair question. It used to be that buying a used car was the way to go. In today’s world, however, the demand for used cars has gone up and so have the prices. They are asking way more for used cars than they are truly worth. And the availability of good used cars is very limited.

Buying a new car might cost you a little more and you would definitely have the depreciation as soon as you drive it off the lot, but it would be warrantied and wouldn’t have problems from previous owners.

The real question is what can you afford.

I have never bought a new car and have no plans to do so. Ever. If you’re a college student you need a new car like another hole in the head. It may be hard but find yourself a decent used Toyota Camry from the mid-2000’s (6 cyl) or a Corolla from that same time. They can still be had for $5k or so with 100–150k miles. Plenty of car left to get you through school.

There’s no negotiating now, for new cars. Not sure about used cars.

A friend just bought a new car, and they told her it’s going to be 2k more than the MSRP, and she can take it or leave it because they had only one new car of that model at the dealer. She chose to take it.

If you are a student and going to college, and you’re accustomed to taking public transportation, continue that way for the time being. Once you buy a car, it’s not only the car payment you’ll have to deal with, but it’s oil changes, repairs (even though the majority of repairs should be covered under the warranty if the car is new), insurance, fees for inspections and registrations, all that. Keep your money, take public transpo.

The colleges my daughters go to have a carrot/stick approach to students’ cars – they don’t allow Freshmen to get parking permits. Permits would be expensive anyway. But they offer free/discount bus passes and subway passes.

Having a car is convenient but expensive once you add the cost of gas, parking, insurance, and maintenance. You can get by cheaper with bus, subway, Uber/Lyft, even ZipCar (which is what my daughters do).

@RocketGuy The local university will sell you a $400 pass but can’t guarantee you will ever find a spot. You generally don’t find one either. Sometimes you take the bus anyway to avoid losing said spot if you were lucky enough to get one.

OMG!! You guys rock! So much good information I can’t possibly thank you all. WOW so much to think about.

$400?! Dang!

@RocketGuy $400 for a new car?

I’ve always heard (as verified by Carfax) that a new vehicle depreciates by 10% just by being sold and driven off the dealer’s lot. Depreciation should be calculated into cost of ownership. For example, if I paid $30k five years ago for a new vehicle that is now worth only $12,000 as a trade-in, that $18,000 difference is actually part of my operating costs. That’s $3600 per yeay in addition to fuel, maintenance, and other costs.

@Strauss that’s $9.86 each day, is that a good regular amount that I could expect when owning a car?

@RayaHope

$400 for a uni parking pass.

@Brian1946 oh yikes! Maybe I’ll get a nice bicycle

Get a nice lock to go with it too. Bike theft is way too common.

I was thinking about a Dutch bike they look like something I would love to ride. Bikes here are far too sporty like your butt is above your head as if you’re racing all the time.

When I got my mountain bike, I upgraded to have a cushy seat and higher handlebars. Front shocks, even cheap ones, make it more much comfortable on your wrists. Some cruiser bikes come with them too.