Can I afford a car? How much income is ideal?

Question

I'm a first time buyer and I've been thinking about buying a used car. I've saved up just north of $5000 so I'm sure I can find a decent used car. What I'm worried about is the long term. I have just turned 20 and have had my full license for almost 2 years and have been driving for almost 4. Assuming I buy the most fuel-efficient car as far as used 5-grand cars go...What kind of expenses should I expect in terms of gas/insurance/maintenance etc. ?

Answer 1

yea , but it depends on witch company and wat state you buy in

Answer 2

Get a little used foreign car. They're cheap on gas, insurance, and maintenance.  

Answer 3

It really depends on the make/model/year of the car you're going to be buying.

If it's a reliable make (Honda, Toyota, etc) you shouldn't have to worry TOO much about repairs, but you really never know when buying used cars.

The gas usage really depends on how much driving you do, and how fast you drive. If you're getting a small-ish 4 cylinder car, gas shouldn't be an issue.

Insurance will be a bit pricey still, but it shouldn't be too over-the-top.

Answer 4

we'll say you drive 15K a year, purchase a car that averages 30 mpg and decide you are going to take proper care of it, but pay for it.

your gas, at 3.50 a gallon will be 1750 dollars for the year.

your insurance will depend on you.  most people get 'full' coverage which will run 800-1400 a year, considering your experience expect the latter.

maintenance, assuming you pay for oilchanges and an airfilter yearly but forgo all the nonsense most shops will try to sucker you with, planning on a new set of tires at 400 a set every other year looks to be around 400 a year total.

so we'll call it 3600 a year for all those expenses.

now as to a car.  if you were buying new, a toyota or honda would be my first choice, however if you are buying used their resale value is very high so you are actaully getting less for your money.  

to buy a corolla for 5K you are looking at over 100K miles, more on a civic.  if you look around though, for that money you could buy a late model mitsubishi lancer or nissan sentra with 50-60 K.  the corolla and civic are better cars, but not enough better to justify 3 extra years of running it for the same price.  you can also find mazda protege's in this range which had the same reliability rating and better room and driving than the civic or corolla.

(and i own a toyota product, but i bought new knowing this)

Answer 5

You're off to a good start by having the money put aside for your purchase.  $5G's will buy you a decent and newish car.  Narrow down your auto choices and when you have a list of maybe 2 or 3 cars, get some insurance quotes to find out how much the premiums will be for the different cars ( you may be surprised just how large the difference can be between the models ).  Also, get the fuel economy ratings for each model and try to calculate the distances you may drive annually and calculate your fuel costs.  Maintenance is a little more difficult to pinpoint as repairs are often unexpected.  

Answer 6

google---edmunds used car guide-- for best advice.