Is it worth it to buy a new car now or are there better more gas efficient cars coming in 2010?

Question

I am thinking about buying a 2009 hyundai sonata which gets around 32 mpg on the highway but I was wondering if they are going to have more affordable gas efficient cars in the next few years. What are your thoughts on buying a new car now or later?

Answer 1

There aren't going to be any radical innovations coming out with next year's models, so I wouldn't wait for that reason alone.

Answer 2

I'd say buy now whilst everything is cheap.

And, if you have a c**p car now, just think how much money your are going to waste on petrol just to *maybe* save a few hundred bucks in a few years time.  

Answer 3

I think it depends on what you are currently driving. Is the car you are now driving a hazard? I think now is the wrong time to buy a car until gas prices stabilze, who knows what could happen. You certainly dont want to be stuck with a car loan when gas is $10 a gallon. Stick with what you have for now if you can. Otherwise, the Sonata is a great car. I would also look into the Mazda 6. The Dodge Caliber has good milage due to its 4cyl and CVT and is actually like a mini-suv.

Answer 4

Stuff that's more efficient than what you're considering:

1) Prius or other hybrid sedan, available now

2) VW Jetta or Rabbit TDI, coming out in about a month.  I think the Jetta is supposed to get somewhere in the 40s.  I drive a 1999 Jetta TDI myself, and get about 47mpg on the highway even with my lead foot.  It's not hard to find diesel.  It's not dirty like it was in the 70s.

3) Chevy Volt coming out in the next few years

4) Toyota planning to make a plug-in Prius soon, so the first 40 miles after a charge can be all-electric

5) Tesla Whitestar and Bluestar are all-electric, coming out in the next few years according to rumor

6) Think Ox (Think is a Norweigan car company, Ox is a model name) scheduled to be available in the US in 2012.  It's another all-electric but can go up to about 85mph and something like 150 miles on a charge, so much better than current electric cars

7) Smart cars are available in the US now, and get pretty good mileage.  I think more than 32 but not quite sure.

Personally I'm trying to keep my 10-year-old Jetta running until the Thinks come out here in the US.  Fixing stuff when it breaks is certainly cheaper than making a car payment...on the other hand it's annoying and I'd like a car that "just works".  So I'm thinking about test-driving one of the new TDIs this week and then getting on the waiting list.

Answer 5

It's a c**p-shoot.  They say they'll be coming out with more fuel-efficient cars in 2010, but (a) they already have some pretty darned efficient cars out now, and (b) anytime you introduce a new car with a new design there are going to be bugs that need to be worked out.  They've been making the Sonata for a while now, so chances are you'll get one without glitches.  But if you were to buy, say, a Chevy Volt when they come out in 2010, chances are you'll have to take it back several times to have recall work done on it.  So my vote is to buy a Sonata now while the price of new cars is down because of the economy.

Answer 6

That all depends on what you drive.  Nothing is going to be drastically changed in the next few years.  I would give it 5 years until hybrid technology get a bit better, and by 2020 all cars are supposed to be 35mpg avg city/hwy.

If you have a car that is bad on gas, get something new now while the prices are low.  In my opinion, gas will never go under $3.00/gallon.  Its just how life is.