Alright, this will definitely be of some damage to our bank account.
However, we need to make this new car purchase because DH has over 220,000 miles on his junkmobile and it's been misbehaving such as sudden engine stoppage for no reason. 220,000!!! only if we were paid $1 to drive each miles. I'll be $220,000 richer. Kidding.
We've been eyeing Japanese cars in particular. At first we opted for European cars but it was out of our price range and since being used as a commuter's car raking in an average of 12,000-14,000 miles annually, it just doesn't make sense to spend so much on a nice european luxury car. Repair expense down the line will also be a headache.
Therefore, we've decided to go with the Japanese brand models.
We're looking into either an Acura or a Lexus. Both have very good reliability ratings and are pretty luxurious in its class. We're hoping to spend around $25K to no more than $35K for this car with an average of 25MPH on the highways.
In terms of payment, I think we're leaning towards financing with a reasonable down payment.
About Me - Queen Bee
- Money Honey SF
- I'm a 31 year old married bee living in pricey San Francisco. My husband and I are worker bees in the Investment Industry. You can imagine finance is buzzing around me 24/7. We both enjoy money discussions but I tend to love it more than him. Therefore, I hope to channel my passion about everything in relations to money by blogging about it. My blog is to find a balance between sweet saving/investing for the future and current sticky spending. So tune in whenever you can....
8 comments:
Any particular reasons you're going for an Acura or Lexus rather than a Honda or Toyota?
Hi Aaren, thanks for stopping by.
We did think about those 2 popular and reliable brands as well. But since my parents have been driving those cars for years and this junkmobile of his is from those brands, we wanted to have something different other than a Honda or Toyota.
It is very tempting not to go with a Toyota since they're offering 0 down, 0 interest on financing.
But we want to diversify our car ownership and zero in on Lexus and Acura. Which I would think is a brand up on those two eventhough they are the parent company?
I currently own a Lexus ES330 (bought in 2005). I find it to be very reliable & haven't had any problems with it at all. I would highly recommend it.
When my car is no long drivable (maybe in another 10 years), I'm actually thinking of Toyota. =) I’m in the process of voluntarily trading down with many things…
Jersey mom, thanks for your input. We are leaning towards a lexus i would say 60% to 40% for an acura.
I've heard many stories that lexus are very reliable and it's comforting to know.
Sounds like your car will last you 15+ years. That's awesome.
$25k to $35k is a lot for a car and then adding insurance in SF area for a new car, also a lot.
Why not consider looking at used? You can probably find those you're looking at for $10k to $15k less and it will cost less for the insurance as well.
Both are choices that I would go for! A few people at my company have BMWs and Mercedes, but they are out of my price range.
For the most bang for the buck, I've always wanted a Lexus!
Good luck in your choice! IMHO, both are winners!
We have a 2001 Acura CL Type S and a 2005 Acura RSX. The CL is loved by my wife and she never wants to get rid of it. Even though the CL is old with 95k miles, I find it just as nice if not nicer than a new car! The RSX is great on mileage but terrible on luxury. I want more luxury! I can highly recommend the new 4 cylinder Acura TSX. Good on price, gas, and luxury :) I do like Lexus and Infiniti, but they seem to be more expensive.
My dream car is the Lexus RX400.
Although Toyota is paying the Feds a hefty fine for reckless negligence regarding their faulty brakes, don't you think its a bit too soon for you to look into Toyotas? I would give it a year or two tops before I would consider buying from that maker. It was a Lexus SUV that set off the whole investigation (the faulty brakes ultimately led to the death of a family of four). That's probably the reason why Toyota is seducing customers with those nice terms.
Just putting that out there...
Post a Comment