Road to a New Car

Road to a new car

I am back to researching new vehicles. The newest car debacle was a sliced tire driving down the road. Completely lost and I had to buy a new tire. This was the fourth expense for my vehicle in the last six months. Changing the oil, new brakes/pads, new battery, and a new tire. Adding up to about $750. Not to mention the $2,000 a year to insure the vehicle. I live in Florida, which is very vehicle dependent, with public transportation is very limited. So, the new expense I am going to start saving for is a BRAND-NEW CAR!

Well, it’s brand new to me. I believe I purchased my last brand-new car; it will take probably 10-20% off my price if I just buy it a little used. I am looking to buy a vehicle with under 10,000 miles on it. A hybrid car where I can double my gas mileage which would mean half the gas budget. I also want a Toyota sedan. I did think I wanted a bigger vehicle and maybe even a truck but a truck as a daily driver with worse gas mileage in a busy city like my area, I don’t think I will be moving in that direction. I thought I needed a bigger vehicle as this would be my young dad car. My girlfriend has said she wanted a van so I can get a smaller vehicle.

This led me to two options. Corolla or Camry. My cousin and aunt both had Camrys and have loved them. Toyota has consistently come up as the best type of vehicle and even though my Ford hasn’t caused me too many issues, I think a Toyota would be best. My girlfriend’s Hyundai had issues at five years old that my vehicle didn’t have. My aunt’s Camry is still humming strong, and it is almost 15 years old. The Camry is a little bit bigger than the Corolla, so it has been my choice every time I think about it. So, let’s run some numbers.

The four trims of the 2025 Camry are the Camry LE, Camry SE, Camry XLE and Camry XSE.

The Camry LE is the most basic model and probably my pick if I continue the trend of the cheapest model for the vehicle I want. The MSRP is $28,700 and comes pretty basic. No Dual Climate control, no heated seats, no leather upholstery. A very basic package for 2025 models. It is hybrid, which is the case for all 2025 models.

The gas mileage is advertised as 53 city/50 highway which is more than double what my vehicle gets. My gas budget would be cut in half.

Some sample pricing of the Camry LE. Stable around $29,000-$31,000 new. I don’t feel like this would be a good enough price for me to go through with it. After all of the fees and everything this would be over a $20,000 loan with my current trade in value. Not ideal. Even while used it is about $27,000. I was hoping for something below $25,000 but that market is thin. It is not impossible to find but I would have to take a vehicle that is a little bit older, with more mileage. My ideal vehicle would be to get one under 10,000 miles as a hybrid.

I see one for under $24,000 but there is a great deal, good deal, bad deal monitors and it says “too good to be true” so could be a lemon. I have never bought a used car, so it is tough to see what a good deal or bad deal is, but I am going to look.

The 2024 model is sometimes selling for more than $25,000, which is just wild. Price hasn’t dropped too much at all. I need to go and drive this vehicle.

How will I pay? I signed up for a brokerage account for these short-term goals, vacations, vehicles, and even diamond rings. They are all landing in a similar spot. Similar three-year span. This is going to be a tough few years financially, so maybe it is better to hold onto my car for longer. It hasn’t hit ten years old or 100,000 miles yet. Perhaps I am frustrated by the expenses this vehicle has cost me in the recent past. Also, the market has dropped this year, so I am even more frustrated by that. The brokerage I opened has lost thousands of dollars in value.

After this brain dump, I think I am going to hold on my car for a little bit longer. This was good research, but I am enjoying life with no car payments, and I would like to continue that for longer. Even though my car is getting worse and worse by the day and expense after expense has been hitting, I think it’s best that I hold on. Thanks for journeying with me.