Need a new commuter/family car after 12+ years!
Hello!
Would love to get some advice from the wonderful world of Reddit
I have been driving my Honda Accord V6 for the past 12 years, 180K miles, and today I had my first ever run-in with an engine/transmission issue. This car has been with me through college, job loss and promotions and it might finally be time to put her to rest. I'm not able to get into the shop until end of May for a quote, but was thinking of really looking into new cars as reliability to get to work is my #1 priority. Luckily I can WFH and am out of country for next few weeks!
I drive around 300-400 miles a week for work, would be the only one to drive the car (partner does not drive), and would prefer it to be on the 'smaller' side since we live in a city. We have a medium sized dog and would love to expect our first child within the next year or so.
I have ~ $50,000 cash in my car fund, but realistically only want to put $20,000 down and finance the rest 36 months. I want to leave some extra room to stretch our house down payment if we find something nice in the market. Monthly payment amount doesn't matter.
I'm looking for something economical and SUPER reliable.
I've been window shopping RAV4 hybrid, Corolla Cross hybrid, Corolla Hatchback, Honda CR-V hybrid, and the CX-50 hybrid. Does anyone have experience with these models and maybe some insider knowledge on what ownership is like? Any other cars I may not be considering? I haven't looked at cars in 12 years so completely dumbfounded by all the new tech! I did see that Mazda is doing 1.99% APR financing which is nice considering I plan to finance for a little bit before paying off the loan. I'm also open to used since my Honda (god bless her) was a CPO and it has served me incredibly well. Thank you everyone!