Lowest total cost-of-ownership (5 year timeframe) used car for $6k or less

[glenn1]

Looking to pick up a 3rd car; looking for something that would be suitable to last at least 5 years or so at ~10k miles/year or less. Looking to budget $5-6k tops for purchase price since this is a 3rd car. We already have a commuter car (Honda Fit) and family minivan (Odyssey) that will cover 95% or more of our typical needs. Thus I'm completely agnostic as to make, car body style, manual/automatic, and every other feature except total cost of ownership over that ~5 year span (initial cost, fuel, maintenance, et cetera less whatever residual value it might have left if I decide to sell rather than drive it until it gets scrapped).

What says Anandtech?

 

[HarryLui]

How often do you plan to drive this third car?

 

[herm0016]

The lowest mile, best maintained domestic or Japanese car you can find for 6 k will have the lowest cost of ownership.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

The lowest mile, best maintained domestic or Japanese car you can find for 6 k will have the lowest cost of ownership.

This. There's a 2008-2010 Altima/Civic/Fusion/Focus/Cobalt/Prius/Thundercougarfalconbird out there with your name on it.

@glenn1 - if you've got every imaginable use case covered already, what's the third car for? You got a teenager driving now?

::queue ominous music::

 

[Brovane]

Used Nissan Leaf, you should be able to pick up a 2012 or 2013 for around $6k.

Your fuel costs will be about 3-4 cents per mile and almost no maintenance except tires and brakes.

 

[angminas]

Pontiac Vibe. It's a rebadged Toyota Matrix for less money.

 

[kitatech]

My 05 Camry (@ 97k miles with a new dealer-installed clutch) cost $6500 in '12....
4.6 years/48k mile costs since incl all maintenance (oil changes, and parts/repairs: starter, alternator, mount, front stabilizers, battery, brake pads, hoses, tint and new paint on roof and hood), excl tires and gas has come to about .05/mile. Depreciation another .05/mi. This month, the next 40k miles start out with another $400 expense in replacement of all fluids
Hard to beat that.

 

[Kaido]

Looking to pick up a 3rd car; looking for something that would be suitable to last at least 5 years or so at ~10k miles/year or less. Looking to budget $5-6k tops for purchase price since this is a 3rd car. We already have a commuter car (Honda Fit) and family minivan (Odyssey) that will cover 95% or more of our typical needs. Thus I'm completely agnostic as to make, car body style, manual/automatic, and every other feature except total cost of ownership over that ~5 year span (initial cost, fuel, maintenance, et cetera less whatever residual value it might have left if I decide to sell rather than drive it until it gets scrapped).

What says Anandtech?

Hmm. My local Nissan dealership has a special from time to time on the Nissan Leaf. 3-year, 36k-mile lease. Zero down, $199 a month. I'm not sure if other dealerships offer this or not, but that might be worth looking into if you don't need more than ~100 miles of range. Works out to like $50 a week...no oil changes, no sparkplugs, no timing belts, no gas. Pretty much just rotate the tires & fill up the wiper fluid. It would run a little bit more (36 months * $199 = $7.2k), but you wouldn't have to pay it all up front, so that's something to consider.

 

[Yuriman]

Depending on the number of miles you drive, it may be a used 2nd or even 3rd gen Prius. These cars hold their value really well, get great economy, and are very reliable. If you drive fewer miles, fuel economy is less of a factor so you could look at other cars that hold their value and have good reliability, maybe something like an Accord or Camry? However, I'm thinking fuel prices are going to rise a fair bit in the next 6 years so betting on a a Prius is probably not a bad idea.

 

[jlee]

Depending on the number of miles you drive, it may be a used 2nd or even 3rd gen Prius. These cars hold their value really well, get great economy, and are very reliable. If you drive fewer miles, fuel economy is less of a factor so you could look at other cars that hold their value and have good reliability, maybe something like an Accord or Camry? However, I'm thinking fuel prices are going to rise a fair bit in the next 6 years so betting on a a Prius is probably not a bad idea.

A Prius was my first thought as well.

 

[thedarkwolf]

You want real lower cost of ownership go even cheaper. Buy the newest lowest mile ford crown vic for $2500-3000 you can and drive it into the ground. They are totally worthless but have pretty much already bottomed out on worth and are tanks. Pontiac Vibe has already been mentioned and is another good choice. I actually bought one of those for $2200 with 200k on it and drove it for a year and a half and sold it for $2400. If you really want to go crazy look at a pointiac aztec . Again totally worthless and bottomed out and I think fairly reliable.

 

[pauldun170]

My 05 Camry (@ 97k miles with a new dealer-installed clutch) cost $6500 in '12....
4.6 years/48k mile costs since incl all maintenance (oil changes, and parts/repairs: starter, alternator, mount, front stabilizers, battery, brake pads, hoses, tint and new paint on roof and hood), excl tires and gas has come to about .05/mile. Depreciation another .05/mi. This month, the next 40k miles start out with another $400 expense in replacement of all fluids
Hard to beat that.

Sorry you have had so many issues with your 2005.
My 2002 purchased in 2008 hasn't needed any repairs. Fluids, tires, the occasional bulb, brake pads, one pair of rotors at 85K (I think) and one cleaning of the throttle body after I replaced the battery.
Everything is pretty much as it was from the factory. I can't remember the last time its been to the mechanic outside of yearly inspection and maybe the brakes awhile back. MPG 25-30+
Hood paint is pretty embarrassing at this point. I have one rattle in the dash that I sounds like a loose wire. Rubber trim by the emergency brake has seen better days.
Despite that it makes our 2006 Mazda seem like rattle filled shitbox.
I've already told my 12 year old that he's getting it when he gets his license.

 

[kitatech]

I'm always amazed at people who think that having to replace any part on a car is a sign of its impending doom, or of poor manufacturing quality....perhaps it's the people who never look under the hood, the people who think they shouldn't have to...isn't that why all the cars have warning lights?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Maybe another fit? I bought a 2010 Honda fit with 45k miles on it for $7500. It's my dd. My wife and I put all the miles on the fit when we can instead of her car. She has a 16 civic I'd like to keep the miles down on.

 

[JCH13]

Camry or Corolla.

 

[angminas]

You want real lower cost of ownership go even cheaper. Buy the newest lowest mile ford crown vic for $2500-3000 you can and drive it into the ground. They are totally worthless but have pretty much already bottomed out on worth and are tanks. Pontiac Vibe has already been mentioned and is another good choice. I actually bought one of those for $2200 with 200k on it and drove it for a year and a half and sold it for $2400. If you really want to go crazy look at a pointiac aztec . Again totally worthless and bottomed out and I think fairly reliable.

Good stuff. Buying a car that doesn't depreciate is not the way to save money on a beater. You buy a car that already has depreciated so you spend half as much for the same amount of car.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Good stuff. Buying a car that doesn't depreciate is not the way to save money on a beater. You buy a car that already has depreciated so you spend half as much for the same amount of car.

https://www.amazon.com/Car-Talk-Tom-Magliozzi/dp/0440503647/

In this book, I seem to recall reading something to the effect of this (paraphrasing badly.):

Cars last ten years. You can buy a brand new car and keep it ten years, which averages out to a couple thousand dollars a year, or you can buy a 9-year old heap every year for $500, and spend $500 a year on having a car.

While I would contend that 10 years is pretty pessimistic these days, I think the basic logic holds.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Or you can do what I did and buy an $800 car, keep it for 12 years and spend around $3k keeping it on the road lol. I miss my old 89 dodge caravan.

 

[Yuriman]

https://www.amazon.com/Car-Talk-Tom-Magliozzi/dp/0440503647/

In this book, I seem to recall reading something to the effect of this (paraphrasing badly.):



While I would contend that 10 years is pretty pessimistic these days, I think the basic logic holds.

The devil is in the details. In my case, I bought a 17 year old $3000 car and, 3 years later, I've put nothing into it other than oil and 65,000 miles, and it still has approximately the same value. It doesn't have an infotainment system (which will be horribly outdated in a few years) but it's hardly a heap.

Calling a $25,000+ new car which you drive for 10 years and 150,000 miles and sell for that same $3,000 is hardly financially equivalent.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

It's not even close. New and used. I'm assuming 99 percent of people have to finance those cars that are 25k. So add interest. Depreciation is astronomical in a new car vs used. Insurance is more expensive on the new car. Maintenance is more on a used car but in the event you do need maintenance parts are cheaper and more readily available.

To each their own. I'm going to continue buying used. The depreciation I've been eating on new cars is nearly enough to buy a used car. That's just the depreciation alone.