I would recommend a Hyundai or a certified used Honda or Toyota to get the
best warrantee coverage and value for your dollar. I do not expect a lot of
work will have to be done on even a 5 year old Accord or Civic. Most new
cars are not worth the cost. They lose something like 1/3 of their value as
soon as you drive them off the lot. They are now used. Keep in mind all
machines will fail given time. Hondas and Toyotas are very reliable,
however. A young Honda or Toyota is typically no different from a new one
except for how strong the new car scent is. Older cars tend to have lower
insurance costs because of their lower value. Part prices go down as the
car gets older until the parts get rare.
I bought my 1988 Accord in 1995 for $5190 out the door including DMV fees
and tax. It had 101,822mi. on it. Now it has 227,6?? mi. The purchase
price has worked out to about 4 cents per mile. It runs great except for
some vibration at idle when in gear. Over the years I have done work on it
to keep it in good shape, which has cost me about 5 cents per mile. This is
about the same as the cost to fuel it. Over the past 9 years I have gotten
stuck 3 times - 2 times because of faulty AutoZone parts, one time because I
didn't change the timing belt. It survived the belt letting go. In short,
this car is costing 15 cents per mile including fuel and purchase price and
excluding fees and insurance. Most college students are probably looking
for cheapest per mile. Fees and tax are a negligible percentage of the
operating cost of most automobiles. The biggest additional cost is
insurance.
Insurance is a big variable. Insuring a 19 year old on any car will
probably cost at least $1000/year (or there abouts), $2000/year for a sporty
car, and $4000/year with any moving violations. There are a lot of factors
to the insurance cost that vary from state to state. These may include your
credit rating, the value of the car, the safety rating of the car, the age
of the drivers, the number of drivers in the household (weather or not they
drive the car), the number of household members (weather or not they are
licensed), the age of household members, the driving records of other
insured drivers on the policy, your neighborhood, miles driven to/from
work/school, yearly mileage, anti-theft devices, driver training, and other
public records obtained in secret.
In my opinion, the best priced cars on the road are Hondas and Toyotas.
From my experience they will save you money over an American made vehicle,
even if the American made vehicle is thousands of dollars less to purchase.
I am wary of American made Japanese cars, but they are still good. In my
opinion it is better to buy a car from an individual than a dealer. Dealers
have great resources to cover up defects and are looking to maximize profit.
An individual is just trying to sell it for more than the
pennies-on -the-dollar that the dealer offered them for the car as a
trade-in. Good luck with your search.
Aron
<me6 DeleteThis @privacy.net> wrote in message
news:ig9h709k6u2njsp2m0c4vvplth9q763gkc@4ax.com...
> My 19 yr old nephew will be off to first year of college next fall.
>
> He desperately needs reliable and economical transportation as he will
> be in college abt 4 hrs away.
>
> What vehicle.... model and brand....would be a good bet for him to
> buy? We are thinking brand new vs used....so that he will have a
> warranty and can fully concentrate on his studies at school (he wants
> to become dentist) ... and not have to worry abt a used car and
> breakdowns. But we are on a budget.
>
> he has worked hard and has a good savings.... plus his family (uncles,
> parents) will help him with cost a new car as well.
>
> We need something that will help keep his insurance costs low as he is
> in that high risk "bracket" at his age level.
>
> Advice?
>
> Thanks in advance! >> Stay informed about: Help buy car for 19 yr old college student? 
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