Our son is on the opposite coast (California) and in final interviews for a job that will require him to have a car. He’ll need it for commuting as well as for some local job travel during the day. He will be commuting 40-50 miles each way (reverse commute out of SF). He will have a car allowance from the company – probably $400-500/month.
He does not yet have a California drivers license – although his license from our state is current and valid. Of course, he doesn’t have car insurance either.
So – would you advise him to look for a dealer closer to work? Or in San Francisco where he currently lives? He should go get a California license NOW right?
Is CarMax a good option? What about the pick up an existing lease sites? His brother is willing to go to SF and help him – but not for a few weeks.
That’s a pretty decent car allowance. There’s a couple of distinct issues to consider. First is the convenience of the dealer experience, second is the purchase itself. Some brands/dealers offer free loaner cars when you’re in for service (e.g. BMW, Mercedes, Mini), and I would consider that a huge benefit for somebody that has to be in the office every day. If you get a loaner, it doesn’t matter if the dealer is closer to home or work or along the commute path, just as long as it’s not a big detour.
For the purchase part, I would probably lease. He needs to read up on leasing and approach it cautiously as there’s many games dealers can play and more things to negotiate, e.g. purchase price, money factor, security deposit(s), mileage. In this case it’s a little easier since he has an allowance which gives him some flexibility. I would think for $500/month he can get into a pretty nice car, including an entry-level BMW or MB. PM me if he wants to look at BMW, I follow a couple forums I can point him to where members can direct him to a good dealer that won’t try to screw him over, and where there’s tons of threads with leasing tips.
If he has to drive 100 miles each day, leasing is not a good choice because many leases cap mileage at 1,000 miles a month and then will charge extra per mile.
Tons and tons of Priuses in California, both new and used. Lots of air quality requirements for Cars in California. Some other folks drive hybrids of other makes or mini coopers. Small cars are a good plan unless he plans to drive up into the mountains a lot. Then he’ll need chains for potential snow issues. However, repeating above,my younger son had a great experience buying his car, slightly gently used, online. I would highly recommend you/ he explore these options.as you know, Silicon Valley of all places is the place to do things digitally. Online websites for buying is the way to go there.
He should definitely test drive first however, especially if he is tall or short. There’s nothing like seeing a 6 foot 3 tall person driving a Ford Focus. And I’m short and I couldn’t even reach the pedals on an Intrepid 20 years ago (it was comical). So, get a license, and test drive everything that appeals to him…he will figure out what he likes.
Given that he’s on the road 100 miles a day, he might appreciate a good sound system/quiet but aerodynamic car. The top of the line Honda’s are pretty nice–much nicer and more luxurious than my mid range BMW.
Honda’s, Toyota’s, and Hyundai’s are reliable cars. I’ve owned a BMW. While it is a nice car repairs are very expensive.
If he is looking for a commuter car for work he could test drive a few cars at Carmax.
I was able to purchase a used Hyundai Sonata that had just come off a commericial lease with 20,000 miles on it for $14,000 at Carmax. It was very well maintained and no scratches. Looked like brand new. I am pleased with it and after having a BMW I love that is a low maintenance car.
I agree with trying out a Prius. Great commuter car that offers high mileage.
“I would think for $500/month he can get into a pretty nice car, including an entry-level BMW or MB.”
S will find a car like a Honda Civic has the ability to go forward and backward, turns left and right and can get him to where he’s going just like a more expensive BMW or MB. With leasing the devil is in the details and most people will not understand the leasing terminology and will be lured only by the lower monthly out of pocket lease payment and not realize the upfront costs and end of lease costs associated with leasing. Also S’s insurance costs will be more expensive with a BMW or MB. What’s S’s plan when lease is up? Buy it, new lease??? If he gets a new job will he get same car allowance or maybe none? I’m not looking for answers, just thinking out loud.
I would highly Reccomended the Lexus ES hybrid with the budget he has. I agree that getting a loaner is really important when you need your car every day. That being said, we’ve had this car for four years and it’s never needed anything except schedule maintenance.
I assume the $400-500 allowance is a fixed amount that the company gives him regardless of the actual cost of the car? If so, then I’d go for a reliable, affordable new car and save the rest.
Others have mentioned Toyota/Honda/Hyundai… all fine cars, but also check out Subaru.
@cnp55 - I would think it would be easier to test drive cars outside of the city proper. Most of the areas surrounding SF will have “auto mall” strips where he will find multiple dealerships. When my S was looking he liked to search the online inventory of used cars and email them before making the trek to look at a car. Does his housing in the city have parking available?If yes will he have an extra charge each month, something to consider in the car budget if you have to spend $200 + a month to park it. If it does he should make sure whatever car he buys can fit in the garage or parking spot. If he needs to park on the street most SF neighborhoods you need a parking permit for street parking. This might not be an issue for him if he takes the car to work each day.
With that budget he should be able to get just about any car he wants.
Echoeing mom60, make sure he has a parking space. It’s not uncommon to circle around for an hour or more(if you finally find one) to find a parking space in the evening.
That budget is helpful but will not cover all car-related expenses. A loan payment of $200 (for a moderately priced car) and a roughly $200 monthly insurance payment (I think this is on the lower end for a young guy for both collision and comprehensive - it would be insane not to have comprehensive in SF even if the lender did not require it) will take the expense over $400 if you add gas, parking, and maintenance.
Yes to carfax. Also, read reviews about the year and make of vehicle. When we were looking for son, this saved us from making a huge mistake. When you see tons of comments about one particular issue run. Try to gauge good mileage at 15k per year. That 2015 might look great, at a great price, but if it has 50 k miles on it, he might want to reconsider. Also the 3 year mark iscwhen stuff starts needing to be replaced.
We live on the East Coast and our son attends college in Colorado. He had an internship part-time last spring and then full-time over the summer. He needed a vehicle to get back-and-forth. We contemplated buying a car near home and shipping it out to Colorado. We decided against it. We flew out for a long weekend and went to a nearby CarMax with our son. We purchased an SUV there. I think we had the best salesman ever; no pressure, take your time… We checked out the variations of buying and registering the SUV and we decided to put the SUV in our son’s name and register it in Colorado. He lives off-campus in an apartment building and so he’s listed on a lease as living in Colorado. We got Geico auto insurance under his name (20 years old at the time) because it was less expensive than adding the SUV to our family State Farm policy. Subsequently, when his New Jersey license was expiring, he just went and got a Colorado license.
I missed the part in the OP about the 100 mile (roundtrip) commute! Ouch!
With those miles, instead of leasing I’d definitely recommend buying a late-model used Honda/Toyota. I’ve heard good things about the warranty offered through CarMax. I’m sure Honday/Toyota also have a certified pre-owned program with extended warranty as well. Don’t go too small/cheap; if you’re going to spend 2+ hours every day in your car you want comfortable seats and a decent interior.