My nephew is shopping for his first car. Going to drive it for a couple years before going off to college. He is trying to stay under $250 per month and not having much luck finding a lot of options.
We’ve given up on the 24 mo lease, so were shopping 36 month leases.
So far we looked at the 2018 Mazda 3 HB touring, which adds the safety features, and the 2019 Jetta, he likes the R line.
Any suggestions on what smaller cars, with safety features should be on the radar?
Were in South Florida.
Who is leasing for him? Parents or you? What are the plans for the car for the last year when he goes to college? Has he taken into consideration the insurance costs on a brand new car with full coverage for a 16 year old? He may be in for some sticker shock.
Definitely look into insurance, especially on the R line or anything with a “sport” type trim level. I have a teenage son and insurance is nuts. My son has the last gen Jetta and it’s a solid car. My daughter has a $28k, Subaru Impreza sport hatchback that looks great (nice wheels) and has a sunroof, carplay, big screen, eyesight safety system and AWD. Payment on that is $270. Maybe a little less equipment and you can come in below $250.
The car will be in his fathers name. Insurance is $280 mo, Dad is covering that. Josh, the 16 yr old will be covering the monthly car payment and gas
$280/month for insurance!? Whoa!!
yea, but typical in South Florida. Problem is 25% of drivers on the road are uninsured. I suggested he tells the insurance company that he identifies as a 45 yr old married woman and not a 16 yr old boy.
This might be a false economy if they continue to make car and insurance payments between 25 to 36 months for a car that’s not necessary.
Or the kid takes the car for freshman year and then wants another lease for the next 3.
Stick to a 24m lease or buy a 2017+ Toyota with standard TSS safety features or Honda with sensing that will be reliable and still worth something after 6 years with a now 16yr old.
that’s normal in NYC
Wow.
I thought taxachussetts was bad. I can’t believe it.
Check Swapalease… can get a deal on a car with limited mileage for cheap and a shorter lease that aligns with when he goes to college.
Probably don’t want to hear it, but you are better off buying a used $10K Honda as the insurance will be significantly less including carrying limited coverage on the car and you don’t have to worry about dents and scraps bound to happen with a new driver. You can probably sell it after 2-3 years and get 50% of your money back.
Even if you were able to get a lease around $250, you are talking about over $500/month all in.
I don’t know about an R Line Jetta, but he should be able to find a base trim Jetta for under that. Some of the South FL VW dealerships are advertising the Jetta for $129/month with like 3 grand at signing, effectively around $220/month with everything rolled in, and that is not even negotiating any kind of discount. Maybe look into a Civic or base model Accord. Not sure what area of South FL dealerships you are contacting, but from personal experience and friends/family stories North Miami/Broward/Palm Beach area dealerships willing to give better discounts then down south.
As someone relatively closer to his age group (just graduated college last year), I’m not in shock at his insurance payment haha. Firstly, the key features I would say are Back-up camera, Blindspot assist, and some sort of minimal collision warning( if possible mitigation). As for car, I started driving at 17 and was fortunate to have been given my dad’s off-lease bought out car, so I didn’t really research the market much at the time. Now, however, I (along with my dad) just recently gifted my sister a Infiniti QX30 hatch. She had originally been looking at an Elantra GT or Golf GTI base. I would strongly recommend checking out the Elantra GT.
Good idea, although the kid’s 250/mo budget isn’t going to work with any of those without a hefty upfront.
get him a metrocard and tell him to hop on the bus
Cars are reserved for daughters only
$250 a month for those cars? that’s hefty. I paid $200 a month for 2 years in high school for a supra, sold that and switched to a altima in my first few years in college which made my monthly like $125 a month. Might be better off going for a 1-3 year old japaneese sedan, the value of the new car is going to jack up his rates and ultimately make you spend $600-$700 a month with no tax writeoffs on a lease like this. Alternatively you could put yourself or whoever the parents are as primary on the new car and put the kid as a primary on a car with lesser value, that would be one way to do it if the kid absolutely wants a new car, but making a $250 car payment and then another $250 insurance payment on top of gas seems a bit much tbh.
My 17 year old sister who got her license last week has insurance of $2800 per year for a 2011 Camry LE. At least she has collision and comprehensive. Mine isn’t awful at $1800 for the year for my Trax and having it at college.
OP: look at Buick Encore and Chevy Trax. Insurance is rather low on them because many are driven by old people. The average demographic for a Trax in Central NJ is a 75 year old woman with white hair and a Keep Christ in Christmas magnet on the back.
Thats not too bad at all lol. I had a 6 month premium of ~$2400 @17 lol.
Get the 16 year old a 10 year old car that nobody will be upset with when he hits a pole/wall/ditch. Pay cash for it. Then get liability insurance only.
Well check out the Honda Civic. Dad will cover the insurance and my nephew will be paying the $250 lease each month. Looking for a new car with modern safety features. Braking assistance etc. Part of the insurance costs is the 250/500/250 coverage.
A Mazda dealer called back, dropping the lease from $1000das and $340 mo to $800 DAS and $280 month. This is a Mazda 3 Touring HB. He is going to look at the Honda Civic Sport on Sunday.
In MA you can get a Ram pickup for 199 w only first due right now 