So you’ve driven your current beater into the ground and you’re completely sure it’s time to upgrade your ride. Now you’re ready to start the painful process of shopping for a new car. The $30,000 question is… which type of car do you buy?
Fear not, as someone whose agonized over his new car purchase for far longer than is humanly healthy, I’ve given more thought and research to this idea than anyone should spend on anything.
When buying a car, you can either get your finances blown to pieces, or you can re-pin the grenade and walk away relatively unscathed. The latter involves being honest with yourself and questioning the common line of thinking, which is what we’ll be doing here.
Choosing The Right Type of Car
I’ll be blunt, the majority of cars sold on the market today are either:
- Completely unnecessary money pits.
- Useless designs that make no sense, and are doomed to becoming completely useless money pits.
- Start off with good intentions, but will quickly turn into money pits.
- Reasonably controlled spending that will serve you well for years to come.
The goal, obviously, is to find a car in the reasonably controlled spending group. While driving is an insanely expensive luxury probably costing you much more than you think, it is possible to take care of this transportation thing, without turning your monthly paycheck into smoldering ashes doused by tears and opportunity cost.
Option A) The Best Selling Vehicle in America
For the past decade, the number one selling vehicle in America has been the Ford F-150 pickup truck. The number two and three vehicles? Chevy Silverado and Dodge Ram pickup trucks.
But if you comprise the other 98% of this country not involved in agriculture, these things are a complete waste of your money.*
*And no, you don’t need that giant truck to haul around a piece of furniture once a year. You can rent one at Home Depot for $19 an hour.
To start, gone are the days of the affordable pickup truck. Today, these Cowboy Cadillacs are luxury only, so that you can travel with maximum pampering even if you don’t mind gettin’ a lil’ mud on yer boots now and then.
The cost of all this, of course, is a basic truck today which prices out around, oh… $39,915-$40,395.
And we haven’t even added options yet. Nor have we gotten to the hidden, impractical costs for owning one of these farm buses.
Don’t believe me? I own a truck. EVERYTHING is more expensive on a truck.
I mean everything:
- Oil change? That will be twice as expensive, thanks to your twice as large engine.
- Tires? Expect to pay an extra $400 per set, because you drive a big truck, because you’re a maan.
- Gas mileage? Well you’re hauling an extra 2,000 of dead weight for farm features you rarely use, so that’s shot…
If you care about your finances at all, a truck is out.
Option B) The Truck for Families, aka an SUV
If we don’t need construction vehicles, surely we need massive off-road machines capable of climbing over boulders while seating 5 adults and all their luggage, at all times?
Unfortunately, no. As it turns out, our society spent billions of dollars creating an elaborate system of paved roads just to combat this very concern.
“It sure is nice to have ground clearance though, in case I need to climb over boulders.”
We’re not climbing over any boulders! Okay? Plus, I live in Minnesota. If I don’t need ground clearance for snow drifts, you don’t either.
And here lies the real trouble with the “ground clearance” concern. Take the Nissan Murano, one of the bestselling SUVs in America last year. Total ground clearance: 6.9 inches.
On average, the typical SUV has 7-8 inches of ground clearance, while nearly all small sedans have 5-6 inches of ground clearance.
One or two inches is very helpful in some situations. Driving a vehicle? Probably not one of them.
Which leaves us with all of the same complaints about these massive SUVs as their truck counterparts: inflated sticker prices, expensive maintenance on their huge engines, heavy frames with terrible gas mileage, and expensive tires.
Next!
Option C) America’s love child – the sedan.
Americans love their sedans, while the rest of the world looks on with raised eyebrows at this peculiar obsession. The sedan does many of its car jobs right – cheap price, good gas mileage, and can actually parallel park within city limits.
If you don’t care about storage, you can end your search here.
There’s just one problem. How am I supposed to fit my bicycle, stroller, extra bedroom set, and mobile home into that tiny trunk?
You can’t, because a sedan’s vehicle design makes no sense.
How car designers ever decided to create a vehicle with plenty of interior room to store whatever your heart desires, then disrupt the entire storage capacity by partitioning off a tiny little lockbox in the back, I will never understand.
Surely there must be a car that is reasonably priced, practical, and can transport more than one spare tire and a few books in the trunk?
Answer Choice D) All of the Above – the Hatchback.
Bingo. Part sedan, part SUV, part van: the hatchback truly is the best of all car worlds.
A hatchback’s open design frees the entire cabin and trunk for storage, giving it all the benefits of cars twice its size.
And because the hatchback is half the size, you’re looking at cheaper costs, better fuel efficiency, and lower continued maintenance.
A hatchback’s flat folding rear seats means your high gas mileage rolling piece of practicality can double as a van when you need it, then transform back into an equally spacious people mover when you don’t.
Worldwide, the hatchback is the default car of choice, yet for some reason our country shies away from these engineering marvels.
When you’re doing something very different from the consensus, you’re either very right or very wrong.
In this country, we’ve got the car choice wrong. The hatchback is unquestionably the most practical answer.
Winning the Car Game Early
The stark truth is that most people would be thousands of dollars richer if they were realistic about the uses for their vehicle, and then set their hearts on less wasteful rides.
Hatchbacks have the edge for practicality, while sedans can often be found at better discounts, thanks to a larger supply.
But for the love of your wallet, please, reconsider using those gas guzzling off-road machines to drive on-road.
Surviving the car buying game starts long before you ever step foot on the lot. The biggest money saving opportunity when buying a car is not the deal you can score, but the type of car you select.
Choose correctly, and you’ll be driving yourself to wealth, without even trying.
[Photo Credit 1: Yanki01 via Flickr under CC] [Photo Credit 2: Greg Goebel via Flickr under CC] [Photo Credit 3: Riley via Flickr under CC]
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We absolutely love our Prius! Since you can fold the seats down, it makes possible to transport large things. We even transported a couch from Ikea in the back.
As a double bonus, you can also use it to sleep in when your doing a road trip. All you have to do is fold the seats down, lay out a sleeping bag, and you’ve got an area to sleep.
Awesome suggestion about the Prius Tent. That would be a pretty cool way to camp!
@MoneyWizard. Decent article. I’m all for leaving withing your means and saving money., HOWEVER, when it comes to cars, you didn’t mention anything about safety of the car. As a parent, I care of crash testing rating and this would be my number one on my list for new/used car. Usually, but not every time, bigger cars tend be more safer than smaller cars. This doesn’t mean F150 is built like a tank, but I would feel safer in F150 which was hit by a honda accord than vice versa. Overall, safety of the car should be additional factor everyone should taken into account when purchasing car.
I’m an advocate for choosing vehicles with high crash test safety ratings. While it’s true that overall weight is an unaccounted factor in the crash test ratings, it’s not entirely true that bigger cars are always safer.
Check out this report from the NHTSA which shows that SUVs and Trucks are actually more fatal than cars. This is likely because rollovers account for about half of traffic fatalities, and trucks and SUVs are far more prone to rolling over.
@Financial Panthers. So you don’t care of safety at all. Fold the seat, and sleep while the car is in motion?
Wow!!
We just bought a used hatchback in a single day last week! It was definitely the right choice for us for all of the reasons you mentioned!
Good call!
Yes! I love, love, love, love my Prius too!!!
I share many of your sentiments. I’ve owned a truck for the better part of a decade with a cover on the back. For the last 4 years the bed has been filled with spare towels, a few car maintenance items, various bungee cords, and a few odds and ends… basically all amounting to a rolling garage closet that I pay for every day at the pump! I still plan to drive it until the wheels come off, but hopefully my next car will be a bit more economical.
I can definitely relate to the rolling garage closet. I’ve legitimately used the bed in my truck a few times, and the rest of the time I’ve paid dearly for the extra storage. It would have definitely been cheaper overall to just rent a U-Haul or Home Depot truck for those few uses.
The truck part of your article was eye opening to me. I didn’t realize trucks were so expensive. My biggest thought after reading that is thank god I’m not a truck guy!
I’m currently in the market for a new car and am currently looking at the Honda Civic.
Most of all…. I hate cars! I hate cars! I hate cars!
Yep, and the crazy thing is that all of those truck expenses are shared by SUVs, which are somehow considered a reasonable choice by most families.
We had a similar choice to make last year. I was fed up with my fun-to-drive but aging VW Jetta breaking down every other month and costing way too much $$. I wanted something reliable and flexible in use. Toyota seemed like the right choice, so I went for a used Toyota Corolla Matrix (hatchback). Good fuel economy and you only see your mechanic to change oil and winter tires (here in Quebec/Canada). We actually tow a small popup trailer with it (up to 1500lbs). Highly recommended!
PS: I am not a fan of hybrids. For me the simpler the car is the better. Any mechanic can fix a Corolla, parts are super cheap, and the car itself is cheap ($5-10k depending on the year).
Really interesting point about the cost of hybrid repairs. Thanks for sharing!
Interesting article – thanks for writing. It is notable that I have seen the authors of several PF blogs seem to converge on the idea that a hatchback is the most practical. Back when I used to own a car, I opted for the sedan. It seemed like the ideal car, but that was probably because I hardly ever drove it (hence, being car-free now, a luxury afforded due to my location and not possible for many/ most) and any car would have seemed ideal. I drove it so little that rats literally built a nest in the air filter one time (they got far more use out of the car than I did). If I ever need a car again, I’ll look into a hatchback (which I never would have thought about before).
To your point about trucks, whenever I visit my hometown, I am always fascinated by the number of large trucks I see driving around. These are often the type that have lift kits and specialized tires (your figure of an extra $400/ set sounds right based on what I have heard). I shouldn’t judge, but the people driving these vehicles don’t seem like they have the kind of money to waste on fuel, tires, the requisite inflammatory bumper stickers, etc.). But, maybe there’s a secret research facility in the hometown that I don’t know about, but pays really well and requires its employees to go out in the disguise of penniless ne’er do wells.
Haha, I love the rat story. That’s epic.
If you find the secret research facility, let me know. 🙂
love our really old really reliable 91 civic hatchback. It has over 500k miles and still averages between 36-45mpg on the original drivetrain! I am a little surprised you don’t have a minivan on the list. The hatchback is our daily driver for fuel economy purposes and cheap parts but our sienna is the long distance commuter. I do have a family to haul around though so that may be the difference.
500,000 miles?? Amazing!
As a kid I grew up idolizing Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Now I’m equally as impressed by the rare 500K legends.
I learned you can make a sedan nearly as efficient as a hatch. We’ve got two Mazda 3’s. Mine is a sedan, while the wife’s is a hatchback. I got $5000 off the car new since it was a closeout for the outgoing body style and, ultimately, paid less than the CPO options of the same car. There were sadly no wagons left, so that would have cost me the deal.
After I bought the car, I discovered cycling. The wagon is getting older and needing more maintenance. Like most Americans, my next thought was “I need an SUV to carry my bike!” and tried to rationalize a $40K SUV choice that would also get 18 mpg (on a good day). Common sense prevailed and I didn’t pursue that route. Instead, I purchased a $200 hitch and a top end Thule T2 bike rack for $400. As a result, I can now easily transport my bikes in a paid off car that receives 36 mpg loaded with 2 bikes at highway speed. I’m even considering a roof basket for camping gear for additional storage.
PS, I commute on the bike whenever possible and leave the car home. It’s been great for losing weight and incredibly frugal!
GREAT point about a bike rack. It’s amazing how $500 for an attachment can seem like “too much money” yet we won’t think twice about spending another $10,000 plus maintenance on an SUV.
Sounds like you’re killing it with your car/bike choice. Very impressive!
Thanks for sharing this info.
My husband and I want to buy a new car. The one we have is fine, but we don’t think it’s a family car. It’s comforting to have advice that we can turn to that will prevent a paycheck from turning into smoldering ashes.