Looking to buy a 2024 New Honda Accord Hybrid I think its very expensive any advice we are on a fixed income
Lower ur standards. Buy something cheaper. This is a “want” vs a “need”.
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+1
A fixed income could mean $1000 a month or $5000+ a month, so it all depends on your available budget for the vehicle, how much down payment you have, and or trade in…
Most people on fixed incomes aren’t working, so they don’t drive very many miles a year, so the gas $ savings by driving and paying for a Hybrid vs driving and paying for a non Hybrid will not be worth it for many many years, meaning the monthly savings on gas will not outweigh the monthly cost of a Hybrid…
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Yep, change car from want to need. Depending on your driving, conventional gas may be better, or if short drives, pure electric may be better. Really hard to say, car prices, across the board, are going up, way up.
Buy a base Civic Hatchback instead. Nearly the same room. Less expensive. More cargo volume than Accord. Equally safe. $30K today, before tariffs. Honda Civic Hybrid 2025 Review, Prices and Specs
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Then this is not the vehicle for you .
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I would say no
The same year Toyota Camry hybrid gets much better fuel economy
And you refer to a 2024 car as “new”
Please explain
Unsold car, sitting on the dealer lot?
Or just new to you?
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Everything Toyota builds is available as a hybrid. Consider a Prius too.
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Sure. I have advice. But it’s probably not what you want to hear. My advice is to limit your car budget to no more than you can pay for outright, meaning with money on hand. If you only can put $3k down, then you are better off to look on Craigslist or other online marketplaces, and buy an older used car. Taking on debt now, especially with all the economic uncertainty is a bad idea. Hope that helps.
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That’s been my approach for all of my cars
I bought them all outright
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The Accord Hybrid starts at around $34k and tops out at about $40k. For a new car in 2025, that’s actually below average in terms of cost. It’s a reasonably good car, though Honda reliability is fairly middling these days. The Camry Hybrid gets better fuel economy, and can be had a bit cheaper ($29k-$35k). The Accord will likely be more engaging to drive though.
With that said, we don’t know what your finances are, there are some people who are on a “fixed income” but also have a couple million in their retirement accounts and own their own home(s) outright. And there are some people who are retired and depends on social security, and are in their 80’s and still paying rent. Obviously buying a new $35k car wouldn’t be a big deal for someone in first scenario, but would be a big liability for someone who aligns with the 2nd example. But if you think it’s a very expensive car, and it’s not something you absolutely need, then I would probably not pursue it any further if you’re not comfortable with it.
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What with depreciation, insurance, sales and property taxes, early failures, recalls, new cars are never a good buy. Check places like Carmax for the model you want with low mileage and save one third of the dealer price.
Carmax does not save you one third, last time I checked
And their cars aren’t always as pristine as they’d have you believe, even/especially the newer ones
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While they do seem to have a lot of satisfied customers, there are definitely exceptions, as shown by this “one star” review on Yelp:
If I could give zero stars, I would. I purchased a 2017 Infiniti Q50 Premium from CarMax Naperville in 2020, and it has been one of the worst car-buying experiences of my life.
I was told the vehicle was a well-maintained lease return, had a clean CarFax, and was CarMax Certified. All lies. After pulling the real CarFax myself, I discovered:
- The car was in a moderate accident (front, side, and rear)
- It had been purchased at auction
- It had no oil change for over 2 years and nearly 13,000 miles before I bought it
- It was labeled as a Carmax Certified even though it was in an accident, had dry rotted tires and didn’t have an oil change in over two years.
CarMax did no maintenance, sold it at a premium, and misrepresented its condition. Fast forward to now–my engine and turbos have completely failed, and their MaxCare warranty (which they also own) denied the claim, blaming me for pre-existing issues I didn’t even know about. They claim there was no oil in the engine but I just got an oil change and my son drove the car to carmax and NO OIL LIGHT WAS on. They didn’t even investigate why the oil light didn’t go on. I don’t even believe them about the engine being blown up. Also maxicare and Carmax is owned by the same people.
I’ve filed with the FTC, Illinois Attorney General, and will be filing a lawsuit as well as getting this on the news. People please be careful when buying from crooked Carmax.
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Both of the 2022 cars I looked at had undisclosed damage
And the price was just too darn close to a brand new model, to the point it would have been a financial mistake to buy those particular used cars
So I bought new
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Here is another “one star” review of Carmax, courtesy of Yelp:
If I could give negative numbers as a rating, I would. Turns out the car I bought was a LEMON!!! The transmission was blown when we drove it off the lot. Obviously, no 180-point inspection was done. Do not ever buy from these car services like CARMAX, ESPECIALLY THE ONE IN EDISON!!!
THE GENERAL MANAGER WOULD NOT EVEN RECTIFY THE TRANSACTION. He literally just said, “There’s nothing I can do.”
So, I have a car loan that’s going going to be cancelled, and now I can’t get a car with it. I have no way to get to work now. I have to scramble for another car and hope I can get it all done with no issues, AGAIN.
This place will sell u a lemon if they can make a buck. Please do not waste your time with this location. Maybe another branch is better, but overall, I will never ever ever use a service like this again.
And you are wrong . Buying new and keeping it for a long time is much better than buying what may be a problem used vehicle .
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Our neighbor bought a 2022 CR-V at CarMax. They got temporary plates at CarMax but the state wouldn’t issue permanent plates. After some runaround, it turned out the car had been stolen it CT and eventually found its way to MD. Our friends were without a car for about three months. Once it was discovered, CarMax swapped it for a 2023 RAV4 at a higher trim level and lower mileage. IMO that was the right thing to do. Even righter would have been to establish prior ownership before putting it on their lot. CarFax must have bought it on a Monday morning.
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There’s value in buying brand new and keeping forever. You get a known history of the vehicle, and new car warranty. And new car smell. Of course, you pay a premium price for that.
There’s also value in buying used. You save some money, and may be able to get a newer/better vehicle for the same price. But there’s also the uncertainty of the past history, as well as potential dings, dents, and scuffs.
It all depends on the buyer. There’s not a right answer either way. Personally the last brand new vehicle I bought was over 20 years ago. It had some problems shortly after I got it. I’ve bought used ever since and haven’t had significant issues.
But your mileage may vary. Literally.
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And what if you end up with a problem new vehicle? Buy used with a couple of years left on the manufacturer’s warranty.