I’m 17 years old and currently a senior in high school. I recently got a part time job and want a nice luxury car, but don’t want to pay an absurd amount. The Genesis sedan is my dream car and I know if I buy a used one I can fit it in my budget. I’m currently looking at a used 2015 Hyundai Genesis with 111,219 miles for only $16,000. I know this is a lot of miles, but I have read online the Genesis sedan is a very reliable car and I just want to know if anyone has any personal experience with the Genesis itself or Hyundai and if they are reliable. If so, how many miles do you think I could get out of it ?
unless you have tons of money to back your desire for “luxury used car”, you better look into something less exotic
in general, anything having “luxury” in name costs substantially more to maintain
having more than 100K miles on odometer, it will definitely need maintenance
Hyundai made a substantial progress to become more reliable over last years, but it still trails top Japanese makes in reliability
anything you want to buy has to be inspected by a trusted mechanic or at least friend/relative who knows about cars
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Don’t be offended by this, but I think you’re making a mistake looking into luxury cars. Luxury cars cost more to maintain, typically cost more to insure (plus, you’re a teenage driver!). What is your monthly budget looking like? I can’t imagine you’re making a ton of money on a part time job as a high school senior.
The mileage is another example of how the price of EVERYTHING for a luxury car is jacked up:
(prices per KBB.com for my zip code, all cars were selected with the 111,219 miles you noted)
2015 Hyundai Genesis- Fair Market Range $14,732 - $17,449
2015 Ford Focus SE- $6,919 - $9,318
2015 Toyota Camry SE- $10,639 - $12,754
2015 Honda Accord EX- $11,169 - $13,314
2015 Chevy Impala LT- $9,776 - $13,901
2015 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL- $10,293 - $12,424
That is a TON of miles in a fairly short period of time
If you’re looking to get something reliable, you could either get a reliable Honda or Toyota for less mileage at that price range (or fewer miles for a year or 2 older too). Frankly, teenage drivers are statistically among the highest likely to get in a crash. I wouldn’t dream of putting one of my boys into a luxury car when they are old enough to start driving.
Have you and parents come up with a budget to pay for this with repairs, insurance, and car payments? I think you’ll find a luxury vehicle is not the best choice for you.
As far as used cars go, regardless of which direction you choose to go make sure you pay for your mechanic to give the prospective vehicle a complete inspection (probably $100-150). They will be able to spot anything that wrong now or could potentially go wrong in the relatively near future.
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Sorry, you don’t have a budget. What you have is a partime job that has zero chance of guaranteed hours or even being there next week. And you should be talking to your parents because you can’t finance on your own or even buy insurance.
If you really want a shock just have your parents tell you what it will cost to add you to their insurance.
As for reliable vehicles, most anything made anymore will be reliable with proper maintenance.
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Edmunds.com estimates that the 6-cyl Genesis will need $7200 in maintenance over the next 5 years; the V8 will cost $7600. An Elantra would cost $4500 in maintenance over the next 5 years. Can you afford the extra $3000 for maintenance?
Agree! On a part time job “:budget” a used Hyundai Accent is a good choice. Easy on gas, reliable, and cheap to ensure as well. Uses regular gas too.
This car is overweight compare to similar sized japaneese competition. Thats almost the weight of the Dodge Challenger at 4600 lbs, This car will cost a fortune in gas
4541 lbs for the V8
4138 lbs fro the V6
I had a summer job when I was in high school and was making 60¢ an hour (this was in 1957). I had enough saved up to buy my “dream” car–a 1940 LaSalle. The dealer was selling the car for $75. The LaSalle was the GM product that was in the niche between the Buick and the Cadillac. I took the LaSalle for a test drive and my Dad made me take it right back to the dealer. My Dad told me that I didn’t need a car and to save my money for college. I took his advice as I didn’t have s choice. I did learn that the best investment one can make is in one’s self.
I didn’t buy a car until I graduated from college. I managed, by going to school in the summer to graduate in three years. Instead of getting a job right out of college, I went on to graduate school. The $75 I would have spent on the LaSalle was spent on a 1947 Pontiac to transport me and my possessions 350 miles to graduate school.
$16,000 is a lot of money. That money will go quite a way for college expenses or vocational training. If you buy the Genesis now, you will be working to support your car. Get your education or training so that when you get a full time job, you can buy a car to support your needs.
Let me add one more comment. I went online and found three 1940 LaSalles ranging in price from just under $16000 to just over $26000. My investment in education has had a far greater return.
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+1
When I got my first full-time (NOT part-time!!) job, I planned on buying a brand-new car. My father–who was not highly educated, but who was a very smart man–told me, “Son, if you spend all of that money now, you will not be likely to be able to get ahead in life, financially”. So, on his advice, I drove my father’s car to my job for my first two years of full-time work, while I built-up my savings. Luckily, he was able to walk to work, thus enabling me to use his car for commuting.
The result of my father’s sage counsel is that I was able to buy that brand-new car–for cash–two years later, without significantly depleting my financial resources. Now, over 4 decades later, I could walk into a Mercedes showroom and pay cash for at least 3 S-Class sedans without impoverishing myself. No, I wouldn’t do it… but I could if I wanted to…
The ability to defer gratification is one of the surest signs of maturity, and if the OP can somehow manage to defer his desire for luxury car gratification at this point in his young life, it will pay HUGE dividends in a few years.
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@VDCdriver Your father and my dad were very wise men. Deferring gradification helps to shape one’s values. Like you, I could buy almost any car for cash. However, I choose to drive a Toyota Sienna minivan. The Sienna supports my interests. It allows me to transport my fellow musicians and their instruments to gigs. It hauls my tools and building supplies to the small church I attend and support. My Sienna works for me–I don’t work to make payments to support it.
Through the years, I have driven used cars that provided transportation for a reasonable cost–notably a Rambler, a Corvair, a Ford Maverick. My old buddy, Ralph Nader helped me buy the Corvair. His book, “Unsafe At Any Speed” knocked the resale value out from under the Corvair and I could buy a newer used Corvair than most other makes. We drove these cars so that the money could be spent on my wife’s education and my education.
Yup!
When my father was no longer able to manage his own affairs, my brother and I were… astounded… to see his financial records, and find that–in addition to a fully paid-up mortgage and no debts–he and my mother had managed to build-up accounts with worth in the mid-6 figures.
When you consider that my parents had a combined income that maxed-out at ~$25k per year, they could only have accumulated accounts in the mid-6 figure category with very good financial planning. And, all of that planning came from my father, who had to drop out of high school prior to graduation, as a result of The Great Depression.
It’s all about deferring gratification, IMHO.
And major investments in stocks.
None of my father’s holdings were in stocks, but you can be sure that mine are!
2015 was the first year of a redesigned Genesis. According the April 2018 Consumer Reports, it has a worse than average reliability record. Most aspects score much better than average, but noise/leaks, power equipment, and in-car electronics score much below average, enough so to bring the overall score to worse than average.
Of course, these are stats based on surveys of numerous owners, and you will be looking at one specific car, with its own history and possibilities.
I didn’t buy a car until I was 45 - and I lived in LA. When I moved to a cabin north of Mono Lake I sprang for a pickup truck.
Consumer Reports New Car Guide, just recently published, rates Genesis as its top rated car line. The rating is based on reliability, convenience, and performance. I expect the top rating comes more from the latter two, and not as much from reliability. If you can find a copy of that report, you can look up the reliability of the Genesis by model year. As I recall it starts to post questionable reliability ratings as it approaches the 10 year old mark. I think overall it would be a good bet provided you aren’t looking to hold on to it for a long time. Start to think about parting ways at the 7-8 year/ 150-175K mark or so.
The one the OP is looking at right now is at 111,219 on a 2015…he’s over half way to that 150-175k mark in a really short period of time. This whole situation is bad on a ton of different levels…
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A used car is only as reliable as the previous owner made it.
Honda and Toyota are overpriced in the used market- it almost makes more sense to buy brand new instead of a couple years old.
A Hyundai Genesis is a fairly “frugal” dream luxury car, just remember what it cost brand new as that will be what you have to budget your maintenance and repair budget for.
Too much car.
Too high a price.
Too many miles.
Senior in high school.
Part time job.
Tacked onto all of those failings is also the fact that someone is probably going to have to co-sign a note on that thing. Someone would have to be insane to do this.
You also need to get rid of thoughts about certain used cars being reliable based on reports, internet hearsay, and so on.
With a used car, no one on the planet can state one way or the other that any particular used car is going to be reliable. Simply not possible.
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kid could have folks buy car and he will pay them back
will folks do this?
what do folks say about kid getting loan?
how much is full coverage insurance for 17yr old?
is kid homeless?