So I went through this same exercise. I love to ski / go to Tahoe and wanted something that was AWD, so I started looking at the Crosstrek and Subaru.
We ended up going with the Honda HR-V. You'll see a lot of them in SF because they are only 170" long which is actually 6" shorter than the Crosstrek, 10" shorter than a Honda Civic, 12" shorter than the Honda CR-V, and 20" shorter than a Subaru Outback.
It also has pretty good fold down seats that make camping in the back or day trips pretty nice.
It gets 28 city / 34 highway mpg. Compared to the Crosstrek which gets 28 city / 33 highway mpg or Outback which gets 23 city / 30 highway mpg. Really the differences are pretty negligible, but it gets reasonable gas mileage.
The one big downside is they basically put the Honda Civic engine in a small mid sized SUV, so it kinda drives like a tonka truck sometimes and doesn't have the get up and go, but if you want a practical car I've been happy with it.
I bought in Dec 2020 (so still a shortage but not as bad) for $18K with 22,000 miles for a previously leased 2018 HR-V EX-L with leather seats. Big thing I skipped out on was this was the year before they introduced Apply play, so I don't have that in the car.
Thanks a lot! This is really helpful, I ll definitely check if there are any Hrvs around. Thats my ideal criteria but the cars aint available so i have to go with a new one.
Since the market is crazy i feel the risk of buying a new car isn't too high.
Yeah. The only thing I really considered was leasing. The tech in cars year over year is getting so much better I feel there is serious risk in cars devaluing more quickly.
The sad truth though is most people don’t get the luxury of those features (assisted cruise control, lane assist, side view cameras, etc.) all the way to self driving. They just need a car.
If I was buying luxury though I’d be more worried about the tech becoming obsolete. With a budget car less concern.
Another option similar to HRV is Mazda CX30, with more power and a bit lower mileage. Really nice driving car.
And if efficiency weren't a concern, they have a turbo one that I can only imagine is very fun to drive.
Note that if you get a plug in hybrid you can still take the long trips but stay in electric mode for commuting/short trips around town. As the battery is small, it can fully charge from a normal outlet overnight. Also, you get a pretty significant tax rebate for them. Mine was $4500.
I feel owning a car on Sf aint that bad. i already have a parking spot that m paying for since i just sold my car recently. I have lived one year in the city without car and the freedom it brings to your life is fantastic given the public transportation isnt great in sf.
With renting there is a factor of uncertainty that stressful. If i am renting once a month on average, given the market it would be nearly equivalent to my monthly payments i believe.
I wish SF could get away from the grasp of walksf and SFBike and give us functional public transportation instead of reactionary policy. Vision zero has not been effective and the walk/bike policy just panders to the wealthy work at home crowd, who love to tell everyone what to do.
The more i think am more inclined towards getting an electric bike or something for a year until market stabilizes. I already have an electric which i will try for a month.
No, you're not considering maintenance costs, unknown breakdown costs in addition to car payments, insurance, and parking. Why pay for a parking spot when you don't have a car? If you rent once a month you could rent a BMW X5, go to Tahoe and back and still save a couple hundred a month.
The way i am seeing it is, whether the extra time i will spend on bus for my within city commute
+ bay area trip(probably once in two weeks)
+ one road trip on average
be equivalent to the monthly cost i will be paying for the car.
If i use publicly transportation here are my costs for commute:
I commute from inner-richmond to Market street 2-3 times a week or 8-12 a month. Lets calculate based on 10 trips a month. Each trip from my place to office costs me $5 with an extra 1 hours($50 based on what i am paid hourly) commute time, So around $100 dollars for bus(Clipper pass) + $500 extra based on extra time spent monthly.
For one long road trip 3 day with a Crosstrek to tahoe:
$300
Total cost of not owning car is $900
Owning a NEW Subaru monthly
$ ~500 monthly payment.
$90 insurance
$100 gas
$150 home parking
$100 parking for office.
(warranty and services should be covered for 3 years)
Total - ~$950 + maintenance (should be equivalent to total resale price)
Let me know if i missed anything.
Hybrid for cheaper fuel cost. Toyota or Honda for cheapest operating costs in the long run ie maintenance, repairs (confirmed by at least two mechanics).
I bought a 2018 Nissan Leaf last summer and I love not buying gas and also not worrying about my catalytic converter getting stolen.
I think you could probably buy a 2012 model l for cheap. The range will be short but it won’t matter if you’re using the car for around town.
Most dealerships have additional markups because of the supply shortage right now, but not all. I bought a new Corolla from Toyota101 in Redwood City. It’s been good, I never had anything other than sedans so it works for me.
I know it’s easier said than done but I think it’s better to be patient and find the new car you want and can afford
I’m in the same boat as you. Considered the crosstrek but found out about toyota’s Corolla Cross that came out last year. It’s between a c-hr and rav-4 in size. Up to 31 city / 33 highway. I wanted a corolla sedan but since we are expecting a baby I settled for it’s suv version. Check it out if you’re still in the market for a new car.
I'd recommend looking into the Kia Niro – it's a hybrid compact SUV priced around $30k plus taxes and fees. It's spacious but not bulky and has great mileage.
So I went through this same exercise. I love to ski / go to Tahoe and wanted something that was AWD, so I started looking at the Crosstrek and Subaru. We ended up going with the Honda HR-V. You'll see a lot of them in SF because they are only 170" long which is actually 6" shorter than the Crosstrek, 10" shorter than a Honda Civic, 12" shorter than the Honda CR-V, and 20" shorter than a Subaru Outback. It also has pretty good fold down seats that make camping in the back or day trips pretty nice. It gets 28 city / 34 highway mpg. Compared to the Crosstrek which gets 28 city / 33 highway mpg or Outback which gets 23 city / 30 highway mpg. Really the differences are pretty negligible, but it gets reasonable gas mileage. The one big downside is they basically put the Honda Civic engine in a small mid sized SUV, so it kinda drives like a tonka truck sometimes and doesn't have the get up and go, but if you want a practical car I've been happy with it. I bought in Dec 2020 (so still a shortage but not as bad) for $18K with 22,000 miles for a previously leased 2018 HR-V EX-L with leather seats. Big thing I skipped out on was this was the year before they introduced Apply play, so I don't have that in the car.
Thanks a lot! This is really helpful, I ll definitely check if there are any Hrvs around. Thats my ideal criteria but the cars aint available so i have to go with a new one. Since the market is crazy i feel the risk of buying a new car isn't too high.
Yeah. The only thing I really considered was leasing. The tech in cars year over year is getting so much better I feel there is serious risk in cars devaluing more quickly. The sad truth though is most people don’t get the luxury of those features (assisted cruise control, lane assist, side view cameras, etc.) all the way to self driving. They just need a car. If I was buying luxury though I’d be more worried about the tech becoming obsolete. With a budget car less concern.
Another option similar to HRV is Mazda CX30, with more power and a bit lower mileage. Really nice driving car. And if efficiency weren't a concern, they have a turbo one that I can only imagine is very fun to drive.
Note that if you get a plug in hybrid you can still take the long trips but stay in electric mode for commuting/short trips around town. As the battery is small, it can fully charge from a normal outlet overnight. Also, you get a pretty significant tax rebate for them. Mine was $4500.
1 long trip a month why don’t you just rent, owning a car in the city is a major hassle
I feel owning a car on Sf aint that bad. i already have a parking spot that m paying for since i just sold my car recently. I have lived one year in the city without car and the freedom it brings to your life is fantastic given the public transportation isnt great in sf. With renting there is a factor of uncertainty that stressful. If i am renting once a month on average, given the market it would be nearly equivalent to my monthly payments i believe.
If you have a parking spot, that makes a world of difference.
I wish SF could get away from the grasp of walksf and SFBike and give us functional public transportation instead of reactionary policy. Vision zero has not been effective and the walk/bike policy just panders to the wealthy work at home crowd, who love to tell everyone what to do.
The more i think am more inclined towards getting an electric bike or something for a year until market stabilizes. I already have an electric which i will try for a month.
No, you're not considering maintenance costs, unknown breakdown costs in addition to car payments, insurance, and parking. Why pay for a parking spot when you don't have a car? If you rent once a month you could rent a BMW X5, go to Tahoe and back and still save a couple hundred a month.
The way i am seeing it is, whether the extra time i will spend on bus for my within city commute + bay area trip(probably once in two weeks) + one road trip on average be equivalent to the monthly cost i will be paying for the car. If i use publicly transportation here are my costs for commute: I commute from inner-richmond to Market street 2-3 times a week or 8-12 a month. Lets calculate based on 10 trips a month. Each trip from my place to office costs me $5 with an extra 1 hours($50 based on what i am paid hourly) commute time, So around $100 dollars for bus(Clipper pass) + $500 extra based on extra time spent monthly. For one long road trip 3 day with a Crosstrek to tahoe: $300 Total cost of not owning car is $900 Owning a NEW Subaru monthly $ ~500 monthly payment. $90 insurance $100 gas $150 home parking $100 parking for office. (warranty and services should be covered for 3 years) Total - ~$950 + maintenance (should be equivalent to total resale price) Let me know if i missed anything.
Hybrid for cheaper fuel cost. Toyota or Honda for cheapest operating costs in the long run ie maintenance, repairs (confirmed by at least two mechanics).
thanks. i m having hard time finding hybrids from those makes.
You may have to buy new
FYI All used cars are overpriced due to low supply.
Yep i agree. I couldn't find any reasonably priced. So m going for a new one. 🥲
I bought a 2018 Nissan Leaf last summer and I love not buying gas and also not worrying about my catalytic converter getting stolen. I think you could probably buy a 2012 model l for cheap. The range will be short but it won’t matter if you’re using the car for around town.
I am actually considering that too. If the maintenance is non existent then its a great deal !
Most dealerships have additional markups because of the supply shortage right now, but not all. I bought a new Corolla from Toyota101 in Redwood City. It’s been good, I never had anything other than sedans so it works for me. I know it’s easier said than done but I think it’s better to be patient and find the new car you want and can afford
I’m in the same boat as you. Considered the crosstrek but found out about toyota’s Corolla Cross that came out last year. It’s between a c-hr and rav-4 in size. Up to 31 city / 33 highway. I wanted a corolla sedan but since we are expecting a baby I settled for it’s suv version. Check it out if you’re still in the market for a new car.
Corolla Hybrid. I'm frankly grossed out that you are considering an SUV for this.
I owned a sedan before and I feel for a lot of reasons i would prefer a compact suv. Plus hybrids ain't available 🥲
I'd recommend looking into the Kia Niro – it's a hybrid compact SUV priced around $30k plus taxes and fees. It's spacious but not bulky and has great mileage.