NWR - Military and New Car, Marriage and Moving in Less Than a Year

I have a 2012 Honda Fit that I bought brand new at the end of 2012 (after the 13s were out). I paid about 15k brand new, and now it has about 120k miles on it and is still valued at around 6500. I have rarely paid for aby repairs or anything, the maintenance I have done has mostly been preventative. It's in excellent shape even though I drive 20k miles a year.

Not sure if this is helpful, just sharing a data point that might give a better picture of ar least one car's value retention and reliability.

Ask your accountant if leasing makes sense for you.

I also research Fits, both online and by talking to people I know about them; they all love them; same feedback...very few repairs, low maintenance cost.

I researched some on True car (which lets you find and rate pricing based on the norms) and foound some later models for ****.

There are a lot of ways to make sure your used purchase is as reliable as a new car (which might not be foolproof either....)

Can you try to extend your lease for a few months and wait to get the new car until you move? I would feel more comfortable being near the dealership in case anything goes wrong.

I've had good luck with used cars. I drive 30,000 miles per year, so I'd rather buy a used car with 20,000-40,000 miles on it instead of paying 60% more for a new car to essentially get one more year out of it. If you go the used route, just make sure you get the best warranty they offer.

You can try buying from a car rental place. I bought my Toyota used from Hertz car sales. The price advertised included everything so no surprise fees like at a regular dealership. That enabled me to browse their website, and put in the car prices in a car payment calculator to determine how much I wanted to pay per month. I then went and test drove each vehicle and bought the one I liked. My FH ended up buying his car (cash though) from the same place and we both have had no issues almost 3 years later.

Stephanie: Yes, Honda's are awesome cars. I'm hoping for a somewhat bigger car, right now I have a Civic. Thanks for your input - reconfirming that Honda's are a good deal.

Celia: Yeah, this is why I prefer a new car. Will use true car, thanks!

Boudreau: I already extended my 3 year lease by 6 months and by another 6 months I'm not sure we will even be at our destination, lol. So that is why I'm worried. I don't know if it is even possible to extend a lease more than another year.

I'm on my 5th Honda. I've had 2 Accords, an Accord coupe, a Civic coupe, and now a CR-V. I've loved all of them. I just didn't make the best financial decisions. That's why I've had so many. My best advice (as a former salesperson) is to buy certified pre-owned...whatever brand you go with. That's usually the best bang for your buck. You'll get the remainder of the warranty, good mileage, and now dealerships throw in regular maintenance for a certain period of time too. Just avoid buy here, pay here lots (aka used car lots). Stick with a reputable dealer. I personally don't like CarMax and Auction Direct. I saw more bad cars than good ones in my time in the business. My husband didn't listen and bought a car from CarMax. He throughly regrets it.

I bought a used car and love it. It's a Ford Focus. There are transmission issues but ford fixes them all so it's been a headache but I haven't paid for any of it.

I may be biased because I love leasing. But I also understand it is not for everyone. If you are going to lease again, price shop and negotiate. Lower miles will lower the price. If you want to buy, would you be opposed to buying a new car? The price per month would go up a little depending on which car but eventually they end. Lol

I just bought my first car for myself on Sunday! It is a Nissan Versa Note, certified pre-owned, 2016 with 9,000 miles on it. It cost me 10k. I tend to run cars down so I didn't want to pay double for the 2017 version.

Honda Fits are nice. We looked at those too. However, the dealership had them marked up like 3,000 k over MSRP and I didn't get a good vibe from them. They are nicer than the versa but the versa has everything I need.

FH has a 2012 Honda Civic that he loves. However, it does not have the cargo space that he wants now (which is why I went with a hatchback).

I should also add that with a trade in (2009 Nissan Sentra with 130 k miles) and a really awesome loan from Navy Federal (thanks FH), I didn't pay anything down and my monthly payments are super affordable. Then again, I have a pretty solid credit built up.

I second Kelsey's advice about getting a car loan through Navy Federal. They have great rates, like the commercials say. My FH has a Honda accord and it's really nice to drive. If anything I would see if you can extend your lease until you right before you move then get a car wherever you two get stationed. That might make more sense.

Make sure you know what you can afford and have the salesman work around your budget. I bought my first car for myself last month. It's a 2017 Nissan Rogue Sport. I originally had a 2013 Chevy Cruze but upgraded in size because my son is getting bigger and had little to no leg room. The sport is smaller than the regular Rogue but still considered an SUV. Not sure if you're looking for a bigger car in general or an SUV. Anyways, I went in with a solid budget in mind. They originally quoted me for way higher than I was willing to spend so I went to another dealership who worked with my budget and still managed to get me into the "upgraded" version of the car whereas the other salesman refused to budge on the price for the base model. It might take a while to find someone who will genuinely work with you, but it is worth it.

@Lana I've heard horror stories from friends that bought previous rental vehicles because people drive them terribly while renting since it's not their car, and the parts wear out sooner. One friend had his car in the shop on and off for 2 months when he first got it.

@OP Are you already a USAA member? If so you should really look into their car buying service. I used it a few months ago to buy a used car and am still thrilled with the deal I got. If you aren’t eligible for USAA until after you get married I would probably wait to buy a car. I got decent interest rate to begin with but saved an extra 1% by buying from a USAA certified dealership, an extra .5% for setting up my payment to be automatically drafted from my USAA checking, and another .5% for getting my car insurance through them. I’m also getting a discount on my car insurance by paying it automatically from my USAA account. Once I combined everything USAA has to offer there was no way I could’ve gotten a better deal through someone else. The certified dealership I went through(and others) lists a different sticker price for USAA members than the general public, but they won’t negotiate much on that price. I like that because it took the stress of haggling off me and I know the price they listed was more than fair.

ETA: Also instead of making a down payment, I borrowed the full amount because for some reason the financing terms were better if I borrowed more than $15,000. I then used what was for down payment to make a huge principle payment so I will pay less over the life of the loan.

@StephanieD i also have a honda fit. I have a 2010. The only money I have put into it was for maintence. I have 150k miles on it. I bought it used in 2013 for $14k