used camrys for obvious reasons, command a high price for used. unless he gets a really old one, he's not going to have much 'change'.

 

Well if I'm on welfare, I'm not sure I would blow the $14k on a car. If you drive a max of 2000 miles a yr, including a long road trip, that means your car is parked for the other 11 months of the year and you will have things to fix, pay for gas and insurance. I say reconsider even buying a car. Take a greyhound or amtrak or even fly if you want to go anywhere or heck, just rent a car.

 

For 2000 miles a year (1600 of which are "road trips"), pocket your family's $$, open up an Uber account, and rent a car for your roadtrip. Then you have no insurance, registration or maintenance expense.

Good luck.

 

I echo the above^

Otherwise, 2017+ Honda Civic. Or an Accord or Camry. My wife's 2017 Accord EX-L (which is pretty loaded for an accord) was $20k in 2019. I see no reason you couldn't get a lower model (EX or LX) for sub 14k now with a few miles. Even as far back as a 2014 Accord will be reliable for many many years to come.

 

a 2008+ camry xle V6 is just about all the car anyone could ever need... first of all it's seriously quick and not just quick 'for a camry' (sub 6 second 0-60 and things are just getting started) not to mention very comfortable and the best reliability in the business

the camry is 'too uber' for some people but if they could just get past that it's fantastic, if you put your foot down at like 20 mph in the V6 it'll start to do a burnout lol... and of course be very fuel efficient when you're just driving casually

 

Agree. It eats up highway miles very easily.

 

This is actually great advice. Buying a depreciating asset like a car should be very low down in OP's priorities considering his financial situation. Glad you are one of the few to bring this up.

 

2 pages in, I'm sure we all would like to hear back from the OP regarding everyone's helpful input.

 

With a car, I'd hope you are getting one to drive to a job.

 

poor and on welfare..

okay, as someone that has been very poor and was poor for a long time, you want something that isnt going to have a breakdown anytime soon, since you wont be able to fix it. i agree with the camry talk, but if you wanted a camry, you wouldnt be here. this is club lexus, not club camry.

i suggest a 2010-12 ES350. they have the reliability of a camry and the comfort and luxury of lexus. its a well rounded full size sedan that looks and feels good to pretty much everyone. they arent horribly expensive to maintain and parts are still cheap if it does fail, as it shares alot of underpinnings as the toyota avalon.

ten years ago i worked a minimum wage job that i had to split that income between two people. i was hand to mouth dirt *** poor almost all through my 20s but still wanted a decent car. i busted my butt and saved a few grand up over the course of 2 years, and bought a 1995 Lexus Ls400. it was already pretty old when i got it but it was well kept with good miles on it. it never gave me a second of trouble and carried me through one of the darkest and hardest times of my life, totally reliably. id say go with an LS400, but they are just too old at this point now to still really trust as a sole mode of transportation, so go with the ES. i know you want an IS/GS but at that price range, you are going to find older ones in good shape, but still very old, or newer ones that have had the crap kicked out of them.

buying an older lexus is a home run.... or a total disaster. these are awesome cars but like any car, it will eventually turn on you so pick a good one that will last some years before it does. my old faithful 95 LS400 did eventually go sour on me, but not till 6 years later of driving. funny thing tho. by that time i wasnt poor anymore, and i decided to spend the $5,000 to get it right again, only because i loved the car so much.

good luck on your hunt!

 

Cool. Thanks for your replies, y'all!

Ya. I think I will at least put a V6 Camry on my list of cars to try for. Black paint makes them look pretty cool.

On the other hand, it may also be time to question my family again on the true value of buying me a car at all.

They want me to have it so I can drive 800 miles to help my mother in an emergency (and 800 miles back again), as well as for me to use locally for doctor appointments and grocery-getting during the pandemic, as a safer alternative to the bus. But it now seems to me that I can get a car rental to go help my mom in a matter of hours, and the pandemic may be over soon enough where bus-riding will be safe again.

 

2010-2012 es350!

 

Like a lot of the replies suggesting Camry, I have to agree. The V6 is great, but the 4 cylinder will last longer if your foot isn't always at the floor, it'll be cheaper on gas, lower engine maintenance costs. That said, I'd look at a Corolla. Slightly better MPGs, and a bit lighter with a tighter suspension. Yes, a rare 1600 mile trip but it sounds like most of your trips are very short. Unless you're 6'4" or taller, you'll have no problem with the Corolla. And while the suspension is a bit tighter, it's still very comfortable as long as it's been maintained. Will you be ferrying 2 or 3 other people? Then maybe the Camry. You alone or with just 1 other? Corolla.

 

I actually buy cars and give them to people who need them. There are only 6 cars I ever buy. Lexus ES, RX, Toyota Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Sienna. IF I were in the US I'd ad the IS and GS to the list as they are rear wheel drive and a little cheaper to maintain than the FWD. The size of the car depends on the size of the driver and their mobility. Another car you could consider that hasn't been mentioned is a Sienna Minivan. You have a good family giving you a budget of 14K to buy a car. If you do your own mechanical work an IS and GS make sense as the engine sits in the engine bay in a manner that's much easier to work on than in the others mentioned here, and that can save you a lot of money when it comes to servicing it. Both the IS and GS will be extremely reliable for you and are a lot of fun to drive, more so than the ES and Camrys. If you find a GS get the 6 cylinder not the 8. Much Cheaper to work on if things go south. You have picked the right brand for reliability.

when you find one please take it to a mechanic you trust and have them do a prepurchase inspection on it to ensure its sound.

Is And Gs are a long ways from you as there are a lot less sold than Camry's. Its the nature of the business, you will very likely have to travel a ways to find a good one.

Good luck in your search and let us know what happens.

 

^^ True story. And I'm thinking the same thing.

That said, for the OP - don't forget that (especially with limited income) the Lexus will have higher insurance rates (even for a driver 60+ years - theft and collision coverage will add a few bucks every month), likely higher maintenance costs (most premium branded parts carry premium pricing, even if it's the same part), and the vehicle will likely require higher octane fuel. With so little driving the last one won't be much of an issue.

According to KBB.com, if you've got $14K for a dealership purchase, you could blow the whole wad and get a 2019 Corolla L (all power options, 1 step above base), a 2017 Camry LE (4-cyl), or a 2011 ES350 (standard options, no lux packages). Of course the mileage and maintenance requirements become more the older it is. Older often means more owners with the possibility of racers, modifiers, and those with fewer resources to maintain a car.

OP - as StereoRob said, you're in Club Lexus not Club Camry, but with limited resources I'd try to steer you toward a newer, lower insurance and maintenance cost vehicle.