Is it still in good condition? How many miles are on it? Do you keep up with the 5,000 mile oil changes?

Depending on your mileage and condition, you could probably get 10k out of your Sentra and if not, more like $13-15k

I get that. But i would think one would get tired of the car payments, especially since things get more expensive by the year. How much does a lease on an SUV even go for? $500+ a month? Or more?

Oh I have! And now that they’re being discontinued, dealerships have marked them up. $40k at my local, i’m going to try another one and try to get it for $35k.

Time is of the essence though and I want to have more to throw at a price like that though. So unfortunately either way, I may have to wait on the fun aspect.

Sadly, there are so many great cars being discontinued and a gut feeling tells me it’s from the hybrid/EV push.

but you will always have a car payment compared to buying. Yes, you are right, cars depreciate. But after you spent $19k over 3 years, that could of been towards the price of the car, but yet, there you are back at square one $19k later. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

Yeah i gotcha. I was wanting to shop one and go for that “fun, sports car to drive that yet is cheaper than a 5.0 mustang”

I’m not so sure the latest generations Honda Civic Si’s are insanely reliable either, the darn 1.5L turbo engine honda has been throwing in their cars have seen a lot of issues.

As for Nissans, i think their transmissions have gotten slightly better but still might not be saying much, haha.

why?

He/She is saying negotiate the final out the door price aka the big number. Negotiating the monthly payment does nothing as they can change how long you will pay the car for her to lower a monthly payment.

OP, you are very naive and new to car buying, especially the financial part. And that is VERY okay. That’s why you are here. And remember, this is a personal finance page so 99% of people here will tell you not to buy a new car in your financial situation. Especially your current car having a bad part on your exhaust system.

If your engine or transmission was failing, well yeah, that’s a different story. Even drive axles, or other major or minor repairs that add up to thousands in repair $$

How do you feel about Subaru’s, mainly WRXs?

But then you would have a hefty $550+ monthly car payment on a $34k loan.

Weigh your options, if you make enough to easily afford that, then sure. But something is telling me a young 23 year old doesn’t make enough $$ to afford that. If you do, then more power to ya!

I understand the want/need of getting a new car, believe me. But as others have stated, a bad catalytic converters does NOT affect how the vehicle drives. It’s literally just an emissions thing. If you live in a state where you have to pass emission laws, then well, you will want to get that fixed and as cheap as possible. Do not pay anything over $1k for it.

Limp that baby along for another 6mo-1yr and save more money for a better down payment and maybe keep it under $25k?