Buying an Almost New Car for $15,000

An average new car now costs over $46,000, leaving a lot of people unable to afford one. What do you do if you are on a tighter budget, but do not want to buy an old car or something with over 100,000 miles on the clock. I gathered my top options currently available.

Background on the current state of the car market

Right as the pandemic lockdowns were kicking in, a lot of car production lines stopped, exports from China slowed down, and the amount of new cars produced fell drastically. In fact, global auto production in 2020 was 15% lower than 2019, and in the US that number was closer to 20%. The recovery in 2021 was slow, and as a lot of auto manufacturers started transitioning to electric cars, their production ramp up times were slow.

With that, new car prices sky rocketed, with a new car now costing over $46,000 in the US. In 2019 that was just over $37,000, according to Kelly Blue Book. With the high prices, and higher interest rates, a lot of new cars are now becoming less affordable.

State of the used car market

With new cars becoming less available and affordable, the used car market also came under a lot of pressure. Since before the pandemic, used car prices are up over 35%, with some signs of decreasing in the past few months as demand is falling. With the recent slowdown, some used car deals are starting to once again appear on the market.

I will go over several models I recently came across that I think present good value, strong reliability, and offer a great alternative to buying a new car right now

My top “new” car deals for under $15,000

#1 - Nissan Altima

The Altima presents a good option for someone looking for reliable transportation that can comfortably fit 5 along with plenty of room in the trunk. This specific model comes in right under $15,000 with just under 40,000 miles. You will frequently see used Altima’s from the mid 2000s for sale with well over 100,000 miles on the clock, so you can safely expect this car to last for many years. This being a 2021 model it also comes with a lot of standard features including a infotainment screen, backup camera, side curtain airbags, and upgraded wheels. Similar cars to this can be found around the country.

#2 - Kia Soul

The Kia Soul has stood out for several years with its unique styling, but the 2021 model is starting to look similar to other smaller cross overs like the Jeep Compass or Fiat 500X. The boxy styling also helps make this more practical than an average sedan with a larger trunk that you would find in many compact cars. This particular model is only 2 years old and is available for under $15,000 with just over $30,000 miles. This means the car is still well under warranty and you are saving at least 30% off the new MSRP of the car. While conducting my research, the Kia Soul was one the most common cars I came across, so you are likely to be able to negotiate a better deal with a dealership that has a few of these on their used car lot.

#3 - BWM i3/Chevy Bolt/Nissan Leaf

If you are looking to go electric for under $15,000 you surprisingly have several options. New EVs average a sale price of over $55,000 so going green is significantly more expensive than purchasing a regular vehicle. Luckily, the options above have been in the market for several years and you can find a 2016-2020 model in our price range. These cars do not offer the same long range as competitors from Tesla or some of the new EVs, but if your primary communute is short, you can still get a 2-5 year old car with plenty of battery life and some relative luxury over other cars on this list.

#4 - Nissan Versa/Sentra

Nissan makes a second appearance on this list with their Versa and Sentra models. During my research I saw a lot of options in the 20,000 - 30,000 mile range for both of these cars, and I think they present a great value. These two models sit below the Altima, so will be getting a compact car, but with the low miles these are as close to new as you can get in the current market. You will not find a lot of luxury features on these models, but they offer strong reliability and cheap maintenance and relatively good fuel economy.

Honorable mention: Chevrolet Spark & Mitsubishi Mirage

These two cars are fighting for the “cheapest new car” title. In fact, the starting price on a brand new Mirage is around $16,500. Once you start looking at the used car market, you can find cars that are just 1 or 2 years old for close to $10,000. The story is similar for the Spark, which in my opinion is the more attractive option as the Mirage fees extremely bare bone. The Spark has better interior styling and detail and has a larger Chevrolet dealer network for maintenance and my guess is will hold its resale value better as Mitsubishi is basically existed the US market outside of 2 entry level cars. Both of these cars are sub-compact so you will not have as much as pace as some of the other options on the list, but if you need a daily driver these are good options.