My daughter in high school is in the market for a car. We have kept our eye out for used but in the current market what I find is overpriced. She has worked 40 hour weeks all summer for the last three years, doesn't spend it, etc. She would just be right at having enough for a brand new $18K Kia or Hyundai. Right now that seems the best option. Does anyone have any experience lately buying a new car and getting money off MSRP or straight MSRP? I am not interested in over MSRP deals. She needs one for college. Please no advice on waiting, don't buy new, don't buy Kia/Hyundai, etc. Advice on new car MSRP is greatly appreciated and thank you for your time.

I recently bought a new vehicle.The one I found down south on a lot was 10g less than the same one up north.
All I can say is shop around for the best deal.
They are out there.

Don't pay over msrp, dealers are starting to deal again, wholesale car prices have fallen at auctions for 8 straight months, dealers are holding inventory to keep demanding top dollar but the flood gate is about to release. I just bought a new Toyota at msrp, 2 week wait.

I just saw an article about the used market prices falling 7% and now lenders my be in trouble with people now owing more than their vehicles are worth and the economy going down the tube and people maybe more willing to let them go back to the bank.

Co workers wife bought a Kia suv, Had trouble with brake rotors .After two years, when she had enough with it, She had trouble trading it in, dealers didn't' want it.

Best advice I can provide is to decide on YOUR PRICE. At the dealership, be respectful but clear. You can walk anytime and if your price is not available, WALK. On place on time pressure is the premier selling point of most dealerships. The pressure you own is that you will buy at YOUR PRICE.

Go back and look at all the car thiefs with those models and the us gov not making a recall on the ignition problems

all that is needed is a computer plug to start them once the ignition lock is removed.......45 seconds and gonzoooooo

Buddy purchased a Kia Forte and gets 40mpg and has been dependable. Honda civic are great not sure on their price.

Make sure the dealer knows the situation and they might be a little more willing to deal to try seal the deal on a potential life long customer who they helped out when she needed it most.

Civics can be tough to get right now, especially used and decent priced. A buddy waited for over a year and finally hit the bullet on a very low mile used one for over its original MSRP. He put money down for two new orders but they said they would have the car to him at the earliest 6 months but couldn’t guarantee that. He wanted a particular motor and manual tranny so it was a little out of “norm”. And he found out the insurance in the car is significantly more than his 3 year old F150 worth much more. All said, he loves the car so far. Happy trapping! ScottW

It would be absolutely crazy to buy new. Good used ones with 100k or so can be found for under 10K. That's nuts to put all that money she worked and saved so hard for into something that will depreciate as fast as a new car. Nuts.

Go with a more reliable and durable brand like Honda. I just bought a Honda CRV for $10k for my wife's new work car and it will outlast the brands you are looking at despite having over 100k on it.

I would stay away from the big city dealership if you can there the ones
that will over price MSRP we found this out first hand.
It might be hard to find a small home town dealer selling
that brand of car.

Look online for new from places like carvana autotrader etc... a buddy landed up getting his 4 runner in Colorado and saved a lot. He even drove to get it and saved the transport fee.

As others have said about Kia and Hyundai and the thefts… it is true they’re easy to steal. My coworker had one stolen outof the lot and the police were saying it’s a TikTok challenge to start them with a usb cord. They were saying to avoid the keyed models 2015- current and if you find one with a push button start you’re fine.

If you can wait a few months you might find prices dropping considerably.
Car repossessions are starting to skyrocket. That might be an indicator of upcoming economic turmoil.

I hate to be the downer but a lot of people get their car and have no way to register it because Carvana takes months to get them the title in several states , they are being sued for it.

I was in a similar situation with even less budget this summer my HS senior needed a car to be able to do the Nursing Assistant CNA program through school because they have clinicals 20 miles away.

we found a 2003 Suzuki but it was mostly luck and a lot of diligent looking.

when I have need used stuff the mechanic shop here has an auto dealer license. let him know what you want and price range and that it needs to be something mechanically sound , they get a very good read on what years and modles have what problems and they go to the auctions.

this is how I got my current truck he found it at an auction and brought it in , I had only been looking at the time but he figured if I was looking for a no frills just get the work done truck other people would be also, a few months later my kids were in a car wreck and I needed a new one he had "my truck" on the lot

I posted a video on how to do it a couple weeks ago , if you take the screws out and push the pin out it takes less than 5 minutes , if you want to breaks stuff less than 30 seconds after you know what your doing then you drive it like you own it can turn it off and come back and start it again

it is 2011 to 2021 models with a key basically all of the budget models

the keyless uses a RF-ID tag the sensor can tell it is in the car and it unlocks the ignition.

What happened to all those Ford pickups sitting in a parking lot waiting for chips?

50K
not 18K

Don’t have good answer to your question.but you could check out ford eco sport/or chevy spark

If your daughter plans to buy outright with cash, DO NOT tell the dealer that you plan to buy outright with cash. If they ask if you'll be financing or paying with cash, just say you would need to see the terms first because you might get better terms from your bank.

Agree on a price first before discussing how it will be purchased.