So you’re interested in buying a fuel efficient car, but you don’t have $25 grand to throw down on a new Toyota Prius?  You probably also noticed that leasing is dead and great loans can be hard to find.  There’s good news for you.  First, buy a used car and if you’re not sure why, check out my Top 10 Reasons for Buying a Used Car.  Second, you don’t’ have to buy a hybrid to get really good gas mileage.  It’s a myth and it’s propagated by our local, state, and federal governments that do things like give out subsidies for hybrid vehicles or use taxpayer money to help car manufacturers develop hybrid technology.  What’s really important is fuel efficiency – hybrid or not.

To generate this list, Google Trends was used to figure out which high fuel efficiency cars are searched for the most frequently on the web.  Here are the results:

There are a few surprising things about this list:

• 7 out of 10 are foreign made
• Toyota snagged 3 spots on this top 10 list
• Chevrolet nabbed 2 spots on the list (who knew?)
• Chevrolet Volt would be #10, but it’s not in production until 2010
• The Geo Metro and the Geo Tracker came close to making it on this list even though they aren’t in production any longer
• Dodge, Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia, Mazda, Pontiac, Saturn, Scion, Subaru, and Volkswagen should all have something on this list, but none of their cars came even close due to either a low search volume or the complete lack of a high fuel efficiency car

Now that you’ve seen the list, go out and get the high gas mileage car of your choice and make sure you buy one that’s two years old so that you’re getting the best deal, being environmentally friendly, and saving a TON of money using Carsala!

A common question for me is, “What are the best value cars and what cars will give me the best bang for my buck?”  It seems like a simple question, but this question is complicated by three factors:

• The car world is so diverse, general rules are difficult to make
• Current buying trends, not trends of car makers, ultimately determine which cars are a huge success or a miserable failure
• The meaning of “value” can be a personal choice and opinion

In an attempt to help you (and me when I buy my next car), I tried to do some analysis to figure out general answers to this question.  Most websites subjectively claim that you should buy a used car when it is one or two year old.  However, based on data, there is only one glaring rule that holds for almost any used car you might consider:

• Buy a car when it is two years young

The following graph best represents what happens after two years.  This graph was generated using an automobile residual value tool such as the online tool from cars.com.  This particular chart is for a mix of American, Asian, and European mid-sized sedans, but the data trends look similar for almost any car type.

You should notice the “knee” at the two year mark circled in red.  This knee is created by a disproportionate amount of depreciation during the two years after a new car is purchased,  followed by three years of relatively steady depreciation.  Therefore, buy a used car when it is two years old.

But wait -  there’s more!  A perk of used cars is that when you buy one from a dealer, you have an opportunity to get a 12,000 mile extension on the warranty.  Many dealers will offer this extension to their certified pre-owned cars (CPO).  I used to believe this was a not-so-savvy way to try to charge more for a used car.  As it turns out, CPO means the car has been inspected, cleaned, and has the warranty extended.

I also wrote a blog recently about buying your child’s first car.  In that post, I made some recommendations for cars that are safe, reliable, and don’t cost a lot because they come from car manufacturers that don’t command a premium.  Those cars are:

• 2006-2007 Hyundai Sonata, 4 cyl. engine (FWD)
• 2006 Kia New Optima 4-DR with Side Air Bags (FWD)
• 2004,2005,2007 Subaru Forester (AWD)
• 2004-2006 Mitsubishi Endeavor (FWD or AWD)
• 2004-2005 Lincoln Town Car (RWD)

But what if you don’t want any of those cars?  Well, go back to what I said earlier.  The final word — and you read it here first — is that you should buy a used car when it is two years old, still has some of the original warranty remaining, possibly has the original warranty extended, and has already suffered the biggest losses in value.

Do you think there are other rules for buying value cars?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Too many people write about how to be a parent instead of how to pick your child’s first car.

Let’s talk car – but in terms everybody can understand.

The usual criteria for picking a car for anybody applies to pick a car for your teenager. However, on this post I’ll focus on what’s different when you’re shopping for your teenager.

First and foremost is Crash Safety:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers. Don’t trust your instinct that “bigger cars are safer.”  It’s not always true.

The crash star rating system may be perplexing, so I found the following graphic about what the star ratings mean.  Note that a four star rating compared to a five star rating, will approximately double the chance of serious injury.

NHTSA Crash Test Star Ratings System

Secondly, Drive Type:

By drive type, I am referring to four wheel drive (4WD,AWD) vs. two wheel drive (2WD), and front wheel drive (FWD) vs. rear wheel drive (RWD).  If you live in an area with snow or ice, you may really want to get a four wheel drive car to help keep your child safe in extreme driving conditions.  Otherwise, you’re just going to spend more on the car and insurance.

Front wheel drive cars, compared to rear wheel drive cars, have been shown to be safer in wet and snowy conditions.  Basically, the engine puts more weight on the front drive tires which improves traction as the front tires pull the car through water and snow.  For a new driver, this could be really important.

By now you’re thinking that this is a lot of information to so here are some quick recommendations. All of these vehicles have excellent crash test results (by NHTSA), outstanding reliability, and are from brands that usually don’t command a strong premium.  I have noted the drive type for each vehicle.

• 2006-2007 Hyundai Sonata, 4 cyl. engine (FWD)
• 2006 Kia New Optima 4-DR with Side Air Bags  (FWD)
• 2004,2005,2007 Subaru Forester (AWD)
• 2004-2006 Mitsubishi Endeavor (FWD or AWD)

Now that you’re well versed on what to consider when buying the car for your child, you are free to talk about when to buy the car, how much to spend, your ability to revoke the car, if your child should pay for some of the car or just promise to get good grades, or how you will have more free time if your child drives.

My oldest daughter is still years away from driving so leave me some comments about how to deal with my own child when driving age knocks on my door (or honks from the street).