I've heard too many horror stories of how many repairs are needed for < 5K cars. When I was shopping for a car in 2021 I was comparing a ~100K mile Kia Rio Hatc

I've heard too many horror stories of how many repairs are needed for < 5K cars. When I was shopping for a car in 2021 I was comparing a ~100K mile Kia Rio Hatchback (no power windows, scraped up, pretty rough shape) for ~12K + tax (~13.5-14K total), or a brand new one of the same model (ended up paying 20K out the door). This was at the same dealership. I got the new one, could probably sell it for almost the same price as I bought it for 1.5 years and 25K miles later (though to be fair, I got a pretty good deal on it). Due to depreciation curve being out of whack right now (and labor being expensive), a new car can actually cost you less than a 5k clunker - not to mention loss of income if it breaks down.