You Can Get An Affordable, Cool New Car

By David Plowman

For many people buying a car with limited funds automatically means buying used. A new car would simply be too expensive, they reason. But that’s not always the case anymore. In fact, according to a recent report by Kelly Blue Book, a leading service that tracks the value of new and used cars, not only are there affordable new cars out there, but there are some that are actually “cool.”

The service recently released its picks for the “Top 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000″ on its website, www.kbb.com. The Toyota Tacoma PreRunner, with an MSRP of just $14,850, the $15,045 Scion xB and the Ford Focus ZX3 SES, valued at $16,460, were the least-expensive cars making the list. The Kia Spectra Hatchback, Chevrolet Cobalt LS Coupe, Hyundia Tiburon, Mazda’s MAZDA3 S Hatchback, Scion tC, MINI Cooper and the Honda Element rounded out the list.

The Kelly Blue Book set an $18,000 price cap on its picks, because it determined the payment for average consumers would be an affordable $300 to $350 a month, depending on the customer’s credit history, the amount paid on the down payment and the financing rate.

So when shopping for a car, keep in mind that buying new doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank. “Everyone bemoans the fact that new cars are so expensive these days, we found a wide variety of cool, fun-to-drive vehicles that are still affordable,” Jack R. Nerad, editorial director of Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com concluded.