Soo i live in suburban hell and need to buy one to commute daily but I dont know anything about cars and I dont really know if I can trust random reviews on google.
I don't need anything big/fancy/powerful, just a car that will last and don't need much repairs and is fuel efficient. This would be for North America btw. Any recommendations? Also is it worth it to get a hybrid? I am looking to buy new since it seems like used ones are still super expensive atm.
For $20k there's a lot of good cars out there, especially if you don't mind something used. The average car in the USA lasts around 12 years or 200k miles, so even a gently used car will last you a long time.
I haven't looked at new car prices much lately, but my understanding is that there's a shortage of electronic components from China that's affecting all new cars, so dealerships are taking advantage of this by charging higher prices ("additional dealer markup," or ADM). This is also driving up the cost of used cars. If you're buying new, you still might need to pay MSRP or slightly over. You can negotiate down some of the markups, especially the unnecessary ones like VIN etching. More info here: https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/buyer-beware-dealer-markups/
If you can afford to pay cash, that's great! You'll save money in the long term. I would still advise against buying a brand-new car, unless it's the same price as a certified pre-owned car with a warranty.
Also: stay away from Carvana, they've been known to rip people off.
I don't mind used at all so I'll keep that in mind and ask around still.
From my limited understanding/research, inventories are really low so a lot of gently used/new available cars are being sold above MSRP because there's people willing to pay a lot to get the car they want right away and the cars with good mileage are going fast because of gas prices. Luckily, I have family willing to let me borrow a really old car and I'm not in a super hurry to get one so I'm thinking of trying to place an order for a car with min specs at MSRP and waiting it out. I could also try and wait out the shortage but I don't have unlimited time and I'm worried that even with the shortage being over the price gouging/hoarding will remain because that's what's most profitable and there's no hope the government would ever implement price controls.