Used or New car in 2023

Hey everyone, I’ve been waiting for the the car market to calm down for a bit now, and I’ve saved up around 8000 for the car fund. Currently, I have a 2011 Honda CR-Z about to hit 200k on original Hybrid battery. I have owned it since new so I know the history on it and all the maintenance record. I love the car, and it has treat me well. It never broke down on me, and I’ve only done just necessary maintenance on it (oil change, brakes, tires, spark plugs, and etc). However, I find myself needing a bit more space more often than not these days plus the fact that it’s still on original hybrid battery could mean that it could fail sooner rather than later with the years and miles it has. My original plan was to keep it and drive it until the hybrid battery fail, but I don’t want to be caught without a car, and shop without doing my due diligence. So I thought about 2 options.

The first option would be to buy a used second car that is within my budget of 8000.

The second option would be to use part of the 8000 as a down payment for a new sedan. It might be better to buy new as used car prices have gone up a lot.

I plan to keep the car until it can’t drive anymore similar to the CR-Z whichever option I choose. I’m not sure which option would be best, so I figured I’d get some more opinion. I have also thought about waiting longer for the used market to be better. If you have any other options for me to consider, then let me know.

Thanks!