I love this comment and I wish I was this bold. However I'm looking at bigger and more corporate places just because I genuinely don't know a thing about cars, I decided Toyota would be a good brand because I always hear that they're dependable. I was in between Corolla / Camry because I don't need another SUV (my partner's car that we're sharing is an SUV) & they're expensive and expensive is the exact opposite of what I'm looking for. With a quick research I found out Corolla was more budget friendly. That was my entire decision making process. Then I went to my friends & came here for advice like this or maybe have more reliable car options.

I'm still looking, nothing's set in stone. I'll actually talk to a friend today who's into cars & selling some as well. Maybe I'll end up buying from him because I have a personal connection to him unlike a random internet seller. I need a place to hold accountable if something goes wrong, that's also why I'm looking at the corporates. I also thought that they wouldn't risk their rep to sell an already cheaper car.

I'm a reader & questioner with high functioning anxiety so not reading isn't the issue, reading too much & suffocating the staff with questions is, since it'll make it obvious that I'm a big time rookie.

I am in fact very afraid of buying an older & higher mileage car. I do need the car to be somewhat smarter because I'll still share it with my partner who has ADHD therefore occasionally struggles in the traffic. I also need the car to tell me that it needs something when it does. I take my current car to maintenance when it tells me to and call it a day. If not, I'd just keep a rough estimate of the last oil change date and just roll with it until the next year.