Should You Buy A Used Car?

New car dealers are offering more and bigger incentives in order to get people onto their car lots and into a brand new car. That leaves many people asking the question, “If I can get a new car for cheap, why would I ever buy a used one?” While conventional wisdom would dictate that something new is always better than something used, the fact of the matter is that in reality in a field such as car buying it's not quite so cut and dry. Even with new car dealers the used or “pre-owned” market still takes up a huge chunk of their business. Really it should be taken on an individual basis. However there are a number of factors that can help guide you in your car-buying choice as well as highlight why a used car may be your best bet.

Money: There is an age-old adage that states that “as soon as you drive a car off of the lot it loses value.” That's actually true. Within the first five years of a car's existence it loses up to 20% of it's value no matter how well you take care of it. This is important because eventually you will need to trade it in for another car and when you do you will see a greatly diminished return in a very costly investment. Cars are actually a long-term major investment and many customers lose sight of this.

However purchasing a used car has the opposite effect. After the first five years of a car's life their value hardly diminishes at all meaning that you will see much more of the money that you invested in paying that car off come back to you when you trade it in to get your next vehicle. Essentially you are using the fact that cars depreciate in value to your favor instead of against you.

Also let’s not forget that you will of course save money by driving a used car anyway. No matter the incentives offered by car dealers for their new inventory a used car will be cheaper. How much cheaper it will be will be due to a number of factors such as the vehicle's age, it's mileage, the amenities available on a particular model, whether or not it has ever been in an accident, as well as whether or not it is in the same model year as the currently produced version. Basically if a used car uses the same body style as its new self the price will be a little higher. Nevertheless you should save on average three to four thousand dollars if you purchase a vehicle that is a few years old when compared to a new version of the same make and model of car.

Let's also not forget that a well-maintained used car that is only a few years old and that has a good history will still yield about the same gas mileage as a new vehicle as well as give you lower insurance premiums. These factors make a used car an even more economically viable option in both the long and short term.

Efficiency: The fact of the matter is that most used cars are within 10 years old. Within that time frame automobile manufacturers have taken great pains to increase their car's efficiency and reliability. The former conventional wisdom that a car with 100,000 miles on it is headed for the junkyard no longer holds true. Today a well maintained car will last well over 200,000 with few problems. In fact the average age of vehicles on American roads today is 11 and a half years. That's the highest it has ever been. While a sluggish economy has a part to play in that number it's also due to the fact that since people's vehicles are more reliable and lasting longer they have less of a need to replace them. Reliability is not as big of a factor in the used car buying process as it used to be.

This is not to say that you should assume that every used car is problem free. Try to stick with a used car dealer that has high customer satisfaction ratings; that offers their own warranties, and that offers vehicle history reports. Also have the vehicle checked by a mechanic of your choosing and most importantly trust your gut.

So while new cars dealers may still try their best to offer incentives and deals to entice car buyers a used vehicle still offers a much better deal in both the long and short term for discerning car buyers.