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Take a seat inside of a brand-new car and it can be hard to resist the allure of the shine and that new car smell. However, unless you are willing to pay thousands of dollars for that smell, there are a lot of benefits to buying used.
As soon as you drive a new car off the lot, it loses a significant chunk of its value. This loss continues rapidly for the first couple of years and is called depreciation. When you buy a used car, you get to skip a lot of that depreciation, while still getting an excellent car.
If you have the budget for a cheap new car, then you likely can afford a very nice used car. Instead of buying a base trim level in a new model, you might be able to afford something with all the bells and whistles when it is just a few years old. When you buy a used car, you can make your money stretch a lot further.
If there is a color or feature you like that isn’t offered on new models anymore, you will only be able to get it on a used car. In addition, you won’t be limited to just one or two model years. There are a lot more used cars available than there are new ones.
You might remember your dad or grandpa telling you to never buy used cars because they won’t last very long. While that may have been true when they were young, it isn’t true anymore. Across the industry, quality and reliability have continued to rise. Even a used model with over 100,000 miles will likely last you for years to come.
If you are still worried about a used car’s quality, consider buying a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) models. These models have been thoroughly inspected and usually come with some type of warranty coverage.