New or used?
It’s a vexing question.
Whether ’tis smarter in the mind for vehicle shoppers … oh, you get the point, even if William Shakespeare wasn’t thinking of cars when he wrote Hamlet.
You have a big choice to make when you purchase a vehicle to replace your current car, pickup, SUV or crossover – or get your first – not as big as Hamlet’s choice in the Shakespeare play but big nonetheless.
Especially if you’re working with a not-so-extravagant budget as many people are.
There are good reasons on both sides of the new-versus-used debate for you to consider – a point that was made recently by reporter Christian Wardlaw in two articles in the New York Daily News.
“New cars are a poor investment. Instant, and sometimes dramatic depreciation of a new car makes a lightly used car the smarter financial decision,” wrote Wardlaw. “Aside from allowing someone else to absorb thousands of dollars in lost value, though, buying a used car is a bigger gamble.”
“Whether you buy a new car or a used car is dependent on your specific situation,” he wrote.
The eight best reasons to buy a new car, according to Wardlaw, are:
- greater reliability
- a manufacturer’s warranty
- the latest safety equipment
- better fuel economy
- the latest technology
- potential discounts
- attractive financing options
- knowing the vehicle’s maintenance history
Of course, there’s a lot more to each of the eight reasons, which you can find in Wardlaw’s article.
The six smart reasons you should buy a used car are:
- save money
- today’s cars and trucks remain reliable longer
- certified pre-owned (CPO) programs provide “like new” condition
- vehicle history reports are available on many vehicles
- attractive financing options on CPO vehicles
- you can drive a “better” car than you might be able to afford otherwise
You can find more details in another Wardlaw article.
The average price of a new vehicle ($34,500) is almost double that of the average used vehicle, based on data from various sources, including Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds and J.D. Power.
But if you want to save the money, it’s a lot to spend to get that new car smell.
Of course, that’s not all you get with a new vehicle, as the reporter detailed. And either way the outcome is a lot better than Hamlet’s fate.
