If you read personal finance blogs or often talk to people who are interested in saving money, you’ve no doubt heard all about why used cars make much more financial sense than new ones. Even Warren Buffett drives a used truck, so you know that this strategy has fans in high places.
Used cars depreciate at a slower rate than new cars, so you’ll be able to retain much of the value you invested at purchase time. Used cars cost less than new cars, which is an obvious benefit that everybody knows. Used cars cost less to insure, because it doesn’t cost as much to repair and restore them as it does for a car that’s brand new.
However, one of the best reasons that a used car is worth more to consumers than cars that are brand new is one that isn’t as frequently discussed. Cars that were manufactured in recent years just last longer than older vehicles, meaning that newer used cars are a better value than ever. Here’s why.
If you do a simple Google search for “Buy Here Pay Here Charlotte”, you’ll find that there are lots of newer used cars available through local dealers. Dealers have these cars for a variety of reasons. One of the most important is that new car owners are likely to trade their cars in for something even newer. They do this lot long after purchasing the first car – sometimes less than a year later. This is because new cars lose value quickly. To preserve the money invested in a brand new car, you’ve got to trade it in fast to get the most value for your trade.
This means that these newer used cars haven’t been driven very much in most cases. A casual observer might not even be able to tell the difference between the 2015 and the 2017 model, inside or out. For used car buyers, this means you can save a lot while getting almost all of the benefits of a new car.
One of the benefits you won’t have is a total manufacturers or dealer warranty. Some residual warranty may still be in effect, but new car buyers really get the cream of the crop in this case. On the other hand, newer used cars benefit from improvements in design, manufacturing, and regulations. All of these benefit the consumer, and result in cars that are safer, more efficient, and longer lasting than used to be produced.
This means that the cars on the used car lot are better than they used to be. There are always exceptions, but generally speaking, cars produced within the past five years or so will have longer lives than their cousins who were produced 8 or 10 years ago, even accounting for current age.
This means that if you buy a used car today, chances are it will be pretty reliable, perhaps just as reliable as a new car. No used car is exactly like a new one, but most of the differences are cosmetic. Buy used from a trusted seller with confidence and save.
