A pre-owned car is often a much better choice than buying a new one. The best-used cars offer the same safety features, quality, and dependability as a new car, but without a lot of the downsides. Let’s get into exactly what the benefits of used cars are.
Make Someone Else Pay Depreciation
It’s not a secret that cars lose their value almost faster than anything else. Starting up a brand-new computer destroys a considerable amount of its value–even if you resell it immediately, you’ll never get anything like what you paid for it new. Cars are not quite as bad as computers, but it’s pretty darn close. The average car loses 20% of its value in the first year, and you lose a whopping 10% just driving it off the lot. Yes: that means even if you turn right, change your mind, make a circle and come right back to the dealership, your $46,000 new truck is now only worth $41,400.
The good news is that your car loses value at a slower rate after the first two years. This means that if you buy a two-year-old used car, assuming it was taken care of well and not driven a ridiculous number of miles, someone else paid the bulk of the depreciation. On the other hand, you get to enjoy the car’s golden years and the bulk of its quality performance life for a whole lot less than if you bought new.
Get the Car You Really Want
When you buy new, you’re paying top dollar, and you’ll pay top dollar for every feature and package you want to add on. Want a heated steering wheel, a stronger engine, or leather seats? Prepare to pay a lot for it. When you try to buy new, you might find yourself simply priced out of the features you really need–like extra space for the family or towing capacity that can handle your RV. You’ll have to settle for something less than you want or even an entirely different and cheaper model.
When you buy used, your budget goes further. You can look at vehicles that have nicer packages and trim options that you could never afford new. You can get the car, truck, or SUV you need instead of just the one you can afford.
Lower Insurance Payments on the Best Used Cars
Insurance is the sneaky cost that people tend to forget about as they calculate what they can afford in a new vehicle. It’s not unusual for people to calculate what monthly payments they’ll be able to manage and then get a shock when they find the car they’ve just agreed to buy has a huge quarterly insurance payment–even more than the car they already had.
Used cars almost always mean lower insurance payments. Used cars don’t have the depreciation issues that new cars do, and the best ones still come with all the latest safety and driver-assist features that make insurers breathe a sigh of relief when they offer a policy.
These are just a few of the great benefits of buying used. If you’re ready, see us at DARCARS Used Car & Service Center of Frederick to look at what we offer!
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