There is nothing quite like bringing home your new car. You could spend hours admiring it, using detailing products on it and showing it off to friends. And so you should enjoy it after you’ve spent weeks searching for the perfect car.
But if you’ve only just begun thinking about buying a new set of wheels, you have some choices ahead of you. The main one being; should you buy new or used? We take a look at the benefits of both options:
Buying a new car
There is nothing quite like that new car smell. But is a new car the right option for you? It may be more expensive to drive off the lot, but here are some benefits to buying brand new:
- Because it has never been driven before, you can rest assured that you aren’t just inheriting someone else’s problem. A brand new car won’t have been involved in any accidents, or mistreatment. You also don’t need to be concerned about whether or not the previous owner kept on top of services and logs, or whether they kept the engine in good condition.
- Not only do you not get someone else’s problems, but it even comes with a guarantee that you won’t get any problems – or if you do, you won’t have to pay for them. A new car warranty will last several years, or you can buy an extended warranty for longer cover. If you wait for the right time of year to purchase you can sometimes get this thrown in for free as part of the deal.
- A brand new car can be modified to your exact specifications. You can choose colours, seat material, and stereo and wheel options, to name a few. But buying used means the car comes as it is.
- Even base models in new cars come with updated technology these days. New cars have all of the latest gadgets and gizmos. GPS, smartphone plugins and sound systems now come standard in a lot of makes.
- A brand new car is the best option when it comes to safety. Safety standards are improving all the time, and new cars have to adhere to these new requirements. The more years that pass from when a car was made, the fewer safety features they may have.
- The same goes for environmental damage. New guidelines and practices are coming in all of the time to help reduce emissions and become more fuel-efficient. The older a car is, the worse it is for the environment.
And finally, buying a brand new car can save you time. Once you’ve decided on a make and model, all you have to do is brief a salesperson to order it in, and then wait for it to arrive. But with a used car, you need to run around town looking at various cars and bidding against other potential car owners.
Buying a used car
While all of the above points are very appealing, there are benefits to buying a used car as well. They are:
- The most obvious selling point of a used car vs a new car is the price. A new car loses value as soon as it is driven off the lot, and you can be the one who reaps the benefit of that depreciation if you are the next owner. You can either save yourself a lot of money, or you can spend the same amount but upgrade the model of the car you get.
- On the same track, depreciation is another great reason for buying a used car. All cars will continue to depreciate for as long as you have them, but the rapid depreciation will happen within the first year. As soon as a new car is driven off the lot, it can lose up to 40% of its value. But if you buy a used car it won’t lose value immediately after the sale; it will happen a lot more slowly over the months and years after purchase.
- Buying a used car can actually give you more options than a new car. Instead of only having this year’s models to choose from, in the used car industry, you have every year’s models on the market.
- Insurance tends to be slightly lower for used cars, as the car is not valued as high for replacement. Also, insuring a brand new car for a full replacement can be expensive in the long run.
You can also take the worry out of where you park and what you do with your used car. Not that you will love it any less, but if someone has already put the first ding into the side before you’ve even bought it, it will be a little less pressure to keep it pristine once it’s in your hands.