Is your old junker on its last legs and you’re wanting to get into something newer with a better lease on life? Maybe you’re thinking about hitting the road this winter to visit relatives that live away from you or you’re even considering a Christmas abroad in the likes of France, Germany or the Czech Republic. Whatever your reason for being on the hunt for a good new replacement for your current vehicle, here are some reasons why you should consider a second hand car.
The Depreciation Issue
Everyone knows that when buying a brand new car, fresh off the lot of a big name dealer that the minute those wheels touch the pavement “common road” the value of the car drops. This is why more and more people are going for used cars and if you find a good deal on a used car it means you can protect yourself against more depreciation and possibly even increase the value of the car with good care and maintenance. Depreciation seems to flatten out after a couple of years, so by year five it’s possible for the car to increase in value again. The best cars are between 1-3 years old and while you may pay more at the outset for a “newer” car, you won’t fall victim to the heavy depreciation of a brand new car in the first 12 months.
More Bang For Your Buck
These days cars are being built to last and with more and more vehicles able to run to over 200,000 miles and beyond, their lifespans are increasingly enormous. It used to be thought that once a car hit a certain mileage it was done, but it doesn’t seem to be the case these days. So when you go looking for a new car and that new one on the lot that’s ten grand out of your budget won’t solve your problems, picking out a similar one that might be a couple years old will do the tricky nicely. After all, with so many great ways to make used look like new these days, who’s going to know that three year old car isn’t brand new?
Safety First
While it’s just assumed that brand new cars will be failsafe and fool proof, it’s not the same with used cars, especially when you’re buying them in private sales. Today though there are websites like Autocheck and Carfax which can help ease your worries by providing comprehensive car lifetime reports including if the car has ever been involved in any major accidents and the like. Any reputable second hand car dealer should have something similar on record and provide you with a stable warranty that you can use if there should be any kind of issue with your new purchase.
Overall, if you’re looking for a new car but don’t want to break the bank, consider getting a second hand purchase. After a year the price goes down on new cars considerably and as a result you can get a near to new car for often more than 10% less than the original value, which adds up to a pretty penny. If you choose a vehicle even older you’ll save yourself more money as well. After all, tried and tested often produces excellent results. Enjoy!