It is a debate as old as driving: is it better to buy a new car or a used car. Many drivers prefer to buy a new car despite the large financial commitment this entails. I weighed lots of options and looked at both new and used cars before purchasing my new car in 2010. The follow are the top three reasons that buying a new car can be the best choice for you.
New Cars Don’t Have a Secret Past
When you purchase a new vehicle, one of the biggest advantages is that you know it is new. It comes directly to the dealer from the manufacturer and will have very few miles on it. My last new car only had seven miles on it when I picked it up. Many drivers like that they can be 100% certain that the car they are driving has no secret past. Past history is always an issue with a used car. Purchasing used, you can never be completely certain that the car has been maintained and driven.
The New Car Warranty
New cars come with a very good warranty from the manufacture to cover defects. Most new car warranties are bumper to bumper for three or more years up to a maximum mileage allowance and will cover almost any defect that occurs during that time. Drivers who purchase new cars, like having the security of knowing that they will have many years of worry free motoring. When purchasing new, drivers are assured by the new car warranty that they will not be caught with costly repairs in addition to their car payment. Often drivers will take their new car in for an inspection just before the warranty expires to see if any repairs need to be made. These will be covered by the manufacturer. My car is now two years old and still covered by a bumper to bumper warranty. I recently had a window frame trip piece crack on my car and the repair was completely covered by the warranty.
Manufacturers Can Be Generous With Financing.
Buying a new car is a large financial decision. Manufacturers know this and often offer incentives to buyers to purchase new cars. Often this will be in the form of discount financing with a very low interest rate over 60 months or more. Sometimes manufacturers will also often offer a cash incentive to purchase new. When I purchased my last new car, I received a cash incentive of $3000 and a discounted finance rate of 1.9% over 5 years. When I crunched the numbers, the cost of buying a two year old model of my car was the same price and purchasing a new one. The financing on the two year old model was close to 7% which pushed up the cost of borrowing considerably.
Buying a new car is a large purchase but it can be a good decision. As with any large purchase, doing little research can pay big dividends.
