So you want to know why you should by a used car? While there are plenty of benefits of buying a used car, the fact that you can get into a much higher class of motor vehicle than you would otherwise be able to afford is probably the most important. You can often pickup a champagne car on a beer budget. This is especially true if you know what types of things are important for you and what to look for in the vehicle that you want to buy.
Getting More Car for your Investment
Most folks would love a BMW sitting in the driveway (or a Corvette or a Lexus). However there are a lot of people that simply don't have the down payment needed to pick up a luxury car from a dealer. The trick is not to worry about new but judiciously look into the used market. This is where the benefits of buying a used car show the most promise. You can often afford a fully-loaded, well kept used vehicle that is a few years old for the same or less than a low to mid-level new car. Plus, you don't have to endure the depreciation that you face the minute the new car drives off the lot. You need to ascertain your needs before you go shopping.
If you are into the luxury market, you can quite often find what they call a cream puff out there. The benefits of buying a used car of this type are obvious. First, the depreciation has already happened for the most part with the initial buyer. These types of owners tend to keep up on maintaining the vehicles because it is often included in the price of the vehicle. If you don’t want an upper end car but still need some reliable transportation, chances are you can not even afford a new car payment. You're more likely to find a good deal by buying from an individual than on a used car lot.
An individual selling his car should tell you what is good and bad about the car from experience. Since you are usually finding the cars in people's front yards, they also know that you can come back to them if there is a problem, so they tend to be a little more honest. No matter where you decide on purchasing your used vehicle, make sure that you have it inspected by a mechanic that you trust and get a car report, such as Car Fax to alert you of any possible issues.
The best benefits of buying a used car are spending less money, getting more of a vehicle for the price, and avoiding the loss through depreciation. The vehicle will be broken in, and any of the initial bugs should be worked out of it. If you judiciously do your research, you can often get a more car for far less money.
