new v. used

ok, im in one of my classes, and my teacher splits us up. our topic new cars versus used (and used can be a new car with less then a 1000 miles that the owner just hated) and we were split up and were assigned sides. now i want you all to pick a side and argue it out... just keep it clean. because i cant figure out which is better.

i'm prefectly fine with letting someone else buy the car new and absorb the bulk of the depreciation. then i'll come along and buy the same car, slightly used, for considerably less money. like with my 02 maxima, i bought it in 03 for $12,000 less than MSRP of a brand new one. it was still the newest model, same exact car as what you would have gotten if you bought a brand new '03 maxima except it was way easier on my pockets. i even got a 100,000 miles warranty with it. the only real benefit i can see to buying it new is that you get to pick the options that the car as instead of having to settle with whatever options a used one has.

i'm prefectly fine with letting someone else buy the car new and absorb the bulk of the depreciation.

That's the same way I look at it.:bigthumb:

I'd like to buy new, since I'm paranoid that the reason someone would get rid of a new car with less than 1,000 miles is that there's something really wrong with it. Plus buying a new car just feels good. But there are just too many good used deals out there.

Used cars

Con's - not getting the color/options you want AND not knowing what kind of treatment the previous owner gave it even though it may be low miles

Used, all the ****in way. There is no reason to ever buy new. With such a huge chunk of society buying a new car every few years you can easily find the exact car you are looking for with most of a factory warranty on it and usually half the MSRP.

This may be because I've grown up the son of a mechanic surrounded by $25 cars pulled from doner auctions that then proceed to rack up another 100,000 miles. 79 St Regis picked up at an auction $15, nice upholstered seats, a 318 under the hood that refused to die, and a smooth, well cushioned ride. 50% of a Mercedes for 1/3000 the price. :)

does american really do sell a brand new car just because they hate it? or it was in some form of accident?

There are alot of factors that go into this...

New is good because you get to pick what options you want, color, etc. If you want to keep a car for a long time, might as well get it with as few miles as possible, which would mean new. New cars also have more time/milage on the warranty then a used car. When I bought my M3, I could have bought a Porsche 996, but I didn't want to deal with the possibility of having to pay for repairs on a Porsche. I'll probably end up selling my E46 before I have to worry about paying for repairs.

Used can be good because it soaks up depreciation. The problem with used is no or less warranty time, not knowing what the car has been through (Carfax helps), and having to compromise on options.

The depreciation rate of a specific car will also determine if it would be better as a new or used buy. Some cars drop in price pretty quickly because of lack of demand or a saturated market. It would be really easy to pick up a used Chevy Malibu at a good price because rental car companies sell them off all the time. More available = lower resale. Then there are BMWs, which have some of the highest resale of any cars in America. BMWs are really popular, especially E46 3-series and E39/E60 5-series. Higher demand = higher resale.

Buying new v. used really depends on what situation you are in and what you value.

there is no "better", only different reasons.
essentially, i do believe you get what you pay for.

It depends on your situation. If you own your own business, leasing a new car is better than buying a used one because you can write off the lease payment as a business expense. If you're buying buying for yourself, buying a 1 or 2 year old vehicle is smarter because you let the first owner pay for the depreciation and you still get the balance of a factory warranty. That's why we've seen huge growth in the Certified Pre-Owned programs offered by OEM's.

But car buying has never been about what's smarter. Buying a car is an emotional experience. It has nothing to do with what is better. If we all did what was "better", we'd keep our cars for at least 10 years and then buy a slightly used hybrid.

It depends on your situation. If you own your own business, leasing a new car is better than buying a used one because you can write off the lease payment as a business expense.

By that same argument, you can also write off the depreciation expenses of any car...hence, I really don't think that comes into consideration for businesses.

New vs old simply comes down to money.

Businesses prefer new because money is not really an issue because they can write off the depreciation whereas for an individual it's a dead weight loss.

IMO, if you're buying a car for the long term then buy new because depreciation is only a factor for resale.

If buying for short term, better for a little used because depreciation won't hit u as hard and since it's short term the repairs and maintenance aren't going to hit u as hard.

And if buying for project, buy as old as possible because once u modify it's worth nothing :icon16::tongue:

It's all simple economics.