I have bought a used car and I keep noticing things that aren’t right with it. But I’m glad my loan is cheaper to pay off.

My advice is, if it’s your first car (mine is), go for a used one. Not only is it cheaper (and first-time owners are usually hard presed for cash) but it’s the car you’re more likely to hit. You don’t want to spend heaps on a car you are likely to make mistakes with.

Secondly, after a few years — I intend to dispose of mine in three — you can sell that car (which will have depreciated at a lower rate than a new one) and get a new car you can better afford and better care for. That’s great for two things: you’ll have got the feel of driving different cars (if you buy a different model) and in a few years, when everyone else’s ride is beat up, you’ll be the flashy one!

If you plan on buying and keeping it forever and can pay cash or get 0% financing then new isn’t always bad.

Generally though, I prefer used, particularly if you like to trade them in every couple years or can’t pay cash.

If you plan on financing, I suggest you live for several months with making a “fake” car payment (including increased insurance, etc.) so you can see how it’s going to impact your life financially. You can make your payments to a savings account and use that money for your down payment.

I suggest people do this with every financed purchase because many times people finance thinking it won’t be a big impact and it becomes a struggle.

Whatever you decide, look for quality over flash.

Good luck!

I buy such cars ten years old and keep them ten more years. I use an inspection service like Lemon Busters. If they tell you that something will need to be repaired soon, you can use that information to negotiate the price down. If they tell you that a lot of things need to be repaired soon or that the vehicle was poorly maintained, don’t buy it at all. Sure, you’ve just blown over $100, but that’s really small potatoes!

Using this method, and saving $50 per month for my next car, I have been able to pay cash for all my cars. They are of such low resale value that it’s not worth paying for collision insurance, so I save that monthly payment, too. (If I did crash the car and it was my fault, I would just buy another one.)

Now I have so much saved that I spend only half my savings on a car so that in case something happens I can pay cash for the next car right away!

Here are a couple of notes on our buying process
http://breydel.blogspot.com/2007/02/home-is-where-tank-is-parked.html

Along with the other great comments, I suggest you consider how you will finance your car. Ideally you would pay cash and be finished with it. If that is not the case, a more expensive vehicle means longer, bigger financing, and in the end higher costs.

By going used, you can probably lower those financing charges. I would never finance for more than three years – if the car in question requires longer financing, then in my book you cannot afford it.

Good luck.

make sure you do your research. many places have an extended warranty on their used cars, which i think are pretty valuable.

most used cars are pretty comparatively expensive because they’re post-lease cars. people who tend to lease cars will try and get them fully loaded, so you’re buying a used car with all the perks, not typically just a used base model, which will inflate the price.

I was a devout follower of the “buy used” philosophy (3 used cars owned) until I started looking to replace my Honda Civic (bought used of course). I found that buying used was still an exercise in compromise and I was tired of getting some features and having to get the rest of them as aftermarket parts. While I don’t mind compromise in general, if I’m going to own something for 10-15 years I want exactly what I want. So I ordered a 07 VW Rabbit from the factory. I got the car with 18 miles on it and I know every time that car has been driven hard and more importantly for me it is exactly what I wanted.

Overall I think if you plan on keeping the car for a long period of time, buy new. Take advantage of the long new car warranties and get the car you want with the features you want.

I put such a large down payment on the car that the payments are really low.

The car was new. It’s still running great!

So save a lot, and buy new…