[infocus]

This is so true. I was looking for an older used car to keep monthly payments and loss of depreciation to a minimum. However, I discovered after shopping around that a newer used car was a better bet for me.

I wound up with a Ford Focus that was only a year old, and it had been a rental car, but it had complete records and I did a check on the VIN number to be sure the history was clear. I found out that rental car companies actually maintain their cars very well. It had about 20,000 miles on it, which wasn't too bad. Since it was so new, it had the 100,000 mile warranty on it, which gave me peace of mind (if I'd gone one year older the warranty would have been 30,000 miles I think it was). With research I also learned that the newer cars, particularly the small cars, are safer than the older ones. Also, since it was so new, I got 4.99% interest and no down payment. I did the math, and an older, cheaper car I was looking at would have cost me about the same due to the higher interest rate on older cars. Plus, it is almost certain to have cost me more in repairs.

I did save by purchasing a one year old car vs. brand new though, so I got the best of both worlds in some ways. I checked the blue book value and what I paid was about $1,000 less than blue book. A year later, I have had no problems and have paid nothing outside of oil changes and regular maintenance. Although I was initially leery of a rental car, I now think they are a great value!