8 Benefits of Buying a Used Car
My used car just hit 100,000 miles! There are so many benefits of buying a used car, I thought I would create a special post to commemorate this special event. That picture to the left there is my little baby right as she rolled over 100k! My hope is that I convince you to buy a used car (for your next purchase) based on the many benefits of buying a used car 🙂 Below, you’ll find my top 8 benefits of buying a used car.
Used Car Tips and Tricks
Before we get started with the 8 benefits of buying a use car, I want to draw your attention to several posts previously written on used cars and how to maintain them. It will also be worth your time to check these used car posts if you’re looking for more used car buying tips/tricks:
- Frugal Guide for Buying a Used Car
- Car Downsizing – How I Got a Free Corolla
- How I Almost Bought an $80,000 Car
- How to Get Better Gas Mileage
- How to Change Your Headlights
- How To Change Your Own Oil
Now, onto the list!
Better Price
Obviously if you are buying something used versus new, you will be getting a lower price. This applies to nearly everything except for collectors items. Thankfully, this same relationship holds true when buying a used car – used cars will always be cheaper than new cars. You can use this tip to your advantage to save yourself thousands of dollars over a lifetime of car ownership!
Depreciation Benefits
One of the main reasons you will get a much better price on a used car is because of depreciation. Did you know that the value of a new car drops by 20% when it becomes a year old? This is why people joke that as soon as you drive a new car off the lot the price drops! Sure the new car smell is nice, but is it worth several thousand dollars to you?
Easier to Negotiate Prices
Who likes working with high-pressured and highly-trained car sales specialist? I am guessing most of us hate dealing with car dealers. The good news is that if you are buying a used car from a private party, you are free to negotiate prices with someone that can generally be considered less experienced at negotiation. If you are not in a rush to buy a used car, and can spend a bit of time looking for a good deal, you can have the upper hand in any type of negotiation with a private party for a used car.
Avoiding New Car Fees
Out of all of the benefits of buying a used car, my favorite is avoiding fees – I hate BS fees with a passion! When you go to buy a new car, there are a ton of fees that dealers levy against you. This helps dealers ring out the the maximum amount of money from your wallet. A couple of the BS fees that will hit you with include: shipping charges, destination fees, dealer preparation fees, and the list goes on and on. You can avoid all of these types of fees by skipping the dealer and just buying a used car from a private party.
Variety
One of the other benefits of buying a used car is variety. Normally when you are shopping for a new car, you are limited to what the dealer has in their inventory. This can be pretty limiting as you are narrowed down into one brand of car and stuck with certain colors. Unless you want to pay for those fun “shipping charges.” If you are buying a used car, you can browse for thousands of used cars over Craigslist, eBay, and other popular sites from the comfort of your home! It’s hard to beat this convenience.
Sales Tax on Car Purchases
When you purchase a car, the state you bought the car in will most likely charge you sales tax. This can range anywhere from 2%-5% of the sales price! You can save yourself several thousands of dollars in taxes by keeping your car purchase value as low as possible. The best way to achieve this goal is to buy a used car!
Yearly Car Tax
Another tax that many states employ is the yearly car tax. This is based on estimated value of your vehicle. Buying a used car (which would be valued at a lower amount) can save you hundreds in annual car tax.
Lower Car Insurance Premiums
Another benefit of buying a used car is that you will save hundreds of dollars a year in car insurance premiums. Your car insurance premium is highly influenced by the value of the car you are driving. If you are driving a less expensive car, it stands to reason that your car insurance premium will be much lower. Buying a used car will help lower your car insurance premiums by several hundred dollars a year!
8 Benefits of Buying a Used Car – Final Thoughts
If you can pass up the allure of a new car purchase, you are sure to save a lot of money if you buy a used car instead. I hope you enjoyed this post where I highlighted the 8 benefits of buying a used car. Are there more benefits to buying a used car that I should add?
Thank you for listing the benefits of buying a used car! Some of these points were things that I had already thought of, but I really liked the point about being able to find a greater variety of used than new cars. Since I want to find a distinctive car in a color I like as well as saving money, I think buying a pre-owned car is the right choice for me!
I really appreciate this information on the benefits of buying a used car. I like that you point out that they have many, if not all of the benefits of a new car, just for a lower price. I think it is interesting that the price can go down so much even if it is so lightly used. Thanks for the information!
June – thanks for stopping by. Used cars really are the only way to go!
I have heard that a car is the fastest depreciating asset you can ever own. It is incredible that it can drop by as much as 20% by the time it is just one year old! I for one don’t like the new car smell, but that isn’t the only reason that I will be buying used cars. Like you say, there are countless financial benefits, like lower car insurance premiums and avoiding paying the biggest year of depreciation. It seems like the best option, for sure.
Agree 100% Laurel :-).