On Jan 26, 6:54*am, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:
"Chris Friesen" wrote in message

el...



It also may not save any money to buy used. *I wanted a Honda or Toyota
hatchback. *Around here used ones were going for a significant fraction
of the new price--ten year old cars going for half of new. *Since I was
planning on driving it into the ground, I figured I may as well buy
new--that way I know the history of the car.

There are some exceptions due to market demand, but for the most part,
buying used vehicles saves a great deal of money. *The biggest part of
depreciation happens in the first couple of years in a car's life, and
buying a 2-3 year old car with 20-30K miles on it generally can save about
half the price of the car. *Most cars today are more than capable of
exceeding 100K miles with nothing more than a brake job, and quite capable
of doubling that without significant repairs. *Not much to be gained these
days by knowing the history of a car. *Notwithstanding the extreem
situations that might be referenced anectodally, most people pretty much
drive cars normally, and there just aren't the history of problems that used
to exist in the good old days.

Yes, there are many exceptions, trucks being a major one. When I
bought my 2001, a two-year old truck with 20K was selling for $1K less
than I paid for my new one. Nuts! OTOH, we bought a three-year old
2000 Sable for about half the original price with 12K miles on it.
Both vehicles have been fine (though the corroded out brakes/lines on
my truck cost a small fortune).

On the other hand, if you're planning on turning over vehicles every few
years then it definitely makes financial sense to buy used.

It makes plenty of sense if you're going to keep the car for a couple
hundred thousand miles too.

You also have to weight the reliability. If you rely on the vehicle
for work, you're in tough shape when it's down.