Should I buy a used car or a brand new one?

Question

I'm a teen 17 years old. I was wondering if it's best to buy a brand new car or a used car? When I say used car I'm talkin about the ones you see at those car sellers that sell used cars. And brand new cars as in the place where they sell brand new cars. Suggest something affordable that looks nice for a girl.

Answer 1

It comes down to one simple decision. You can only buy what you can afford. If you can afford the price of a brand new car then buy one. If you can't then you have to buy a used car. It's as simple as that.



If everyone could afford a brand new car there would be no used cars for sale.



What you need to do is sit down with your monthly budget and determine exactly what you can afford. How much car can you comfortably afford on your income. Understand that the monthly payment is just a small percentage of the total cost to own a car. You have insurance, you have routine maintenance expenses and you have fuel costs to consider.



Once you have a price range in mind, then go shopping. If a new car is in your budget then buy one. A general rule. You should not spend more than 50% of your annual salary on the price of a car. If you make $25,000 a year then you can only afford a $12,500 car. If you only earn $12,000 a year than you can only afford a $6000 car.

Answer 2

Just by signing the paper work to buy a brand new car you loose enough money to buy a "beater". The odds are that the first car will be totalled in an accident, so purchasing a new car only guarantees that you will be out about 3000 to 10000 dollars right off the top. Now a 3000 dollar car is not much, but it can be insured for less (no comprehensive coverage is needed for a paid for car), the taxes are lower.

This is with out taking into account sales tax and licensing fees which are value based.

As for what car to recommend for a girl, a car is a car, so any one will do depending on which matters most- looks, performance or reliability. About the best all around cars are Subaru's, they are dependable, preform well- with the only draw back being looks. A good second choice is a Mazda which handle about the best for the dollar and if you stay away from the R series are very reliable. Next comes Ford products, IMHO they are the best value for the dollar. Honda and Toyota products are the choice of a lot of young drivers. But the Honda's have high insurance costs (due to theft) and Toyota has suffered in the quality department lately.

Stay away from flashy cars, the insurance is more for one thing. Also the demand is higher meaning they cost more just to get the good looks. There are two examples that come to mind on this. Several years ago Ford made several Fox bodied cars. Some of which were family sedans and the Mustang. Both performed the same. A lot of teens wanted Mustangs and got them, while others settled for the sedans. For those who wanted to build a street sleeper, the ones that bought the sedans had the money in the budget (lower insurance costs, paid less for the car) could do it. The second example is that in 1989 Ford started to sell a family sedan called the SHO, which could out run any of the V8 muscle cars at the time. But the SHO was avoided by many performance minded car owners because it was a sedan. SHO owners enjoyed lower insurance costs, better fuel mileage and drove a much faster car.

So please look a little deeper then how pretty or even new a car is. There are a lot of good buys on the used car market and it just makes sense to get the most for your money.

Answer 3

Are you making plans on maintaining the Scion if you are going to buy a brand new vehicle? Or are you buying and selling it in for a brand new vehicle? If you rather do not like your Scion and desire say a corolla considering the fact that of its higher millage, however it provided that it may not be a burden for your pockets. I imply you're a university pupil and should not be concerned approximately paying a vehicle correct now. Especially when you consider that you handiest force 30 miles an afternoon.

Answer 4

Brand new means warranty and less likely to break. If you dont have any mechanical background or a mechanic friend i would suggest brand new.



If you are considering buying used, since it will probably be cheaper. It is always better to bring a mechanic with you to check if the car is ok.

Answer 5

Buying anything from a dealer means you're paying them 400% more than they paid for it, no matter what they say. And they will lie in every direction to get you to buy it. I only buy used cars and I never pay more than $4000 for a running driving good looking car. And remember to factor in the amount of money you save by not going to the dealer towards gas.

Answer 6

These days buying a used car isn't a bad idea especially if it's good on gas. But I wouldn't suggest buying it if it looks "used" if you know what I mean

Answer 7

New