used or new car

You're going to wreck it within a few months so make sure you get good insurance.

Nice certified pre-owned is best bang for the buck overall. Get a Honda or Toyota for reliability but knowing you, you're probably in the market for a windowless van.

My father sold cars for most of his professional life. He never once bought a new car. It's like throwing money away. Find a car that was previously a leased car - they take incredibly good care of them, and sell them for thousands less than a new car with lots of warranty left.

If you need to ask then used for sure.

Melvin_sl said:

If you need to ask then used for sure.

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Absolutely.

One of the worst financial decisions a 'not rich' person can make is to purchase a new car.

get a moped

chthonic-anemos_sl said:

get a moped

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I hate these fucking things. They are popping up everywhere here and the fuckers drive on 45+mph roads going their stupid little 30mph the entire time.

Buying used is typically the best option, but not always, depending on the vehicle price and your credit. The difference on a $20,000 car between 0% APR new and 6%-ish used (not sure what the current interest rates are on used cars) is over $3k. Generally yeah a certified car is the best blend of both. You get a car with reasonably low miles, an extended warranty, a pretty good interest rate, and it's depreciated a bit.

I'm poor so I always buy a used vehicle. So far I've purchased vehicles that I can pay out completely so I don't have to make any payments. I have to admit, if I made 30-40% more money I think I would spring for a new car.

When I bought my last car it was actually cheaper new, but it was just coming off the crazy problems with the economy. The used car market was really inflated because new car purchases were down, so less potential used cars coming into the market, and the used car market was waaaaay up because people still needed cars. I ended up with a choice between a brand new Honda at .9% interest and huge discount (Costco partner discount, I got it very nearly at their cost) and a used Honda, same car just the two years earlier model at 4.9% interest. If you count the interest over the life of the loan, it was basically break even on price.

Hondas retrain their value really well so that factored in, if I was comparing any other car brand it probably wouldn't have been as close.

Be careful buying anything with a turbo second hand, it has probably had a hard life.

Is Oz you can buy new cars with 0% to 2% finance... good deals are to be had if you look around..

Lots of cars now come with 5 year warranties and some even with unlimited K's for the 5 years.

With modern engine designs anything up to 250,000 Km "should" be in good condition if serviced regularly.

Lots of "if's"....

Are you getting a loan? If not, buy used from an individual, it takes time, but you get the best deal. Use Ebay and Craigslist aggregators to track the going rate of the car you want. If you list the year, make, model, and trim level of what you are looking at, I can give you dealer auction prices for reference.

If you need to go through a dealer for a loan, you may be able to find a dealer who will buy you an auction car for a flat fee. Manhiem has a pretty good write up for each car on auction, so you can see what you are getting (example below). There are a few internet dealers who focus on buying from auction and turning them quickly by keeping the markup low. The one I focused on when I was looking, was Texas Direct Auto. They sell mainly through ebay. They keep costs down by sacrificing service, so dont expect a normal dealer customer service experience. I tracked their purchases, and they hovered around a 3k markup on what I was looking at (pic below).

spoiler for size

I voted 'new' but it really depends on what you're looking for.

For example, about a year ago I was shopping for a low mileage Honda Civic to use as a daily driver. When I say 'low mileage' I mean 30K or less. What was available in my area was damn close (within 2K) of the price of a NEW similar class vehicle. So, I ordered a 2014 Fiesta with the options I wanted and got it with 0% financing. Some might argue that the Ford doesn't have the reliability of a Honda and will depreciate quicker, and they are probably correct. But that's the sacrifice I made for getting a vehicle that has all the features I wanted and is in pristine condition.