When car owners feel as though it is time to change their car, they are faced with a rather large decision: do you buy a brand new car, or do you buy second hand? As you’d expect, there are merits and disadvantages to both strategies, but we think that buying used is best. Here, this blog post looks at why.

The Merits of Buying New…

But first, it wouldn’t be a balanced post without discussing the merits of buying new, and to our minds, there are three immediate ones:

1)      Choose your perfect car: When buying new you can choose the exact specification that suits you, with no need to compromise on engine size, number of doors, trim level or colour.

2)      Warranty: As it is new, it’ll still come complete with the full manufacturer’s warranty.

3)      No need to worry: when buying from a private seller especially, many worry they may uncover something about the car’s history they weren’t aware of at the point of sale. With new, there is no need to worry.

The Merits of Buying Used…

1)      Breadth of choice: Millions and millions of used cars are sold in the UK alone every year, so if you’re buying used you’ll never be spoilt for choice.

2)      Lack of depreciation: The largest drawback of buying new is that your car will devalue as soon as you turn the engine over. With used, although it will depreciate slightly over time, you won’t take as much of a financial hit as you would with a brand new car.

3)      Changing of the times: Nowadays, cars are built to an incredibly high quality level, and car manufacturers are more likely to demonstrate their confidence to owners by providing extended warranties up to 7 years! This gives you great peace of mind, even when you’re buying used.

On Balance…

As has been said, there are clearly merits to both plans, but for financial reasons, it does feel as though buying used is best, especially in the middle of a recession.

If you go online to somewhere like AA Cars, you can select a range in a price that suits you, and it immediately becomes apparent that overwhelming amounts are available. Used cars are far cheaper than new ones, and fairly new ones still come with warranties and peace of mind, so it seems like a bit of a no brainer in the current climate.