Is A Used Car Always Cheaper Than A New One?

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Buying a car is one of those things that most of us would probably rather avoid having to do. After all, getting a new car is great but it's often one of the most expensive purchases that many of us will ever make. That being said, there are always things that you can do to reduce the cost of any car that you buy. Buying a used car rather than new is a common approach. However, is that really the best option? The obvious answer is yes but it turns out that it's a little more complicated than that. Here are just a couple of factors that might end up making a new car cheaper overall than a used one.

Reliability

One of the biggest factors that influences the kind of car that you're going to want to buy is going to be how reliable it is. The reliability of any given car isn't just going to be a matter of convenience but it's also going to impact your wallet as well. A used car is simply going to need more maintenance than something like a new new Audi A3 Saloon so while you might end up paying more initially for the newer car, the used one is going to be more expensive in the long run. It's a matter of thinking about whether or not the short or the long term expense is the one that you want to focus on.

Finance options

It's often the case that a lot of us aren't really in a position to put down a huge amount of money for a car in one go. Luckily there are plenty of other ways that you can afford to buy a car and one of the very best is through a finance plan. This often is significantly different when buying a new or used car. New car finance plans often involve special deals that lower the interest rate and often end up costing less in the long run than seemingly cheaper used cars with much higher rates of interest.

Resale value

The value of the car when the time comes to resell it is always going to be a factor when buying one so you should consider which option is going to give you the best returns when the time comes to sell. A used car isn't necessarily going to depreciate in value as quickly as a new one but there's a good chance that its value is going to be significantly lower simply by virtue of having had so many previous owners. It's one of the less cut and dry factors but certainly, one that you should be aware of.

Of course, it's important to remember that the kind of car that you buy and the factors that lead you to that decision are almost always going to be pretty personal and specific to your circumstances. Just make sure that you're always doing your research and you're not jumping into such a significant financial commitment without at least giving it some serious thought.