When it comes to purchasing a vehicle what do most of you tend to lean towards more?
New or used?
This question is directed more towards those who are financially capable of purchasing a new car but decide a slightly used is a better purchase.
For those who have purchased used, under what criteria do you use to puchase your vehicle (milage,year,price)?

 

among the luxury cars i have owned, the gs400 was the only used. tl-s, sc430, is300, ls460l, and gs350 were all new.

it really depends on what you want. from a financial point of view, you can't beat used cars. new cars always take depreciation hit the first few yrs, especially luxury cars, easily 40-50% the first 3 yrs.

however, some people prefer new cars coz' it can be in exact configuration they want it, leather in perfect condition (this is one big item for us), no idea of previous treatment on engines, etc....

 

for luxury or sports cars I prefer new of course, but will look for very low mileage used or leftover new cars to get great deals.

 

It depends on the car and my mood. If I happened to find a new car that I like at the time I'm looking to buy a car then I'll buy new. If a used car that I like pops up when I'm looking I'll buy used. I'm kind of an impulse buyer in that sense. When it comes to cars, if I'm kind of looking and I see something I like new or used, I often end up buying it. My last car purchase, I was actually looking to buy either a new Toyota Tacoma Double Cab truck, or a new G35-S, and I somehow ended up with a used E46 BMW with ultra low miles.

 

I usually prefer to buy new cars, as that way I can get exactly what I want. I am very particular when it comes to color, options, etc., and finding a used car with exactly what I want is rarely successful. Now don't get me wrong, buying a good used car is very financially sensible, and without a doubt the most cost effective way to buy a car. When buying used, color, options, condition, mileage and price are the most important criteria for me.

 

Buying a new car is nice, but if I could save thousands on buying a used one, that's the route I'd take.

 

mkim - great question.

I'm a pretty practical guy and I tend to think that after driving a new car for more than 3 months, it is "used" to me and I would be in the same boat and still feel the same way about my car had I bought used. That being the case, I personally cannot justify a new car purchase for myself. I'm aat the extreme though. So much so that I can't find a reason to sell my car to buy a newer one.

 

The typical depreciation factor of a new car after its first year is crazy. I guess Ive always bought used, but love test driving new.

 

If you can afford to be one of those guys that will only buy new, then more power to you. However, some of the richest guys I know only buy used cars.

I've purchased cars new, and like cliffud, I get no additional enjoyment knowing that I was the first and only owner. I'd prefer to find a good deal on a used car. It does take some time to find the right car at the right price, but the joy in getting a good deal lasts the entire time you own the car.

 

While I've almost always bought new throughout my life, often when I see the first year hit luxury cars take, I question why I did it. But thinking back, there were some compelling reasons to go new
1. I like to get EXACTLY what I want and going new increases that chance. I figure if I'm dropping that kind of cash, I should not settle (I ordered my 550 to the EXACT specs I wanted - color and all).
2. Mfgs are often adding things each year. Take the 5-series - for 2007, it got HD radio some other nice tweaks - boy I sure would like to have those, for 2008, it got some updated styling and even more tweaks and options - sure would like to have those. So the prospect of purchasing a year old one eats away at me (one of the reasons I did not pick up a M5 last year for a SCREAMING deal - hated the center console where the heated/cooled seats switches are and I WANTED the heated steering wheel which is only available on the 2008).
3. I have no clue what the guy or gal before did to the car I'm about to buy. Did they beat the crap out of it? Was it in the dealer so many times they lost count (yes, I know you can check this out ahead of time). So the piece of mind is very important.

So I guess you could say I'm a bit of a picky **** guy.

 

In most cases, new is better than used, unless you are looking at a very expensive model you can't afford otherwise. Then, consider going used....but only after a THOUROUGH check-out of the car's condition..

Another thing to consider today is, of course, the high gas prices. For any given amount of money in the car budget, in the past a larger, thirstier, more expensive car might have been OK, but today, it costs so much just to run the car that the same amount of money is probably better spent on a smaller, cheaper, more economical car instead. For many families (and individuals) high gas prices have forced at least some choosing...not everyone can still afford to have their cake and eat it, too.

 

My father always told me less is more and buy new, now I'm realizing that more is more and you just need to do some research, TXSTYLE for years I've been buying new and pampering the hell out of my cars, wash wax, full detail every week, synthetic oil and fluids and changing them at the severe intervals, and without even trying people buy my used cars without question, so I've realized that their are people out their just like me that get bored, and want something different, so in my research I've discovered the 3leet owners of cars who have full service records and every detail about their cars, most importantly the more expensive a car is the more important maintenance records.

My brother bought a loaded 08 300C AWD for about 37k, I've been researching SRT8's and found some amazing cars with 10k in upgrades for under 30k and they have been nothing but driven the way I drive but pampered vehicles, new an SRT8 is 50k

Granted one should always be able to buy new but now I'm starting to realize maybe it's not that smart to blow money on vehicles if it's only something you want for a year or 2, and what I've blown on cars I could have made some serious real estate investments

 

People have gotten into a lot more headaches with real estate investments lately than they have with any car. You may have saved yourself a lot of trouble.

 

I bought my GS430 used and paid less then half of what a brand new one would cost or what the original owner paid and the car was not that old and only had 47K miles on it, that is a huge amount of money I saved over buying a brand new one. I pretty much saved 30K dollars and paid about what a lightly optioned brand new accord or camry would cost except I got a 300hp v8 rwd luxury car instead of a fwd 4 or 6 cylinder family sedan. I am very happy with what I paid and can't justify spending all the extra money buying a brand new one but it did take me a little while to find the car and price I was happy with. After this experience I doubt in the future I would buy brand new unless it was for a car I really wanted that might have questionable reliability, then I would need some kind of warranty and may prefer me to be the only one who has driven it.

For a daily driver I generally want something around 3-5 years old from a reliable brand like Acura, Infiniti, Lexus, Honda, Toyota. If I was buying a BMW, Mercedes, or Audi I would generally only get one that was 2 or 3 years old and would have to have some kind of extended warranty and would get rid of the car as soon as the warranty is up unless maybe I found a excellent deal on a older E46 M3 which I love and I could get some kind of extended warranty with it. For a second or 3rd car that was either a backup or a weekend driver sports car (NSX, Porsche 911, 968, S2000, Supra tt, G35 coupe,car then I would have to get a fairly old one like 8-10yrs old to get it at a price I could afford for a weekend sports car and would have to do alot of research to find one that fits my criteria. I do want to own a Porsche 911 sometime in my life but there is no way I am paying 80K plus for a new one no matter how much I make or have in the future, that is just too much money for what you are getting, I would much rather pay in the mid to upper 30's or low 40's for a nice used one, I don't need the latest model with a 911 and would be just as happy with a used one gotten at a great deal. I also would love to own a NSX sometime in my life and since they are so well built and reliable I can deal with a pretty old one with fairly high mileage.

As far as buying brand new I think I would only get a 4 cylinder fairly lightly optioned Accord or similiar family sedan or a lightly optioned entry level lux cars Lexus IS, Infiniti G35/G37 coupe, Acura TSX or TL, and possibly a 3 series if they improve their interiors. I don't want to spend over 40K on my daily drivers brand new and would rather pay in the 20's used. I don't think most cars priced in the 50's and over new are really worth their price or worth spending 20K or 30K over entry level lux/sports sedans/coupes.

 

I tend to go for new vehicles. The first two cars I've had were used and generally needed more work done on them right away and over their useful lives.

With new purchases, I was able to choose color and options. There are also no surprises or inherited unknown problems.

I can't help but think that if a car is being sold, it has to be for a reason. And I don't really like the idea of what the previous owners might have done to it or in it.