Always better to buy used or is that baloney? (lease, 2015, auto)
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The price spread between new and 1-2-3 year old used cars has been pretty tight in recent years. The "used is better" mentality should not be universal now. You have to look at it on a case by case basis.
A used rental car with 60k on it is probably going to be pretty beat cosmetically, but maybe you don't care about that.
I have always bought new. If you buy used, you are merely buying someone else's problems, and the higher interest you pay financing a used vehicle (as most people do) generally eats up a great deal of the "savings" over the term of the financing agreement. The only used vehicle I own is a Polaris ATV that was less than a year old when I bought it. It is also the only vehicle I own that seems to continually give me problems.
As for depreciation... Let's just say if you see buying a vehicle as an economic investment, you really should consider a course in basic household finances.
You still have to look at a car in economical terms, even if it's a depreciating asset. Buying a slightly used car thats a few years old is the obvious way to go, the first owner took the brunt of the depreciation for you. Minimizes the loss. Basic household finances, minimize expenses and maximize income.
I was under the impression that most used cars are bought with cash. Unless your buying it from a dealer, then I can see setting up a payment plan. Private sales want the money upfront.
I have always bought new. If you buy used, you are merely buying someone else's problems,
Why? Most people switch out cars every three to five years, for something new, simply because they want something new, or the lease is up, or whatever. Rarely is a late model used car being sold due to it being a problem. Hell, these days, anything less than 10 years old is generally still in great condition and hasn't had much of a chance to have problems yet, unlike the old days ('50s-70s) when a year old car was out of warranty and often needed major repairs. So the ONLY thing that is wrong with used cars between 5-10 years old is that they often have had the bulk of their depreciation set in.
Yes, you do have to watch out for accident damaged cars or flood cars, but in general, lease returns and late model trade-ins are going to be good cars.
If you buy new, are YOUR cars problems? After all, as soon as you drive off the lot, it's a used car. Maybe you don't maintain your cars so that when you do sell them 5-10 years later they ARE problems. My cars are generally in a least as good shape as when I got them, be that new or used.
How about buying a new car like a Civic with a low interest loan and keeping the car for 15+ years? Most of my money is invested and earning more than the rates for car loans even after taxes in the long run. I currently drive a 15 year old Civic and plan to buy a new one this way when this one croaks. Paying cash isn't a bad idea but there's the opportunity cost of taking money out of investments to pay cash for a car is nontrivial.
I was under the impression that most used cars are bought with cash. Unless your buying it from a dealer, then I can see setting up a payment plan. Private sales want the money upfront.
If I'm buying under, say $5k, I'll buy with cash. Above that, I'll get a loan from the credit union at a low rate over a 5 year period and pay it off early (did that with my Suburban, it was $6500 when I bought last December, got financing from the credit union at 2.9% for 60 months, and paid it off a couple months ago). The reason for that is that I don't want to tie up all my cash assets in a car/truck, and want the lowest minimum payment so that if, say, one month I want to do something else, like go on vacation, I'll use the cash for that, make the minimum payment, and then go back to tossing larger amounts at it the following month.
I'll be doing that when I go to get another used car next year, which might come from a private party. They get their cash in a check from the credit union, and I have a finance plan that allows me flexibility in paying for the car.
If you can afford to pay for it in cash, I'd go with the new car. No problems, full warrantee, if it has all the options you want (don't settle when buying new); you will be potentially happier over the next 10 years with this vehicle.
That stated for the price you are looking at, I would consider other vehicles (and do a lot of research 1st) as I have zero experience with Hyundai.
I don't believe in "conventional wisdom" when it comes to buying vehicles as I have been burned by 2 out of 3 used car purchases I've made over the years (ridiculous reliability issues which only came up after taking ownership) while the 3 new vehicles I've purchased haven't had a single issue from the factory and put a smile on my face when I drove them. I've likewise had more employees and family members who bought used vehicles struggle with reliability than those who purchased new. I am not certain where the statistics for this sort of thing can be found, but I am serious, after 25 years of car buying experience I can confidentially state, if you have the money, buying new is a smart choice reliability-wise. The only exception I can think of is if you like doing your own mechanical work, then perhaps buying used is a great way to save money as you can offset unreliability with diagnosis and repair know-how.
Best advice so far is - it depends. Based on your explanation of keeping a car a long time and not putting on a lot of miles, the 10 year warranty on the new car drivetrain combined with the incentives on the new car make it a very logical choice. In regards to the Ford transmission issues, look for data on any model (and specific year) so you know if it has widespread issues.
For everyone else, please join the modern era. Cars are not dead at 100k anymore. My last two commuter cars have been rentals bought ~2 years old and one lasted 255k and was traded on the next, currently at 55k and going strong. Since I burn them up with miles, it makes zero sense to pay the new car depreciation.
Buy the new car.
People scream bloody murder about new cars depeciating value when pretty much all merchandise is effected similarly.
If you plan on keeping the car for >3 years, the car's value shouldn't even be an issue.
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