What Are the Long-Term Cost Benefits of Newer Cars vs Used?

It is time to purchase another car. This is when the question of buying new or used tends to surface. Generally, people tend to lean towards a used car in hopes of spending less. Unfortunately, financially speaking, this may not be the best option to take. 

In fact, there are cost benefits that come with buying new cars that are often overlooked. Here are four cost benefits of buying a new car versus a used one.

Low Mileage

A newer car has low mileage on it. This makes a newer car far less likely to break down than a used car. It also tends to ensure that a newer car has not been in any accidents. As a consequence, a newer car will usually be more reliable, because it has not been driven as much as a used car.

The New Car Warrantee

One of the most important cost benefits of owning new cars is that they come with a warranty. This warranty is usually good for many thousands of miles, depending on the manufacturer’s terms. 

This way, if there is a major problem with the car that costs thousands of dollars to repair, chances are it will be covered by the warranty and not cost the owner of the car tons out of pocket to get fixed.

User Neglect

The problem with buying a used car is that you rarely know what the former owner did to that car. You also do not know what their driving and maintenance habits were like either. 



If they neglected the car considerably, this may not become evident until many months after the purchase date. This can lead to a number of expensive surprises with the car that ranges from oil leaks to a cracked master cylinder. 

Increased Resale Value

Another overlooked cost-benefit of buying a new car is that newer cars tend to resell for more than used cars. When a person buys a used car for between 1000 to 2000-dollars, chances are they will get little to nothing if they need to trade it in on another car purchase. Where a newer car, even after it has been driven for a few years, retains greater resale value.

Aside from all the cost benefits of purchasing a new car, newer cars tend to look and ride better than used beat-up cars. Plus, you want to feel good about making a quality car purchase even if it does initially cost you more upfront. There is something to be said about knowing you are driving a newer, reliable car and the peace of mind that comes with that decision.