What Are the Benefits of Buying a Used Car?
Anyone who heads to look for used cars for sale in Anchorage, Alaska, knows the horror stories of a friend or family member heading off the lot with a terrible car that they paid way too much for. And there are many stories just like this that happen across the country every day. But buying a used car can be an enjoyable experience, and you can even walk away the victor in the exchange, as long as you know how to haggle and what makes a good used car. Here are just a few benefits of purchasing a used car.
Better Price
The best thing about purchasing a used car is the fact that you will automatically save a ton of money buying a used car vs. a new car. Everyone knows that the minute you drive a new car off the lot, the car depreciates—by more than you’d ever like to know. So, when you buy a used vehicle, you are automatically saving yourself a lot of money. According to cars.com, the price gap between new and used cars is around $20,000, which means you could end up saving yourself quite a bit of money in the long run. The only downside to this is that interest rates for used cars are generally more expensive. But in the long run, you’ll pay a lot less money for a used car than you will a new car.Depreciation Benefits
Another benefit to purchasing a used car is that you skip the part of your new car depreciating. When you buy a new car, you’ll experience the pain of losing the value of a large part of the car slowly over time. Once a rock hits your windshield, a car bumps you from behind, or a shopping cart slowly rolls towards your right door and leaves a paintless dent, you won’t have to worry about knowing how much your car will depreciate because of a small ding—the bad depreciation is already finished!No New Car Fees
Another benefit to choosing a used car over a new car is that you won’t have to pay a ton of fees due to the car being new. There are plenty of random fees that will add up to much more than you ever wanted to pay for a car, so be sure to ask about those before deciding whether to buy a new or used car.Variety
A great benefit to choosing to purchase a used car is that you have your choice of any model of any year that you’d like. If you loved the older version of a Civic more than the newer version, you can find one that fits your budget and your style perfectly.Certification Programs
Another great option for purchasing a used car is that you can purchase something that is a certified preowned vehicle, which usually means that the dealer guarantees that the vehicle is a good purchase and one worth buying. The benefits of purchasing a certified preowned vehicle are just a few of the following:- Certified preowned vehicles are usually not older than a couple of years and generally have a low mileage without a history of damage.
- Certified preowned vehicles are always looked over extremely thoroughly beforehand to ensure that they are a good purchase.
- These vehicles are usually covered with a warranty—something that usually only comes with new vehicles and is a great purchase for a used car.
- And the best part is that these vehicles also have a special financing, usually lower than both new and used car financing.
Editor's note: Per the OS Style Guide, the title should be in title case. Per The Chicago Manual of Style, "paintless" should not have a hyphen and a state name that follows a city name should have parenthetical commas (a comma before and after the state name). Per Merriam-Webster, "preowned" should not have a hyphen. Make sure that you adjust any capitalization and punctuation errors after adding the linked keyword.
