Overhaulin'

Doesn't it make sense to buy a cheaper brand new car vs an expensive used one?

I'm in the process of looking for another car. I've already had my first car since I was 15. It recently broke down and is unusable. I've been looking well over two months (before it broke down) for another car. Used car prices are extremely ridiculous to me, even from private sellers. I need a car asap because of the things I'm doing and I don't have months to save up. I have $1500 to put down and I can afford up to $250 a month after that. At first, I was looking for a used car under 6k, but they all seem to be pieces of crap (even after test driving). All the decent used cars are at least 10k. But there are some brand new cars I've found that I can get around 12k. So wouldn't it make sense to pay just a little more to get a new car? For example, I can get a 2011 Chevy Aveo for $11k-13k. But a 05 Malibu with 50k miles would run $10k. See what I mean? The only part I'm worried about is that I have to keep affording $250 a month for 5 years, which makes me nervous because since I'm only 20, a lot can happen in 5 years. What do you think?

Public Comments

1. If buying used, only buy Honda, Toyota or Nissan. They will be far more reliable than any new GM, Ford or Chrysler.
2. Your FIRST issue if financing. Unless you have a cosigner with good credit, you probably wont even qualify for one of those $6000 piece of crap. By the way, I drive a $1200 piece of crap and have for the last 5 years. Im a millionaire.
3. A decision like this is totally up to you, but the benefits to buying a new vehicle are that they’ll come with a warranty (for Chevrolet vehicles it’s a 3 year/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and a 5 year/100,000 mile Powertrain warranty) and usually, it’s easier to find parts for these vehicles should you need them. Thanks, Laura GM Customer Service
4. You also should compare car insurance quotes for cars before buying one, for example here - carquotes.sinfree.net