{"id":14754,"date":"2023-08-15T01:19:38","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T15:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/?p=14754"},"modified":"2023-08-15T01:22:10","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T15:22:10","slug":"how-to-choose-between-a-new-and-second-hand-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/buy-new-car\/how-to-choose-between-a-new-and-second-hand-car\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose Between a New and Second-Hand Car"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We all know that feeling. Bringing home a brand new, spick and span car that you’ve just picked up at the dealership. It’s your pride and joy, with all the perks that come with a modern car. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, you’ll be content with your decision, but not everyone reaches the buying stage with as much ease. In this case, it’s worth tallying the pros and cons when it comes to buying a new car and second-hand vehicle.
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Depreciation or security?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

New cars depreciate in value as soon as they leave the dealership. When buying for private use, you may not be able to claim depreciation as a tax deduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people ignore this substantial cost because it is a ‘notional’ cost, whereby there is no cash impact after the initial purchase. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t overlook this cost, because a 40% haircut in value over the first three years is enough to dictate the flexibility of your ownership of said car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, a new car offers security for a new owner. First of all, you are not buying someone else’s mechanical problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, if you encounter any manufacturing faults, these will generally be fixed quickly at no cost under warranty, particularly with manufacturers’ these days offering extended warranties of seven or even ten years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tying into this is a third point. Most of us need to take out a loan to pick up a ‘new’ set of wheels, even if it is second-hand. Typically, the interest rate on a new car is likey to be less than that of a used car, albeit this takes into account the higher purchase price that leads to higher interest costs over the loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first owner of any car absorbs the steepest depreciation costs, so a second-hand owner benefits from a lower purchase price, a slower rate of depreciation, and lower insurance costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, for all these savings, there are significant risks attached to buying a used car. These cannot and should not be overlooked. Not only is there a higher risk of incurring costs for unwarrantied repairs – and that owner’s manual is not easily verifiable – but maintenance costs are likely to be higher due to the car’s age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you really want to run the gauntlet with the risk of a major mechanical failure a;ways looming?<\/p>\n\n\n

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Pricing or features?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

New cars, particularly those made in the last few years, are substantially safer than older cars. They often have desirable features that a second-hand vehicle might not be equipped with. For example, modern-day essentials like autonomous emergency braking, reverse camera, rear-cross traffic alerts, blind-spot monitoring, and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some buyers achieve major savings while still enjoying most of the benefits of a new car by opting for a near-new demonstration model. In this case, you can find a car that is practically new but sold at a steep discount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternatively, a ‘certified pre-owned’ vehicle can also bridge the gap between new and used. Pre-loved cars sold under this program are subject to rigorous inspection, and are usually covered by a manufacturer warranty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the day, most buyers will come to a decision based on affordability. But the reality is, there are risks abound. You would almost be better served looking for a more affordable new car, than a discounted second hand that could be hiding all sorts of problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you do opt for a used car, however, be sure to have it thoroughly checked out by a mechanic before you agree to purchase it, and don’t be afraid to walk away from the deal if things don’t stack up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all know that feeling. Bringing home a brand new, spick and span car that you’ve just picked up at the dealership. It’s your pride and joy, with all the perks that come with a modern car. Naturally, you’ll be content with your decision, but not everyone reaches the buying stage with as much ease. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,4049],"tags":[7757,939],"class_list":["post-14754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buy-new-car","category-new-cars","tag-second-hand-vehicle","tag-used-car"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14754"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14757,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14754\/revisions\/14757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}