Your Pinellas Park Honda Dealer Asks: Does it Make Sense to Buy a New or Used Car?

May 24, 2013

Your Pinellas Park Honda dealer wants to make sure you make an informed decision when you purchase your next car, so it explores the pros and cons of buying new versus buying pre-owned cars. There are good points and bad points to both. You just have to decide which option is best for you.

Pro to New: New Cars Have Better Features

If you’re looking for a car that gives you the best features, then you have to buy a new one. Car manufacturers constantly update their vehicles to keep up with each other. Just a few years ago, no one thought that base cars would come standard with things like Bluetooth connectivity and navigation systems. Today, we find those features all over the place.

Con to New: You Have to Pay More for the Newest Features

If you want a brand new car with the latest technology, then you will have to pay a higher price. There’s no way around that. New cars cost more than pre-owned cars. If you don’t have enough money for a new car, then this could make the point moot. You buy what you can afford.

Pro to Pre-Owned: You Can Get More for Your Money

This year’s cars might have the latest technology, but last year wasn’t that long ago. Those cars also have great features. You might even find that you can get more features in your car by choosing pre-owned vehicles. When you save money on the car itself, you can spend more on the features you add to it.

Con to Pre-Owned: You Can’t Really Know the History

Yes, plenty of companies claim that they can give you complete histories of cars before you buy them. Many of those companies are good at what they do, but they can’t possibly give you a complete history on every pre-owned car for sale.

That means you take a bigger risk when you buy a used car. If you’re lucky, the dealership will offer some kind of warranty. If not, you could quickly learn that your car didn’t get the maintenance it needed when it was young. Now you’ll have to pay for repairs. That could end up costing more than buying a new car.

Obviously there are good things and bad things no matter which option you choose. Think about these factors to decide which way you want to go. If you choose a great dealership, you can’t go too wrong.