By Sky Motoring
26 September 2007
It’s the eternal question: new or used? On one hand you get the pleasure of specifying your new car exactly as you like, the reassurance of a full manufacturer’s warranty, not to mention that famous ‘new car smell’. But on the other hand, buying used means that somebody else has very kindly paid for the initial depreciation – the largest cost involved in new car buying – so you can park something a bit flashier on your driveway.
If you do decide to go down the second-hand route, here are a few pointers to make sure you don’t end up with a lemon.
What?
The first question is what are you going to buy? If you’re not too worried about the age of the car, your budget will cover a much broader spectrum of cars than if you were buying new. The best thing to do is to make a list of the things you need from your car and then compare these criteria with all the cars available. Some prestigious cars can look tempting at a surprisingly cheap price, but be careful – although a top-of-the-range BMW might look like a bargain at a third of its original price, the running costs will be prodigious and it’ll be expensive to fix if things go wrong.
Where?
Once you’ve decided what you’re going to buy and you’ve made sure that you can afford both the insurance and the running costs, you need to decide where to shop. Broadly speaking, the more risk involved, the more you’re likely to save.
The least perilous option is the franchised dealer. As a rule of thumb they tend to offer the newest and most cherished of the used cars available. Used cars purchased from franchised dealers are subject to extensive, multi-point checks, which ensure that the car is in tip-top condition and are backed up by comprehensive warranties; it really is in the interest of their reputation to ensure that the cars they sell are as good as new. Another advantage of buying from any dealer is the possibility of arranging finance for your purchase, as well as the convenience of trading in your old car. This option provides the most peace of mind but is, predictably, the most expensive.