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A new Consumer Reports
study of overall owner costs (depreciation, fuel usage,
insurance, interest, maintenance, repairs, sales tax, etc.)
shows that choosing a three-year-old car instead of a new
one can save you thousands of dollars
over the
first five years. (Consumer Reports
Oct. '08 issue)
"The real key to used-car savings is
depreciation, or how much value a car loses over time. On
average, depreciation accounts for a whopping 45 percent of
a new vehicle's owner costs over the first five years, with
the steepest drop in value coming in the first year. By
contrast, a three-year old vehicle has already taken its
biggest hit in resale value. Its depreciation accounts for
only about 25 percent of its five-year owner costs."
(Consumer Reports, Oct. '08, p. 45)
A second great benefit of
buying a reliable used-car is the ability to get a more
up-scale model with more features for the
same 5-year owner
cost as a less expensive new car.
If you are concerned about
reliability, the same Consumer Reports article says that
cars are, overall, much more reliable than they used to be
...
"When properly maintained, many vehicles
can now reach 200,000 miles or more without a major
problem."
"... our data show that for most
late-model cars, savings on depreciation, tax, and interest
far outweigh the increased maintenance and repair costs..." (Consumer Reports Oct. '08, p.
47)
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