Quote:
Originally Posted by allinon72
Even if you plan on keeping the car 50 years, is there really a difference between a brand new car and the same car with 5,000 miles, for example? It's the same car, without thousands/tens of thousands of near instant depreciation. Now, if you have a certain net worth, this conversation is irrelevant. But if you have a net worth of under 1 mil, it really doesn't make financial sense to buy a new car, finance or cash.
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You need to do the math and figure out if the depreciation outweighs the extra finance cost and maintenance on a used car. Loan rates are typically higher on a used car so there’s a higher finance cost over the life of the loan and potentially higher repair and maintenance on something like a lease return with 30k miles. I drive my cars relatively little (sub 10k) per year so the warranty coverage and lower maintenance costs combined with special dealer finance rates can mean an overall lower cost of ownership in the typical timeframe most hold onto a vehicle.