It used to be called a used or secondhand vehicle. Now they are called preowned cars, thanks to the PC brigade or rather thanks to clever marketers who substituted ‘used’ with ‘preowned’ to make it all sound better. So should you buy a new car or a used preowned car? What are the pros and cons of buying a secondhand car?
The first reason to opt for a secondhand car is the price of course. The price of a vehicle starts to depreciate as soon as it is driven off by its first buyer. The value of a car will decrease steadily throughout its life. Within the first year, one can expect the price to go down by 20%. So, a well-used car: no accidents, single-owner driven and in good condition is much better value for money than a brand new car.
In the budget you have for buying a car, you can buy a far superior brand/model of car if you opt for a preowned vehicle vis-à-vis a new one. Buying a used car can also mean that you can get a higher variant for about the same price as a new car of the lower variant. So you can enjoy a more upmarket, feature-laden vehicle for a lot less.
There are other savings to be had. Buying a used car means lower EMIs to repay your loan. In cases, you could even afford to buy a secondhand car outright. The older a car is, the lower are the insurance premiums payable. Hence buying a secondhand car also means lower insurance.
There could be other benefits of buying a used car; particularly from a reputed dealer or a brand authorised seller. Proper inspection of the vehicle and a realistic valuation means that there is transparency in the buying-selling process. In some cases, the preowned car will come with an added warranty.
Over the years, technology has given us sturdier and longer-lasting cars. This means that even a used car still has a lot of wear in it and may still offer trustworthy performance for years to come.
The first disadvantage of a used car is the fact that you never know if you may be stuck with a faulty or a damaged vehicle or if it’s been in a major accident if the seller chooses to hide this information from you. The previous owner may have been a reckless or bad driver and may not have looked after the vehicle well. This could mean greater wear and tear on the engine and body of the car. So, reliability is an issue when opting for a preowned vehicle, whereas with a new car, there is less apprehension of a breakdown, or need to replace parts.
Secondly, the life of a preowned vehicle is necessarily less than a brand new vehicle. So you will need to replace a preowned car earlier than a new vehicle. A new car will come with all the manufacturer warranties which a used car would not offer.
There is also less choice in used cars. While you can get the brand, colour choice and exact specs or variant in a new vehicle, that configuration may not be available in used cars when required.
It is safer to buy a used car from an authorised brand or other reputed dealer, because they subject a vehicle to thorough checks and make an independent valuation. However, the buyer could end up paying more since the dealer commission /percentage will be tacked on to the price of a car. Also, with used cars, you will not have the advantage of festive discounts, freebies and other incentives offered by the dealer.
So there are pros and cons of used cars as well as new cars. A preowned car may be more prudent, but a new car has its advantages too. Plus there is that new-car smell to enjoy!
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