This is a collaborative post: One of the first questions you might ask yourself when considering what car you want to buy next is whether to go for a new model or a used one. It’s not always an easy decision – after all, while used cars are cheaper, there’s a reason why that’s the case.
Yet we reckon the benefits of buying used far outweighs the convenience of buying a new car. We’ll stick to SUVs for this article, because these are the most popular kind of family car right now, but our advice applies to lots of different kinds of car.
Before you buy any new or used car you need to know how much you can afford to spend. You might ask yourself ‘how much is my car worth?’ when thinking about your budget, but there’s nothing to worry about there – plenty of online valuation services let you find this information out for free (see above link for one of them).
Used SUVs are more affordable
The number one reason to buy a used SUV instead of a new one is that it’s cheaper. Depreciation means that cars lose value as soon as they are bought, and rapidly lose value for the first three years of their life.
What tends to happen then is that cars will be worth steadily less, reaching a plateau at a certain point where they don’t lose any more value. This is usually a few thousand pounds – even the most unwanted cars are still useful and worth something to somebody.
The best time to buy is when the used car has shed most of its value already, so you don’t take a hit when it comes time to sell it in the future.
Used SUVs are better for the environment
If you’ve ever heard of the waste hierarchy, you’ll know that used products of any kind are better for the environment. Choose a used car if you want to lower your impact on the planet, because no more resources will have to be used – including power for the factory and raw materials, among other things – to produce it, unlike with a new car.
The best thing you can do for the environment, clearly, is to not buy or use a car at all. But that’s unrealistic – most people won’t do that. The next best thing in the hierarchy is to reuse, which is what you’re doing when you buy a used car.
Used SUVs don’t have to be unreliable
Modern cars are so reliable and well-made these days that reliability issues are uncommon even in models from a decade or more ago. Certain brands, such as Toyota and Honda, have a reputation for making incredibly reliable cars, so SUVs from these brands are worth looking for if you are worried about reliability.
Used SUVs cost less to run
Putting aside the purchase or finance costs of a new car, used cars are often cheaper to run. This is because you can feel free to service them yourself, or at a cheaper independent garage, without the threat of a voided warranty.
Engines with thousands of miles on the clock are also more efficient – a brand new engine is usually not quite bedded-in and will become more efficient over time (until it reaches a very high mileage).