Used vs New Cars

A car is a depreciating asset.  That means its value goes down not up over time.

Drive a new car off a lot and it loses 20% of its value instantly (link below).  That is a general statistic but the point is you’re not making money by buying new.

This is my case for used cars:

I recently bought a car.  I was getting so much resistance from friends and co-workers alike.  They said "get a new car", "lease a brand new one over at dealer whatever".  A new car/leasing isn't always a bad idea but you need to make the best decision for you and no one else knows what’s best for you.

If you want a new car get last year’s model.  When I was looking in Oct 2012 I almost bought a 2012 car for 7,000 off the original price because it was the test model from the dealership with 16 miles on it.

Also look for cars that put very few miles on in their first 2-3 years.  You want a car that was used around town not driven 20k miles a year.  Get as close to new as possible without financing.  This can be accomplished by buying a car that is a few years old with a little more miles on it.

Try not to finance a car if at all possible.  At least don't finance a really pricey car.  Buy what you can afford. A lot of people want the really nice car.  Do yourself a favor and wait, make it a long term goal.  If you don't have the money then it's not the right time to own the really nice expensive car yet.

Also New models haven't had time to be reviewed by sources such as consumer reports and unfortunately new does not always mean better.  

My experience ended when I looked at a 2009 52k car that I had returned to after the big sale months and it had come down in price since it wasn't sold.  I was then able to talk the salesman down even further and now I'm still very happy with my purchase.

Always try to negotiate with cars and get a deal.  The price will usually come down.  Look at more than one dealer and don't fall in love with one car.

Investopedia Cars that depreciate in value most