Pros and Cons of Buying a Used Car

Published on: 28 January 2019 Last Updated on: 09 August 2019
Used Car

Buying a used car can be exciting and at the same time can make you feel anxious. There are a multitude of considerations like its value, maintenance and others. Some second-hand cars exceed their purchase value while some can be considered lemons. One of the best ways to buy a used car is to go through a used car dealership, and if you’re looking for dealerships in the Greater Rochester area, you can visit the website thatsmyvision.com.

However, before you come to a purchase decision, you have to know the advantages and disadvantages of buying a used car.

Pros:

1. Cost Less:

New car buyers usually switch cars after five years, so if you’re paying 8,000 USD for a used one instead of a new one priced at 16,000 USD, then you can save half of your money to buy another car or save it to buy a nicer one after a couple of years. Used cars, on an average, are usually priced half compared to new cars.

Buying a used car can save you from long term financing fees and enables you to pay for your car faster.

Buying a used car

2. No hidden fees:

A new car deal might look and sound great, but most new cars will have hidden fees that are sometimes exaggerated, such as destination fees, dealer preparation charges, and shipping fees. Sometimes, hidden advertising fees up to 1,000 USD can even be included in the brand new car prices.

On the other hand, used cars will not have any hidden charges, except documentation fees that can cost a few hundred dollars.

3. Thoroughly inspected and certified:

Getting a certified used car from dealers assures buyers that they’re buying a thoroughly inspected and quality car for the price. Certified used vehicles have been reconditioned and inspected by their manufacturers or by a certifying authority. Additionally, dealerships that sell certified used cars also offer lower financing rates, extended warranties, and comprehensive maintenance programs.

4. Insurance premiums cost less:

If a new car is involved in an accident, the insurance company will pay the current value of the car, leaving a price gap between the purchase price and the vehicle’s current value. This is where a gap insurance policy comes in. This type of insurance will cover the price gap between the new and the depreciated value, but it can significantly raise your premiums.

However, gap insurance will not be necessary when buying a used car, as the value of the vehicle has already been depreciated.

5. Registration fees cost less:

Annual registration fees are based on the vehicle’s value and year model. Generally, the first three years of a vehicle will have the highest rates, and then the rates are leveled off in the fifth year. This means that if you buy a three-year-old used car, you can easily save a few hundred dollars on annual registration fees.

6. Warranties:

Used cars can sometimes have extended warranties or a part of its original warranty. Extended warranties on a used car will provide factory repairs, spare parts, and faster services. Some used cars will even have the option to create a new warranty. You can also use the money that you saved from not buying a new car to have your car warranted until 100,000 miles.

7. Simple Modifications Can Improve Value And Performance

If you are particularly expert at making used cars look gorgeous, you should get great advantages by buying used cars and making few changes to its parts to make it perform like a new car. If you are buying a used Jeep, adding some quality jeep rims can make the car better and stronger. You can add off-road rims for longer-lasting performance. Changing the wheels, breaks, bumpers can give the car a great look.

Cons:

1. Hidden Issues:

Unless you’re buying a certified used car from a dealership, chances are that you’ll never know the car’s issues until it breaks down on you. Most pre-owned car sellers will never tell you the true history of the car. It may have been flooded, involved in accidents, or criminal cases.

2. Higher maintenance costs:

If you’re budget conscious, buying a used car can be a smart financial decision. However, the money you saved from that decision can quickly turn into maintenance and repair costs. Used cars will frequently need more maintenance and repair jobs in order to run properly. These may include tasks such as tire renewal, transmission flushing, and brake pad renewal.

3. Fewer choices and features:

If you’re not lucky enough, buying a particular car you want with modern features and technology can be hard. Generally, if you’re shopping for used cars, you can only get what you see. Used car buyers will not have the same customizable options or choices a new car buyer can have. If you’re into a specific set of features, then buying a used car may not be the best for you.

Closing thoughts:

If you’re still stuck between a new and a used car, you should first weigh out the pros and cons listed in this article. The smell of a new car is great, but is it really worth it? Take your time to do some research, and always look beyond the price before you make any buying decision.

Read Also:

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

View all posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

Car Maintenance

5 Major Car Maintenance Tips To Help Prevent Accidents

Are you thinking of the fact for maintaining the car maintenance tips in the correct order? If yes, you need to develop certain factors that can help you keep your car safe from accidents. Car maintenance can help you keep your car to avoid any disastrous accident that can create a long-term impact on your life. You have to plan things well that can help you to achieve your objectives in the right way. Several tips are there that you can seek from an experienced Atlanta Auto Accident Lawyer. Proper car maintenance ensures the prevention of car accidents to a considerable measure. Different Ways To Prevent The Car Accidents In A Better Way   Several factors can help you prevent the chances and the scope of car accidents in a better way. Let’s identify the ways that can help you to achieve your objectives in a better way. 1. Tires    If you want to stay safe on the road while driving your car on the road, you need to regularly cross-check the tire’s condition. The wear and tear of the tires you need to examine daily by checking the alignment and the pressure of the tires daily. A study has shown that 83% of Americans do not have any good idea of inflating the tires properly. They do not know this fact to maintain their car correctly. It can help you to prevent the car accidents to a considerable measure. 2. Wipers    Windshield wipers that are damaged due to accidents do not work well and can cause severe damage to you and others on the road if you are not careful of it. Wiper blades are beneficial at the time of the rain and safeguard your car at the time of the dust storms. You can remove the debris of the storm for proper vision using the wipers. Now, if the other car does not take care of these facts and causes the accident on the road, then you can take the help of a personal injury lawyer to help you in this case. Now, you might think about personal injury law that can help you to achieve your claim amount from the cause of the accident. Your personal injury lawyer can help you in solving this query of yours. 3. Working Lights     The car headlights also form a crucial part of your car that you need to take care of while driving the car on the road. Car headlights can help you show the road at night while driving the vehicle and reduce the chances of accidents to a big measure. Broken lights or shabby lights can cause car accidents. Therefore, you need to know the norms of the road well to achieve your objectives in a better way and to ensure your safety to a great extent. 4. Battery  Today’s cars have some sophisticated inbuilt computers present in them that puts lots of pressure on the car battery. It can also damage the vehicle to a great extent. You need to be careful of this fact. To resolve the issue of car battery damage, you can maintain the car regularly. You need to take care of these factors while you are planning to keep the safety of your vehicle intact in the correct order at the right time. 5. Brakes   You need to take care of your car brakes properly and regularly to avoid any case of car accidents. You have to plan things well to achieve your objectives in the correct order at the right time. If your car brakes do not work correctly and any accidents occur, you can consult these issues with your Atlanta Car Accident Lawyer. You can take the help of your lawyer to assist you in getting the claim amount from the car accident case. Car Maintenance Can Ensure Prevention Of Accidents  Here, in my article, you can understand that car maintenance can handle car accidents in a great measure. The more careful you are on the road, the better you can avoid car accidents. You have to understand that if you want to ensure the safety of your life, regular and daily car maintenance can help you in that. You need to plan things well to achieve your objectives. Read Also: Car Care for Newbies How to Organize Your own Maintenance Service A Comprehensive Guide on How to Charge Your Car Battery

READ MOREDetails
Tesla Model S

2018 Tesla Model S: The Complete Electric vehicle

Tesla has an impressive range of electric cars with decent power and along with that, the cars are friendly to the pocket. Tesla has been in the market for the past few years but has not succeeded in impressing the buyers. However, with the recent launch of Tesla Model S, which is an electric variant car and a medium-sized sedan, it has started to gain the popularity. A major reason behind this is, the affordable price and that that car offers ample amount of features which are otherwise not seen in the other electric cars in the market. Pros: The car is an electric variant. It is a medium-sized luxury sedan which has an impressive range on the high-end models of the car. The acceleration is quick and thus, the power of the engine has been done justice with the gas pedal system. Talking about the space, the liftback design is an added advantage. It offers an abundant cargo space to the customer. Moreover, there are a few Tesla exclusive technologies and general technologies which are not available in other luxury cars. Cons: There are similarly priced sedans in the market too. A major setback which can be predicted is that it is an electric car. The electric cars have not gained popularity and always considered weaker against the gas-operated car. Moreover, the luxury polish is not clearly visible such as in the other cars having the similar price tag. If we look into the aftersales part, the service centers are not present all around the world. This is because of the number of dealers in the car also less. Trims: Till the time Tesla had launched Model S, the electric vehicles were not preferred. The gas-operated vehicles were always given the priority despite the operating cost and the base price of the cars. After Tesla Model S was launched in two different trims, the potential buyers of the electric vehicles got an option to buy one of the best electric cars in the market. The basic model of the Tesla Model S is the 75D. The car is EPA-rated at the range of 229 miles. This means the fuel economy of the car is 229 miles. The higher version which is 100D can run 331 miles in one charge. This is the middle ground between the basic and the top model and thus, has all the necessary features. The top model of the car is the P100D. Talking about the acceleration of the car, when the Tesla Model S is completely charged, it can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in the period of 2.5 seconds. The time taken by the car is lesser than most of the exotic cars priced at even higher rates than the Tesla Model S MSRP. Software: The most important thing about having an electric car is the continuous software updates. From the Tesla Model S review, it is known that Tesla is known for releasing new software, bug fixes and the addition of features in each software upgrade. The firmware update adds more features into the car. An added advantage of having an electric car over the gas-operated car is that the number of features keeps adding. Whereas, in the gas-operated car, once you buy the car, you will not see any features being upgraded. In the electric car, if there is an inconvenience, it will be fixed by the software itself up to some extent. Interior: Tesla model s interiors have been given top ratings by the reviewers. The advanced features in the car, ask for a bit of learning but once you are well-versed with all the features, you can enjoy the cabin with lovely materials and the infotainment system within an arm’s distance. The infotainment system can be used with the help of a 17-inch touchscreen. The whole electronic network works great. However, you can face the problem when it comes to the power exterior door handles. They deployment is delayed. The cabin is huge and gives a wide-open feeling with a ton of legroom and headroom. Safety: Considering the safety of the car, it is equipped with 5 airbags. Apart from the airbags, the car also has other standard active safety features such as 4-wheel ABS, 4-Wheel Disc Brakes, Brake Assist, Electronic Stability Control, Daytime Running Lights, and lane keep assist along with other numerous Tesla exclusive safety features. Read Also: Best New Cars For Teenagers Important Tips To Maintain Your Luxury Car

READ MOREDetails
Auto Repair

Top 10 Signs You Might Need Auto Repair Services

Is your car having difficulty starting up? Is it chugging and blowing out smoke? Which kind of problem can you do yourself and which ones should alert you it's time to visit a mechanic ship? Knowing when to get your car checked by auto repair services can make it cheaper for you. After all, if you put it off, the damage might take a turn for the worse and make you spend more. Take note that automotive repair costs United States drivers $50 billion a year, so if you want to save as much money as possible, you need to care for your car properly. Here are ten signs your car needs a tune-up: 1. Check Engine Light is On: A check engine light isn't a cause for concern when it's lit--a flashing one is a major indicator of a problem. It could mean that there's something wrong within any components and systems monitored by your car's computer. However, as long as the light is on, you must have the engine checked sometime soon. If you want to know more about scheduled Subaru maintenance, you can read more here. Otherwise, when an engine-like symbol glows in your dash, you need to get the engine checked as soon as possible. It might be an issue with the emissions system, which can give serious damage to your catalytic converter. 2. Smoke Out of the Hood: Vehicles must never have any type of smoke coming out from under their hood. If you see this, it's a sure sign of overheating. This can give serious damage to your car's engine if you continue driving without addressing the issue. Look at the dash and make sure to check the temperature gauge on a regular basis. Make sure that it isn't giving way for whatever reason. It's important that you pull over when you're driving since it allows you to let it cool down and call an automotive repair service for assistance. Another reason is that you're leaking coolant liquids from the radiator, hose, or gasket. This is especially true when the white smoke comes from the car's engine compartment. 3. Transmission Issues: When you're driving, take note of the way your car operates in a normal situation. Ask yourself these questions: Is it difficult for the car to achieve speed? Does it surge or give off odd sounds when operating? If you answer yes to these questions, you need to get car repair services. Without professional service repairs, you could get into an accident while on the road. This creates a dangerous situation for you and your kids. There might be a recurring transmission problem with your vehicle. Taking it to an automotive repair shop fixes the problem with the use of the latest technologies available. It's necessary for you to do this as soon as you can to avoid spending more in the future. 4. Excessive Smoke and Noise from Exhaust: Pay attention to the sounds your car makes when you're driving. The type of noise you hear will dictate the kind of possible problem. For example, if you hear hissing sounds from the exhaust, it's possible that its manifold or pipe has a crack. Chugging noises can mean that the exhaust system has a blockage. Meanwhile, rattling sounds underneath your car can mean that the exhaust system is suffering from misalignment. These sounds are good indicators that it’s time to change the exhaust system you can visit goblackops.com.au as they provide high-performance systems at reliable prices. As for excessive smoke, one possible reason is that you have an oil leak, especially when a burning smell accompanies it. In cold winter months, you might notice that there's more white smoke when you first start your car. This isn't a cause for alarm because it's only water vapor coming out of the exhaust system--they'll disappear once the temperature of the engine increases. But when you're driving and see too much smoke from the exhaust, it's best to go to a repair shop first. The same is true if you check your car's bumper area and notice a black residue near the area of the exhaust pipe. 5. Gas Mileage Decreases: If your car experiences a sudden drop in its gas mileage, you need to schedule routine maintenance as soon as you can. This could mean that you'll need to fill up its gas tank more often. The reason why this is urgent is due to the fact that you want to save as much money as possible for the gas, especially now that a barrel of oil is at $70. One of the main reasons behind this might be a bad fuel injector or a dirty fuel filter. It might also mean that there's a problem with the spark plugs. Either way, it requires your utmost attention and the help of professionals. 6. Difficulty Starting Vehicle: When getting into trips, do you find it difficult to make your vehicle startup? If your answer is yes, then it might be a good time for you to visit a repair shop for a tune-up. You need to do this as soon as possible especially when you're having a difficult time turning over right when you're trying to make it start. Another possible reason is that you're trying to start it while the engine is hot from the outside weather. It's related to the car's fuel, especially since a hot engine makes it harder for fuel to circulate because of the blocking vapor. In a worst-case scenario, the car won't even start. Remember, even after you shut the engine, it will still get hot for a short while. During this time, water vapor will spread around, obstructing the engine from circulating fuel. 7. Excessive Leaks: Noises and leaks are two of the most common problems for 2017 car models. You need to take your car to the nearest mechanic if it has major leaks underneath. If you're checking for leaks, the most common location is toward the car's front, where you might see different-colored liquids. If the liquid is bright green, it's the coolant leaking. Otherwise, dark red or brown liquids can either be transmission oil, brake fluid, or engine oil. But if it's only plain water, don't worry--it's the normal result of the air conditioner running during warm summer months. 8. Signs of Rust: When you see rust on your car, you need to remove it fast regardless of whether you do it on your own or let professionals help you. When left alone, a single rust spot can grow fast and cause a structural problem if it reaches a certain size. Deal with it fast since most states will never pass inspections if they have rust holes in the body. It's especially needed if you bought a secondhand car. It doesn't matter if the spot is small or it's located in an unimportant part of the car body. You need to eliminate it as soon as you see it. To do this in an effective manner, you need to understand the most problematic areas in your car as well as the methods you need to address the problem. 9. Vehicle Shakes or Jumps : When you experience this, it's a sign of a performance issue. It might be a good time for you to take your car for a tune-up. Take it for a test drive on a shop or make an appointment so you don't end up stalling in a place you'd rather not be in. Always remember that a driving experience should be free from shaking or jumping. After all, the probable cause of this problem is within the car's engine. It might be due to clogged fuel lines or filters, as well as bad spark plugs. Again, you need to fix this problem as soon as possible since it hinders your vehicle's acceleration most of the time. It might even give out in the most unpleasant situations, like merging onto a highway while fast-going vehicles are behind you. You can prevent it by changing the oil regularly as well as replacing the belts at certain intervals. 10. Squealing When Turning: Experiencing this while driving is another good reason to visit an auto shop and get a tune-up for your car. It's possible that some of the important fluids your car needs are approaching dangerously low levels that need urgent refills. Another reason for the squeals is that the car might have a leak, meaning that replacing the liquids isn't a definite way to fix your problem. Aside from squealing, your vehicle might emit a jerking feeling when you're shifting. It's especially noticeable when you're shifting into drive. If this happens, you might need to get a new transmission filter and liquid to fix this problem. Failing to do this early, you might need to spend more money on a new transmission system. Discover More Auto Repair Tips Today: With these auto repair tips, you'll know when you have to bring your car in for a checkup. It's always safer to hire professionals when getting a tune-up or when it's time to replace old car parts. But don't stop here. There are more great car service tips for you to discover. Visit us today and read some of our other guides to ensure you drive safely, like this post about the safety of self-driving cars. Read Also : 5 Signs Your Car Needs A Tune-Up There Is A Pothole Problem In America – How To Protect Your Car From Damage? 5 Ways To Avoid The Rip Off While Buying A Used Car

READ MOREDetails