You are in the market to get a “new” vehicle, but you are unsure of purchasing a new vs used vehicle? What are the pros and cons of each?  Which one is best for me? These are things some customers should consider and go through a checklist to determine which option is best for them. I know that some customers don’t want to trust the salesperson, so I have decided to give you a short breakdown of the pros and cons of buying new vs buying used and a quick checklist to help you with your choice.

Buying New

Buying a new car is an exciting experience. That new car smell gives off a great feeling. That is one of the first advantages to buying a new vehicle is that you are purchasing a new vehicle, something that nobody else has driven and has no damage or wear to worry about. You know that you have years of reliable use in this vehicle. And if there is something that goes wrong, you know that the original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) warranties for the vehicle are there and will cover most of the major repairs or maintenance costs.

Another great advantage of buying new is that you have the latest and greatest features of vehicles. You want heated seats, no problems, many of the new vehicles have that option. You want the big infotainment screens, again most of the new vehicles have them. Also, the newer vehicles will have the most advanced safety systems which makes driving safer and will create less worry about other drivers or things around you that can create accidents.

The last advantage to buying new is that you can customize your vehicle by choosing the right trim with the features that you want. Which colour were you looking for, blue or red? In newer vehicles, the choice is there.

Cons of Buying New Vehicles

The biggest aspect of buying a new vehicle would be the price and that fact that vehicles are a depreciating asset, which means you start to lose value the minute you drive off the lot. It takes just four years for a vehicle to lose roughly half its value. When you are looking at a price tag of $75,000 for a vehicle and knowing that in 4 years it’s going to be worth roughly $37,500 or less, sounds like a big loss of money that some people do not want to think about.

To further the point of thinking of the big loss of money, knowing that the vehicle you bought is going to be worth less every day, and there is always going to be something newer, with newer options in the next year creates stress for customers. Any customer who has bought an Acadia or a Traverse in the past 2 years, might have some remorse when they see the new Acadia and Traverse that will be released in the summer of 2024. Like technology, our phones or computers, the minute you have bought it, it is an obsolete product. There is always a newer trim, or newer features coming on the next model.

Buying Used

Now let’s look at what the advantages or disadvantage of purchasing used are.

The first advantage most people will notice is that the price is lower, and you can get better value with lower monthly payments and lower insurance rates. Why is that price lower? Well, someone had already purchased the vehicle at the original price and has taken the hit on the depreciation of the vehicle. You are now going to buy it at that depreciated value. From year 4 to the end of the vehicle, the depreciation value is a lot less than in the first 4 years. Also, you do not have some of the fees that are attached to new cars, like freight and extra taxes (depending on where you live), that increases the price of the vehicle.

Another advantage is that depending on which year you are buying, you are still getting the technology and some of the newer features, without having to pay the new price for them. If you are looking at 2021 or 2022 trucks, you can get heated seats or steering wheel as well as the nice Multi-pro tailgates in some trims.

Cons of Buying Used

The obvious cons to buying used that most people think of is how good or nice is the vehicle? Who was the previous owner raises questions about how they took care of it or if it has had any damage. One thing you can do to check on this to squash your concerns is to get a CARFAX (Canada Vehicle History Report) to give you a detailed report on the vehicle. On our Tom Smith Chevrolet website, you can click on the CarFax logo on each used vehicle to get the reports.

At Tom Smith Chevrolet all our used vehicles have undergone a 150 point inspection to be certified as a used vehicle. This checklist should put your mind at ease that you will not be getting into a vehicle that has a long list of issues that you didn’t know about. To find out more about our certified used vehicles VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Other disadvantages that would be on used purchasing is that there are usually less or no incentives like the new vehicles have. However, the price of the vehicle has already depreciated to make the vehicle more affordable, so you do not need the same incentives as the new vehicle. Also, when you buy a used vehicle, you are purchasing it with some of the OEM warranties either expired or will soon expire. To combat this, you can purchase extended warranty plans to help alleviate any future maintenance costs on the vehicle.

The last thing that customers worry about is financing a used a vehicle with the current interest rates being a little higher than new vehicles. To help with this, GM has a program in place that if you were to purchase an extended warranty package, the interest rates could lower a significant amount to help with your overall costs. Lower financing and a warranty package, both things to help you going forward.

Final Decision

To decide on purchasing new vs used is a difficult decision. To make your decision a little bit easier make a list of your top priorities and concerns and consider the information provided here. Do you care about the colour and making sure you car has all the newest features? Then you would probably want to look at new (although we have used that still have all the great features). Are finances a major concern? If yes, then used might be a good option. If no, then buying new is possible. Just like Santa makes a list and checks it twice, go through your list with your salesperson, it will help both of you get the vehicle you want and need.

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Tom Smith Chevrolet is a Chevrolet, Buick & GMC dealership located in Midland ONT. We also have a wide selection of certified pre-owned vehicles. Just a 30 minute drive from Barrie, ONT, or 90 minutes from the  GTA we know you will get the best service from our small town dealership you can’t get from bigger cities.