Guest Author - William Charles Vetter

Used Cars
In the early 1970’s opposition to the re-election of then President Richard Nixon spawned advertisements which featured a less than flattering picture of the President with a caption below the picture, asking the question, “Would you buy a used car from this man”? What this joke did was underscore the fact that you would need to have a great deal of trust in someone that you were considering buying a used car from, alluding to the fact that after all of the lies, Watergate and the missing 18 minutes of audio tape, Richard Nixon was a little less than trustworthy. While that may have been funny, spending your hard earned cash on something so vital to you and your family’s existence is certainly no joke.

Should You Buy a New Car or a Used Car?
The answer to this depends a lot on your financial situation and personal preferences. The purchase of a used car over a new car guarantees that you will save a considerable amount of money up front. A new car loses $1000-$2000 dollars of its value as soon as you drive it off of the lot. Additionally within one year your new car may actually lose 30% of its original value. So clearly you could save 30% by buying a car that is only one year old. Many states don’t charge a tax when registering a car bought from a private party so consider the cost of licensing. Buying a used car however entails a certain amount of risk, it may have been in an accident, the previous owner may not have cared for it as well as he should have and of course used cars just don’t have that new car feel and smell. Additionally low or zero interest rate loans and many leasing packages won’t be available, since most of those are sponsored by dealers and manufacturers to spur new car sales.

What Kind Of Car Should You Buy?
The trend right now and most likely for the future is toward more fuel efficient cars. It is unlikely that gasoline will ever go below $4 a gallon. You might consider fuel economy to be your main concern especially if you have a long commute to work or school or spend hours in traffic alone or with only one passenger. Depending on your circumstances however, it may actually make sense to buy a used car that is somewhat less than economical to drive, especially if you can organize a carpool, drive short distances or you are lucky to have someone else like your employer pay for your fuel. People are getting rid of larger cars like they have a plague attached to them and though they might be marked for extinction, prices for both new and used SUVs, vans, pickup trucks and larger cars are falling faster than the stock market.

Next week, what is a good used car to consider and how old is too old for a good used car?

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