Buying a new/uesd vehicle

Hi miller I don't drive but my son does and when he gets a new car always tags me along with him to make sure its ok..mind I know nothing about them!! but he always gets a second hand one so far he has been lucky and always managed to get a three year warranty in the deal so my advice is to do that yet really follow your intuition when choosing or get someone to go along with you to help with your choice..littleowl

If you know that you'll be using the vehicle for a long time then it's better to buy a brand new one rather than rent it. That way you won't have to pay interest and other extra charges. Also, you can sell the car again in the future and get back a bit of what you invested. My advice is to choose a car that's easy to drive. For me, I like compact cars. I have trouble parking so I'm more comfortable driving smaller cars. It's an added bonus that these minis don't use up a lot of gas.

sorry, there's a little typo error in the 2nd paragraph "...it's probably a good buy".

If you're buying a new car, you need to consider the price, as it will me very much higher than the price of a used car. Then, you need to also consider the percentage of interest rate for your car loan and the total cost (plus interest), so you can find out how much is the estimated monthly installment you need to pay. Is the monthly installment repayment for your car loan within your monthly budget? But the maintenance cost for a new car will be lower compared to a used car. But keep in mind that the car prices will decrease when you decided to sell it a few years later. The reselling value is not much. However, if your budget is tight and don't want to pay a huge sum, you may look for a used car which is cheaper compared to a new one. But always look for a used car that is of common brand and popular amongst your community, so that it's easier to find spare parts in your country (so you don't have to import it) in case some parts of your used car need to be replaced. Higher maintenance cost is always the issue for used car. But if you can find a car seller who is reliable, like a friend or neighbour who wants to sell his car, and you know he takes good care of the car, and the car's condition is well-maintained, it's probably a good but. Other factors to consider when buying a car: -The duration of car loan that you're willing to take up (3, 5 or 7 years etc). The longer the duration, the higher the interest & the total accumulated amount to pay -Car insurance (premium will be higher for used car) -Road tax (usually pain annually - depends on how many cc, type of car) -Maintenance cost (oil change, timing belt, air-cond, regular services etc.) -How many CC (1.5, 2.0 etc.)? Of course, you'll need more money to pump a full tank of petrol for car with a higher CC. -Are you going to use the car just for short distance travelling like going to college or work? Or do you need it to travel for long distance, to another state? -How many persons can fit into the car, especially if you have children? (a sedan for 4 or 5 persons, or an MPV for 7 persons) Hope these tips can help you pick your car. Happy shopping!