We bought a 2003 mini-van last summer that had 31,000 miles on it. We paid about 1/3 of what the original purchase price of it was and we still had a warranty on it. The dealership also provided an extended warranty. Personally, I'm not sure if we'll ever buy a brandy new car again because of the significant depreciation on them. However, we may change our minds, depending on how much we have in the "car fund".

Michelle

We buy used, low mileage, and buy the extended warranty just in case. We do this because new cars depreciate so fast and you can get a good used car.

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We generally buy used. Usually 2-3 years old. Our latest car (06) was new simply because we couldn't find a used one in that model.

We negotiated pretty well though, thanks to Consumer Reports. Which is also how we decide what cars to buy. We get ones that are highly ranked for reliability.

Our cars are usually 10-12 years old when they finally "give up the ghost" (become too unreliable), which means we get 8-10 years out of them.

My Dad is a car salesman and he says never buy a new car. You loose money right when you drive it off the lot. My grandfather is the type of man who drives a car for 6 months puts like 5000 miles on it and trades it in. If you look around you can get great deals without loosing money on the used cars.

Keep in mind the lose thousands when you drive it off the floor generally applys to american cars. HArd to find a 1-2 year old Honda that isn't priced close to the new price and with the interest rate higher on used cars ...it often doesn't make sense to buy one of those cars used Unless you buy it from a friend or family memeber and can get a great deal...or just buy them a lot older...we did that with our Camry. American cars generally depreciate much fatser and there are many deals to be had! Good luck! And remember to buy a good car that you can afford ...it really pays to do your research!

I've done both: 1 new car, am still driving it after 12.5 years and it runs great. I have treated it well and I will be sad to see it go. (Mazda Protege). We also bought a used Ford Explorer and have had it for 5 years, it is newer than our Mazda, but it is falling apart like crazy! I am not sure if it is a Ford thing or because we don't know how the original owners took care of it. We will be buying used for our next two cars just because it is much cheaper and you often get the warranty transferred - especially if buying from a dealer. Plus it is a lot cheaper to get a car that is fully loaded - which is a nice bonus! Also, saving money gives us a head start on saving for the next car.