How Old Of A Used Car Should You Buy?

This week's episode of Your Turn To Drive asks How Old Of A Used Car Should You Buy? Depreciation of a new car happens very fast in a very dramatic way.We've lined up a panel of experts - Jim Dykstra of vinadvisor, Philip Reed Of NerdWallet and Jaclyn Trop - to discuss what information you need to hit that sweet spot of when a used car is most valuable.

[situationmoney]

It seems like 2-3 year old cars on dealer lots cost almost as much as new cars...

[BombermanFanatic]

Great advice if you want to make car payments for the rest of your life. If you get a 3-6 year old reliable car like a Camry or Corolla, you can drive it for 20 years and the maintenance costs are way less than car payments once it is paif off. 100, 000 miles is nothing if you have a good car that you maintain properly.

[suy.]

These tips won't apply to toyota honda lexus. 2-3 years old cost almost the same as new.

[arjensmit]

An important aspect noone seems to recognise:
If you drive a lot of miles, say 30k per year, focus on buying a used car with low miles on it.
If you drive a little, pay more attention to the age than the miles.

[jahswillekele]

I drive a black/black 98 Lexus LS400 with almost 200k, and it drives better than most new(er) cars! One of my best car purchase.
I did have to put new struts, tires, and alternator.

[davidu]

I have a 1970 nova, much better than an 2010 accord in my mind. It's loads of fun with a manual trans and 350 v8

[williamhenry]

I will help out manny Americans here with my knowledge of car buying! Keep in mind this is for Americans who don’t want to put any money or little down! Ok first off if your on a tight budget or are very young and don’t have a good paying job! Buy a mid sized or smaller American 4 door car for around 10 to 15 grand, you can get 1, 2;and 3 year old cars with miles as low as 10 thousand miles! Your payment will be anywhere from 175 to 250 a month! That’s cheap to put no money down, have a two year old car and miles around 20k! I searched my area and found countless Chevy Malibu’s as new as 2016, dodge avengers, Chrysler 200s, ford fusions, Nissan altimas, I even found Cadillac CTS s all wheel drive with miles in the 30k range for 15k! It’s very easy use eBay motors or autotrader ! Chevy cruises hyundi sonatas were also inexspensive! Many young Americans over spend and get themselves into trouble buying cars with high payments and a bunch of show off gadgets they can’t afford! Remember your buying a car for dependable transportation and cost efficiency, stay away from brand new after all a new car is used the day after you drive it home! Next year when you want to buy a house you will wish you didn’t get a high car payment because it will effect your debt ratio, which is a formula the banking industry uses to figure out how much you can spend on a home! I hope this helps my fellow Americans and if it helps just one person than I will be happy! Good luck!

[cazgerald]

I drive a 1997 Toyota. My mother in law bought it brand new, I have done all the maintenance on it, then "inherited" it in 2009.

[mercsr]

if you buy used, buy Honda/Acura or Toyota/Lexus. Very reliable, low cost...keep the car for a very long time.

[coyko]

Most of The dealerships have cars with clean carfax and if they had accidents they fix it with out reporting so it's not on carfax . So carfax is useless if you ask me

[galvanisedegg]

Bought a golf mk4 tdi with 151000 miles but full service history for 1200 had it 3 years had not 1 problem with it best thing ive ever bought.

[andrewthompsonuk]

Lots of good information here. Mileage is really only an expectation of condition. Modern mechanicals really do not ware out. They usually break due to some sort of event. Such as worn out oil or a fault in a component. Personally I prefer cars with over miles. If you find the right one the next can be surprisingly trouble free.

[bob]

I did some research and determined the following % savings for buying a 3 year old (2015) car, controlling for mileage based on a projected lifespan of 200k miles. These numbers were from my local craigslist equivalent (80% dealership asking prices a opposed to private asking prices). Sample size was 22 Subaru Legacies and 27 Civic Lx's.
2015 vs 2018 Civic Lx: 22% savings
2015 vs 2018 Legacy 2.5i limited and 2.5i average: 16% savings

[Last_one_before_I_go]

I just picked up a 2006 vehicle for $2.5K with 160K on it. just threw $750 at it to seal up the leaks and will throw $1750 to do the clutch. The engines are good for @ 250-300K miles. My use timetable is 5 years, starting today. I think it will work and am placing my bets accordingly. Expect a walkaway value of the vehicle after 5 years to = $0, but the calculation in comparison of a high value used at a $275/mo for 48 months (+ collision insurance and reg) dictates that if I went there it's a cost of @ $14K. My spend will be 1/2 that, putting $2K in reserve for a new A/C when that blows. I think its a damn good gamble.

[teeduck]

Not true. Hondas, Toyotas don't deppreasiate 45% in 1st 3 years.

[jasonpierce]

Got a 1997 Dodge Ram extended cab with 225k and runs GREAT!

[rodpanhard]

My strategy has always been to buy for £3000 run for 5 years then sell for £1000, it can be done and you can buy decent enough cars that look the part and can go the distance. I used to buy more expensive high end cars but I worked out the money I was throwing away was better allocated elsewhere.

[ColinMill]

While I agree that buying at about the 3 year-old stage is a good idea I think the optimum point for selling depends on the quality of the car and whether you have access to a reliable indy garage or have a degree of car servicing/repair capability yourself. 90k seems way too early if it's a quality car (Lexus, BMW etc) and you are able to avoid franchise dealer parts & labour charges on the minor replacement such a car likely needs (gaiters, bushes, belts, hoses - basically the rubber-goods!). I've used the same garage since 1980 and they always give me a very good deal.

Buying outgoing models is a good idea - they take a hit when the new model comes out but it's likely any major issues that should be avoided will be readily know (I got a great low-mileage E34 BMW after the E39 came out and avoided the BMW Nikasil issue). Buying an unpopular colour can help - my current Subaru is that metallic beige that meant it sat in the dealership till they axed the price. Also, by not buying the, then new, boxer diesel I avoided the crank breakage issue that hit that engine.

I have had only 3 family cars since 1982 with a combined purchase cost of under £29, 000 (~$40k) a depreciation hit of under $1100/year and falling as I get more years out of my current car - less still if I factor in the insurance payout when car #1 got written off.

[icantw]

Discontinued cars are a hit and miss.

Pros:
-Not many people will have them, making your car unique.
-No successor means you'll always have the latest version of that model.

Cons:
-Discontinued means that it wasn't very popular, therefore it might not hold its value that well. (Exceptions include s2000, Supra, and other sporty classics).
-The automaker might have discontinued it because it was too impractical to make, so that could lead to parts being really expensive.
-Small buyer pool. (Self explanatory)

[bliglum]

One issue with you guys boasting the off lease vehicles.. I saw how my brother treated his lease That is all.