Top 3 Reasons to Buy a Certified Pre-Owned Car
Almost every type of mechanical product is considered best when purchased new. But buying things just off of the production line is about more than satisfying our desire for things that operate flawlessly. New products often have important benefits over old ones, such as better price points, increased efficiency, and even operating systems that can be fixed remote diagnostics.
So, if you’re in the market for a vehicle, you should buy one that has no miles on the odometer, right? Not necessarily. In fact, there are three major advantages of buying a certified pre-owned car instead of a new one, whose tires have only touched the pavement of an auto dealership.
1. New Car Value Depreciates Fast
The value of a new car depreciates swiftly with time. According to Edmunds.com, 1 minute after you drive away from the dealership, a new vehicle loses 9% of its original value. After you own the vehicle for 1 year, its value depreciates by 19%. After 3 years on the road, the automobile’s value has dropped by a whopping 42%.
Hypothetically, if you buy a certified pre-owned car that’s been driven for only a few miles, you could pay roughly 9% less than you would to buy the car new. Buy the vehicle after 1 year of use, and you could end up paying around 19% less than the original price, and so on.
If there’s a lesson to learn here, it’s that a big percentage of a new car’s price is based on the novelty of the vehicle’s newness, not on evidence that new automobiles offer vastly better performance than certified pre-owned models that have exceptionally low mileage.
2. Not Your Average Pre-Owned Car
According to Steve Skinner, Internet manager for Capistrano Volkswagen in Orange County, California, "When it's a certified [pre-owned] car, the manufacturer has gone out of its way [to make the car meet high operability standards]. We are definitely giving the customer a chance to get a quality car at a lower price."
Certified pre-owned status means that you needn’t entertain some of the worries that come with buying a non-certified used car, such as whether the vehicle is a “lemon” that lacks official lemon status, whether the automobile was involved in unreported wrecks, and whether the car has undergone an all-points inspection instead of being sold as-is, to name just three.
3. Lower Price Means a Smaller Loan
A certified pre-owned car costs less than it did when new. This means that, if you use a bank loan to buy the vehicle, you won’t need to have as much loan principal to make the purchase. In addition to saving money on the car, you can save money on the loan by using a lower principal amount than you would use to acquire a new car of the same make and model.
Need a Loan for a New Set of Wheels?
It’s exciting to buy new things, and our consumerist economy encourages the merriment. However, if you’re a driver who insists on making the smartest financial choice when you buy cars, shopping for certified pre-owned models is an option that has at least three benefits. Best of all, you don’t have to compromise on the quality of the vehicle you buy to enjoy the advantages.
If the only thing standing between you and a certified pre-owned vehicle is a fair auto loan, we’d like to hear your wants and needs, learn your qualifications, and provide you with loan choices that are a great options for your financial position and requirements. Give us a call today at (800) 325-9905, or use our contact form. We look forward to helping you get in the driver’s seat!
