Did you know that the moment you drive a new car off the car lot, it loses about 30% of its value?

People don’t buy new cars for condition, for a cleaner engine or for fewer miles. They buy a new car for emotional reasons. People buy new cars to feel proud of their car, or to feel safe knowing it just came off the lot.

When you look at the car buying process logically, buying a new car makes no sense. That’s why savvy car buyers have almost always opted to buy a used car instead.

Why should you buy a used car?

Save As Much as 40% off Retail Price

The #1 reason is simple: Money. If you’re going to buy a $20,000 car, you could easily get that same car for $15,000 or even $12,000 by buying it used instead.

If there’s a car you’ve always wanted to drive but didn’t think you could afford it, buying used could be the answer. Even if you could afford it, having an extra $8,000 in your pocket isn’t a bad trade-off for a few thousand miles on your car.

You Can Go a Step Up

If you’ve always bought Toyotas in your life, what would it be like to drive an Audi or a Mercedes for once?

Buying used cars allow you to step up to a higher level of car, with the same amount of money. Instead of spending $27,000 on a brand new Honda Civic SI, why not try a used Mercedes instead?

Nobody contests that driving home in a brand new vehicle feels good. But wouldn’t it feel even better to drive home in a luxury vehicle instead?

Get Financing on Used Vehicles

One of the great things about buying used cars at a dealership is the ability to get car financing. If you just went on Craigslist and found a car, you’d have to pay for the car upfront with cash.

If you buy a car in a dealership however, you can finance the whole thing. In fact, you can even put zero money down and have the whole car on monthly payments.

Buying a used car on credit not only allows you to save money today, but it also allows you to build your credit in the long run.

Easy to Trace Vehicle History

Buying a used car today is nothing like buying a used car in the past. In the past, you basically had to take the seller’s word on the vehicle’s history. Today, the vehicle’s history is all available for you to see online.

You can see exactly how many people have owned the car before you. The report is simple and easy to read and most dealerships will be happy to print it out for you.

Reconditioning and Certification

When you buy a car at a dealership, you can rest assured in the quality of the car’s engineering. You don’t have to worry about faulty parts, bad transmissions, damaged suspensions or hurting engines.

Most dealerships are quite selective about what they put out on the lot. If they get a low quality trade in, they won’t put it out on their lot. Cars in mediocre condition are reconditioned before they go out on the lot. All cars have to go through a thorough inspection.

Certain vehicles will get a certification from the dealership, which includes a warranty. That means that just like a new car, if you ever have any issues with the vehicle you can just take it back in to the shop for free repairs.

Get Insurance on the Spot

Trying to get insurance for a car on your own can be quite a hassle. You could literally spend hours talking to an agent or ordering insurance online. You could also go through a period of time where you’re uninsured.

Most dealers don’t offer insurance when you buy a used car. Make sure your car dealer offers insurance as only a few dealerships like Go Auto offer a one stop shop to get insurance at the same place where you buy a car. Also don’t forget to check whether they offer flexible payment plans, discounts for multi car multi policy occupation and mature driver and prompt claims service.

There are many reasons to buy a used car rather than a new car today. You save money, you can get a better car, financing is easy and it’s safe and reliable.