New cars also are much more expensive than used cars. The purchase price of a used car is cheaper, less costly to insure and, if you are fortunate enough to be able to pay cash for your car, you will avoid finance charges as well. Still, the decision to buy a new car versus a used car involves more than just cost. Other important considerations are reliability, maintenance, mileage, and the warranty that comes with the car when you buy it. Sometimes dealers provide a warranty of their own on a used car but it is usually not as complete as the manufacturers warranty on a new car.
Private owners provide no warranties at all when selling a used car.
Being a savvy consumer will save you a lot of time, money, aggravation and inconvenience. Now that you have made some decisions about what type of car and which models to concentrate on you can begin to collect data about them. Literature that you collect from a manufacturer or dealer can be helpful, just keep in mind that these are still advertisements geared to get you to buy. Automakers use technology to enhance the appeal of their products and market themselves through videotapes, CD s and interactive web sites. Dealers can be located on the Internet through dealer-locator services, dealer networks and dealer web sites.