New Cars Versus Used Cars - What Are the Costs?

If you really, really wanted to be frugal, your best bet is to shop for cars somewhere in the ten to 15 year old price range. That's where you could operate a car at the lowest depreciation cost while still having a reasonable vehicle with a good amount of life span. People who always buy a new car, keep it for two or three years and then sell it and buy another new car, they always operate a vehicle at its most expensive part of its depreciation schedule. They have the highest appreciation expense during those years. So we want to keep these financial considerations in our mind when thinking about new cars versus used cars.