A Pre-Owned Automobile ■ ■ ■ a, M a a .a:: u

AN INTRODUCTION TO BUYING A PRE-OWNED CAR

Purchasing a new vehicle is often an exciting experience, especially since buying a car is usually the second largest acquisition one will make in a lifetime, next to buying a house. You can choose exactly what you want, the car is readily available, the warranty is fresh, and obviously the car is new and free of problems. These are all reasonable points, but the option of buying used has many benefits.

Quite obviously, most consumers opt for pre-owned cars for financial reasons. Simply put, the price of a pre-owned car may be 50 percent less than the latest model even if the used model year is fairly recent.

Depreciation is the factor behind these savings, as the new vehicle drops in value the moment it is driven off the dealer's lot. In fact, during the first year alone a car will depreciate at least 20 percent, and will continue to drop in decreasing increments every year thereafter.

The prospective pre-owned car buyer can take advantage of a vehicle that is only a few years old, but is mechanically and physically sound, still looks terrific, and has a great price tag. With the incredible savings, you can get practically the same vehicle as the latest model and save money, or a higher end model that one could normally not afford can be purchased for much less.

The latter scenario can often buy a vehicle with more performance, safety, and luxury features that you might need, but would be out of reach if purchased new.

Buying a pre-owned car through a dealer has become less of a challenge, although consumers should still educate themselves and arrive at the dealership armed with information. The pre-owned car you have in mind should be researched online for consumer reports, manufacturer recalls and blue book price.

Online services such as Kellybluebook.com or upnorthautos.com will provide quick and easy quotes on vehicles so that you do not overpay for a pre-owned vehicle.

Other Web sites such as "CarFax