I'll second that. The psychological and emotional benefits of buying new usually don't come close to the cost premium. It isn't even true that buying new lets you avoid buying someone else's problems; new cars have crap wrong with them all the time.

Add me to the "Bought new for my first car, never again" list.

Find a good used dealer in your area, read up on some customer reviews of the dealership and then take a test drive. You will be saving yourself a fortune.

My first car was a Chevy Aveo I paid $22,000 for after taxes and such (in 2004 right before small car prices dropped like a rock), it lasted me until 2009 when the engine blew up at 101,000km. Had just finished paying it off.

Now I drive a 97 town car that I paid $4,000 for and it's a far better car than the damn Aveo.

I don't recommend a private sale for your first car, but definitely check out well-reviewed used dealerships.

Gap insurance is the one thing you SHOULD buy if you are buying new. Don't get anything else from the F&I guy.

I will buy used when I buy my next car. My first one I bought new.

Just by way of comparison, I bought a used Toyota at the height of the Toyota scare last year, and a two-year-old car that should have cost me about $38K new cost me $22K, with a scoche over 30K miles on it.

You won't get deals that good on Toyotas anymore, especially because the build quality in newer models is declining, so the older ones are more popular than usual. But you can do that well on a Hyundai or a Ford Fusion.

I'd also caution against mentioning you plan to trade in until after you've agreed upon a purchase price for the new car.
Some other classic advice is to bring with you someone who can tell you "no" the first time you walk into the dealership. Go in, take a test drive, and get a quote. Don't buy your first time in. Give yourself some time to think the decision over before committing to anything.
The advice about doing your research before you walk into a dealership is excellent.

Huh, looks like it's a real thing -- used cars were at a 16-year high in June. They say that now is the time to jump on a used vehicle -- do it this month, before demand snaps back in January.

Maybe new is a good idea.

If you're going to buy used, shop around very thoroughly and get lots of opinions on dealers. Of the 7 cars I've owned since 1999, the only one that wasn't a constant source of headaches was the 2004 Mazda 6 I leased new and had to give up when a change in job situation made it unaffordable. And it was the only car I got new. I also do really like my 2008 Lancer I bought last December but I've had a lot of problems with the wheels (culminating in my recently having to suddenly buy $1,200 in new tires) because of dealer negligence. And this was from a very popular dealer in the area.

There's nothing wrong with buying a car used but if you're getting something 2-3 years old, it's often a problem car someone's trying to dump or an ex-rental. Under no circumstances do you ever want an ex-rental car. Both customers and the rental agencies alike beat the sh*t out of those cars and an ex-rental with 30,000K on it might as well have twice that much for the wear and tear it's endured. My last car was a former daily rental and it was a constant source of misery until I traded it for my Lancer. If you do your research though, you can often find good deals on cars that will serve you very well.

Oh and don't ever buy GM or Chrysler. Ever. I speak from substantial experience.

Just looked into the Hyundai. A lot of the 2010 models are going for 10-12 grand and that's a very good price as far as I'm concerned. Any models to avoid? A lot of the used one's I'm seeing are the Hyundai Accent, which I know is the low-end model for Hyundai.

If everything works out I should be able to put down a large chunk of that in a down payment.

Any tips on actually negotiating with them when I walk in the door?

This is killer advice. Keep it coming!

You know, I'm not necessarily convinced that used is always the best way. I agree that it is generally much cheaper to go used, and a lot of people can't stomach depreciation, but I'd argue that depreciation is only a concern if you're planning to sell the vehicle after a few years. Personally, I would rather buy the car I truly want, in the colour I want, with the options I want, and have absolute knowledge of how it has been driven and how it has been maintained, and consider the premium of buying new worthwhile. The problem with used cars is that you're never entirely sure of its history, how it has been driven, how it has been maintained, and it often isn't in the configuration you'd prefer. I guess it comes down to priorities. There's really no wrong path to take, as both ways have advantages and disadvantages.

Ironically, my current car (2005 Kia Optima) was bought used (prior to med school) and was previously a rental (something I didn't know at the time and wasn't disclosed by the dealership). It has actually been a rock solid with no issues whatsoever, so I got lucky there. My next vehicle? I'll probably buy new, for the above reasons. It's the same reason I bought my motorcycle new: I wanted it to be my bike from the get-go, with no question as to how it has been treated/maintained.

And definitely agree on all the up-sell stuff. Dealers aren't your friends, they aren't trying to give you a good deal, they aren't fighting with their manager to get you a lower price, and any trade-in deal they give you will end up costing you money and making them a profit (count on that). Good luck!

I bought a car back in May, and I went new. It was a combination of really liking the Fiesta, which too new a model for used to be an option, and the pricing on used being really high. I'm also planning on driving it for a very long time, so having it start in a newer condition than a used car means I'll probably get a few more years out of it.

I actually wrote a blog post back then with all the lessons learned. Short version is that the buying process can be enjoyable if you do a ton of research.

Subscribe to Consumer Reports and research the various cars and models you're interested in, especially if you're going used (which you should). It's well worth the 20 or 25 bucks to get some impartial information about the cars you're looking at and it will help steer you away from the clunkers.

When you've settled on a car you like/want, you need to do your research and find out how much it's actually worth based on its options, mileage, condition, and more. Kelley Blue Book is a good place for that (and it's free). Consumer Reports also a pricing service, but it costs a few bucks to access.

How's your credit? If you don't have stellar credit you might be able to get a better deal on a loan from your local bank or credit union since financing is a major source of revenue for dealers.

The first tip is to never negotiate with them at the dealer. You're on their turf, you're essentially trapped there, and they all those managers and finance guys can gang up on you.

Instead, find the car you like. Take it for a test drive. Get the business card of the sales rep and leave. Conduct all your negotiation via email. This makes it about impossible for them to use pressure tactics on you and it gives you the time to think about things, something you won't have if you're sitting in the dealership.

If you can, time your purchase. Every sales guy has a quota, so you want to time your purchase for the end of the month. It's much easier to get the price down when the sales guy *needs* you to buy so he can make his quota. Even better, time your purchase for the end of a fiscal quarter. You have the mother of all times coming up: the end of the year, right during the holidays when few people are going to be buying. Dealerships will be trying to get all the revenue they can before their fiscal year ends so everyone will be motivated to make a deal.

Never say anything about how much you are willing to spend. That's valuable information to a sales rep because he now knows what you'd be comfortable spending. That number is entirely different than what the car is actually worth.

Never feel bad about telling the sales guy that the price is too high and that he needs to do better (even if you've already told him that). If you've done your research, you'll have a pretty good idea of how much the car is worth and how far off the dealer's price quote is.

Always be ready to walk away. It's a car. There are millions of them and they make new ones all the time. If you feel you're not getting a good enough deal simply tell the sales guy that you're going somewhere else. The odds are very good that if you do that you'll suddenly get a much better price quote.

Only after you've agreed on a price for the car should you talk about trade in. Again, Kelley Blue Book will give you a good idea of what your car is worth. You should also look into selling your car yourself by putting it on Craigslist. You'll likely get more for it in a private sale than you would with the dealer.

Yeah, I'd suggest having a hard figure agreed to in email before you even show up at a dealer. The idea is to show up, sign a few papers, and leave.

The closing manager will have a million things he wants to sell you in addition to the basic car. Say no to everything. This is where dealerships make most of their money. SAY NO TO EVERYTHING. You want NOTHING but the car. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. No protection plans, no prepaid maintenance, no undercoatings, no protective paint sprays, NOTHING.

If you negotiate a hard price (including all taxes and fees) online, and then walk into the dealership, spend exactly that much, and drive off in a new car, then you win. If you spend any additional money at the dealership, you lose. That's how it works.

Once you've arrived at your hard figure for drive-off, THEN and ONLY then talk about your tradein. And be willing to sell the car yourself if that's possible. Think of trading in the car as a separate transaction. You don't even have to sell the used car to the same dealer -- and with used car pricing being high, you might consider shopping the sale around as a separate deal. You'll either need someone to give you a ride or you'll need to take a taxi back, but spending $50 on a couple of taxi rides (one to get to the old car at the first dealer, so you can bring it home, and then another taxi home from the second dealer after you trade it in), in order to gain $500 on your trade-in... well, that's smart money.

Also try to figure out what you're actually paying for. When I bought my Impala (used), they offered me 2-year engine coverage for about $2,000. I figure that in order for that to be a wise investment for me, my engine would have to fail twice in two years.