How bad of an idea is it to buy a new car?

Life is too short to buy used cars.

I bought my 2010 silverado new at the end of 2010 and after rebates and haggling I paid just a few hundred more than the trucks that had 10-15k on it. Just look around and do what you think is best.

I had never owned a new vehicle and felt good knowing I'd be the only one that had ever done maintenance on it

I have done both- paid cash for the new -heavily discounted

Recently bought a pre owned with only 23K- vehicle was 4 years old, owned by an older genteleman who trades for new cars every 3-4 years- it looked and smelled brand new! Paid less than half the cost of new

It just depends on the market and the vehicle.

Right now, 4x4 higher end pickups are VERY expensive used. You can get a brand new pickup for only 10-15% more than a truck with 30k miles on it. That's a no brainer for me.

It depends on several things but IMO it depends on how long you keep your vehicles. If you like to get a new vehicle every few years. Then buying new cost a lot of money, if you keep your car for 7+ years then buying new isn't so bad.

My BMW was 22k cheaper than new with 26k miles on it and with a warranty. Obviously its a lot better to buy "luxury brands" used.

I just did a search on autotrader and there are about a dozen used trucks similar to the one I bought new in February. they are all within $2k of what I paid for mine some more some less.

Slightly used isn't the deal it used to be.

Now if you're willing to buy 5-6 years old you'll save some money.

Bought used once and never again. Problems didn't show in the vehicle until much later. Loved the van but the aggravation was too much. New van has been solid and with 0.9% financing it is stupid not to buy new. Warranty will outlast the payments by 2 years also. No brainer.

The major reason most cars depreciate so quickly in the first 2-3 years is that many people expect that something must be wrong with the vehicle if you are willing to sell that quickly. Believe it or not, a Nobel Prize was awarded for a paper exploring this concept, although I personally suspect it could be updated since info is more easily obtainable and used car dealers are more accountable today.

It's usually a very bad idea to buy new with the intention of trading it in 2-3 years later and repeating the process. But it can be perfectly fine to buy new if you plan to drive it into the ground for the next 10 years and 200k miles.

Definitely not for Jeeps. When I was in the market the 2-3 year old Jeeps were only a couple thousand cheaper than new. I went with new, because I didn't want to chance that a previous owner drove the Jeep like an a-hole.