Should I buy a new car or a used car?

Should I buy a new car or a used car? It’s a question many of us have asked...

And one that invited the response from friends/parents/significant others to avoid buying "someone else's problems" and go new.

Used cars are better buys than they once were. Broadly speaking, the modern car provides exemplary long-lasting, low-cost user friendliness – even the cheap ones. A used car that has been serviced competently and sold by a reputable dealer should be thoroughly dependable too.

But there remain solid reasons for purchasing a new car.

For a start, there's the warranty – these days even in the worst-case scenario your new car will come with a three-year warranty. And some are much longer – the lion's share of brands are now at five years and Kia is one brand that offers a seven-year warranty on its products.

There are rumours that rivals will follow the Kia example but generally the budget end of the market is where warranty coverage is leading the way. Prestige brands – with the exception of Lexus (four years) and Mercedes-Benz, just announcing a five-year warranty – are sticking with three years of cover.

But many buyers will be ready to sell their once-new car within three years anyway. If it's a Kia, that balance of warranty coverage is a bonus for the buyer and a selling point for the owner. The same is true of the roadside assistance that's frequently bundled up in the sale of a new car.

Want another reason to buy a new car? How about capped-price servicing?

Car importers are offering new cars with factory servicing (sometimes called logbook servicing) for a fixed price, which often undercuts the lowest price for servicing through an independent workshop or an automotive service franchise.

Other brands include free servicing for a period. This can add up to reasonable value depending on how many miles you cover each year.

Once again, if you want to sell your car or offer it as a trade-in to buy another new car, the capped-price servicing is often transferable to the next owner of your now used car. That's another selling point in your favour.

Reasons to buy a new car rather than used
• Peace of mind warranty
• Capped price servicing
• Road side assistance
• Reliability of new vs. old
• Advanced tech features
• Cheaper insurance

Then there's the benefit of getting the latest and greatest technology when you purchase a new car.

A new model typically comes with more safety features. A five-star ANCAP safety rating for a 2020 model means more than a five-star rating for an older car, which makes the brand-new car simpler to sell down the track.

And you can be sure you won't have to replace the Takata airbag in a new car – not that you should need to replace one in a used car either.

A used car may not come with autonomous emergency braking, a reversing camera or lane keep assist - all useful safety items that will protect you and your family.

Then there are the comfort and convenience extras that are now universally standard but weren't in the past, even as recently as three years ago. One example that springs immediately to mind is enhanced connectivity, in the form of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It was formerly rare for anything but a prestige vehicle to come with that sort of smartphone integration unless the vehicle was from a prestige brand.

If you enjoy your comfort you're also more likely to have multi-zone climate control systems in a new vehicle, as well as USB ports, cruise control, keyless entry, digital radio and a host of other goodies that were previously the preserve of prestige cars.

With a new car purchase, you also get to choose the colour, the specifications and any option you want. The sales person at the dealership can take you through the option list and you can go nuts choosing whatever takes your fancy.

Car buyers don't have to search high and low for precisely the car they want if they're buying a new car. Furthermore, there's no need to check CarFacts or the PPSR (Personal Properties Security Register) for an encumbrance when buying a new car.

Many people argue the case for buying a used car because the initial purchase price for a new car can be steep and buying used means the owner can sidestep some depreciation. That argument can be one-sided though.

A used car could be an expensive option too, over the long term, whereas a new car may be a real bargain – less expensive to run and less expensive to insure and finance.

Depending on the consumer's situation, negotiating a low interest rate for your finance, or enjoying tax concessions from buying the vehicle with a novated lease could offset some of that depreciation.

When it comes to total cost of ownership, a new car that sips fuel, costs little to service and repair, and is inexpensive to insure and finance endears itself.

And if the buyer of a new car plans to keep it for many years, depreciation will not be a major factor anyway. The differing rate of depreciation will level out over time.

To those in the market for a cheap run-about, don't write off buying a new car. While a used car looks cheap, on the face of it, a new car may be worth the higher initial purchase price in the longer term.

The money is a consideration of course, but so too is the convenience, the safety and the all-round pleasure of owning a new vehicle.