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I'm a new/ used salesman in Minnesota. Now I've only been in this job position for about a week, but a funny thing happened to me today. I think I've come up with the perfect solution to the magic question of new or used. From what I've noticed, the best way to get the best deal on the lot is buying a pre-owned vehicle with the same model year as the new one's on the lot. For instance, today I was showing a 2008 Dodge Avenger SXT. As I was showing the car to the customer, he mentioned about the used one on the lot. The MSRP on the new Avenger I was showing was roughly $25,000. The pre-owned one we looked at was an '08 with 17,000 miles on it and it was priced at $15,000. Now, at least with Dodge, even though they offer the Lifetime Power train Warranty, it is only good through the first owner. However, the pre-owned Avenger has a valid transferable warranty of 3 years/ 36,000 miles. In my opinion, if a company is going to offer a Lifetime Warranty, you are going to get the same quality car with a 3 year warranty and because Dodge did that, they must have 100% confidence in their product to avoid loss due to services. Keep in mind that a vehicle with under 35,000 miles is still in break-in mode. The gamble of buying a lemon is greatly reduced when you're buying a vehicle that's still available brand new. Also, alot of dealerships,mine included, offer a service contract that usually costs about $1,700 give or take. Between that and the transferable warranty that will come with the vehicle, you should get about the same guarantee that you would buying new, paying thousands less. With the economy the way it is, is it really that smart to invest an extra $4k-$10k into something that isn't necessary. Something else to keep in mind are the ammenteties of the the used versus new vehicle. For instance, an R/T version of a Dodge runs thousands more than an SXT or SE. Now, let's say an R/T version costs $32,000 new. Folks, for this lesson, we can't afford $32,000. The SXT, which loses alot of those special gadgets you really wanted, is $27,000. But, instead of settling for the SXT, why not try to find a used one. If you could pick the R/T version up used, with say 22,000 miles you could end up paying less than an SXT version new. Which means about all you lose is the Lifetime Powertrain Warranty, you'll still have the 3yr/36,000 mile warranty that will transfer. Plus the vehicle isn't even broken in yet. Plus, as I'm sure all of you have seen, the nicer the trim-level, the better the re-sale. So you will actually end up making money on this deal down the road because it's not going to matter whether you bought that car with 17,000 miles or 17. In 2011, all they are going to see is an '08 with 88,000 miles. Why not just save yourself thousands right away. Plus, who plans on buying a vehicle and driving it for the rest of their lives? So in conclusion, it is a much smarter investment to buy a used car in the current model year.

Learn more about this author, Derek Jensen.
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