The "New Or Slightly Used" Dilemma....

As someone who works for a dealership group I can tell you that often times when we get vehicles traded back to us with less than 10k miles it is because the owner had so many issues with the vehicle that they eventually got fed up and traded it in for something else. Our stores will usually work with them to make sure they don't lose their ass in the deal if that is the case.

I'd be cautious if you are looking at used 2016 or 2017 right now with less than 10k on them. In my opinion, if it is either that or a new one, go with the new.

I would only buy new, whoever gets this truck if I were to trade in would have to see why it's so noisy inside and why the check engine light is on, and the dealership may or may not disclose the fixes that have been done to it

I looked at used rams when shopping for a boghorn. Most used ones were going for 28-30k with anywhere from 20-40k miles. I found a new bighorn 4wd crew hemi for under 32k. I feel like pickups lately hold too much resale value. If gas prices go up much that could really change though!

Bighorn lol

I've traded in trucks / SUVS that had less than 2k miles on them. Yeah, i eat it sometimes, but each time was an important reason.

The first time the paint job was extremely bad, dealer wanted to repaint, i said my new truck can't be repainted, they offered to put me in another one, I opted for a sun roof, paid the difference, minus 500 bucks, I paid cash initially, so i came out pretty okay. Lost about 800 bucks + a sunroof.

couple years ago i purchased a f150, needed an f250 to haul some stuff, took it back a week later, and grabbed the F250, lost about 3k.

I owned that truck for maybe a year or two then traded in for the 1500... people do it, i only do it if i paid cash for the truck in the first place, because i don't have the pay the 200-300 in finance costs to " pay it off ", it never works in our favor, but to each his own!

Local dealer here is discounting some new models over 12k from sticker. At that price, New is the ticket.

my last 2 trucks were 2 year old lease returns.the ford lariat was 45k new in 2003,i got it for 22,5.with just under 40 thousand kilometers.the ram was also 2 years old in 2014 and around 20k off the top of a new one. just under 30 thousand kilometers.both were still under warranty with an option to purchase an extended.i also use them for their intended purpose,so options are nice,but definitely not crucial. why in the world would i buy new??

Tray Burge said:

If its a warranty your concerned about there are "aftermarket" warranties you can buy in any amount of coverage that are as good as the factory warranties.

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I'm somewhat on board with your first post but this is making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Aftermarket warranties are in no way as good as factory backed warranties.... in fact not even close. Aftermarket are loaded with exclusions and are often from companies that go out of business or re-brand leaving consumers SOL.

If you've been buying aftermarket and haven't been burned I'm guessing you've never needed it. These message forums are full of people being screwed over by aftermarket warranties. Many (most?) wise financial folks say stay away from all warrantied but if you must purchase only go factory backed.

And, as for the used vs. new thing, slightly used isn't a bad way to go but buying new isn't as taboo as many people make it out to be. You just have to buy at the right price to make it work. You must keep vehicles for a long time. And that goes for buying new or slightly used. As a general rule, the more you see the inside of the dealership the more you lose. That stale cup of coffee and conversation with the salesman is expensive no matter how you slice it.

huntergreen said:

i found with the discounts and rebates, the new truck was cheaper on leftover 16s.

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That's generally what I was finding as well for the really low mileage, current or prev model year. Now the 2 model year old vehicles I was seeing at the reduced price. I would have went with such a vehicle if I could've found one that had what I wanted with out any issues nearby but there was always something. Ended up with a leftover '16 $47 MSRP for a little under $36.

So my opinion would be look at both, and when you see the vehicle you want at the price you want with options you want, do it.