The daily grind of a driving school is behind, which means that now you have a legal right to drive a car. Having got a driving license, every young driver starts looking for the very ‘first car’ that will help him master the art of driving, will go through the first minor accidents with him, and give him a valuable experience. In the process of selecting, everyone faces a huge number of questions, the answers to which are far from being obvious and absolute. One of them, for example, concerns the issue of which car it is better to choose for the role of the first one – a new car or a used car. In this article, we will try to have a deeper look at the advantages and disadvantages of both solutions.
Buying a used car
If you set out to find ‘tips of the experienced drivers’ on the Internet, then, basically, you will come across recommendations on buying a used car, rather than a new one. These opinions are usually supported by an argument that a new car loses in value almost 10% -20% at the time it leaves a showroom and another 10% to 40% after a year of operation. Besides, they state that any beginner beats mirrors, breaks bumpers, and has plenty of scratches, so it is much better to use an old car for the first driving attempts.
This approach seems to be correct and logical, but only until you recognize the wrong side of a used car. First, the market for used cars is full of ‘problem cars’ that have poor technical conditions. All the malfunctions cause additional danger and stress that can have bad consequences for an inexperienced driver.
Purchasing a new car
Used cars are undoubtedly budget-friendly; however, the safety of a driver, its passengers as well as the other traffic participants should be in the first place. A new car means not only up-to-date design but also modern safety technologies and a proper level of comfort.
When the driver has comfortable driving, when he is confident in the reliability of his car, he is less susceptible to stress and can fully concentrate on the road. Plus, electronic systems in modern cars forgive most of the small but dangerous mistakes and sometimes tell you what to do. For beginners, this is very important from a psychological point of view. In a word, the presence of modern active safety systems is a powerful argument in favor of buying a new car.
One more argument in favor of the new car is its warranty. You do not need to think about where to go in case of a breakdown and you do not need to fuss in search of the necessary spare parts, fluids, filters. All this is the care of the dealer, who gives a guarantee on the car and on its own conducts scheduled and unscheduled maintenance throughout the warranty period. And you, meanwhile, gradually master the nuances of not only driving, but also owning a car, gaining knowledge and experience gradually, and not raking a mountain of worries that have fallen overnight, in which you do not understand anything. Even if you forget some traffic laws, you can easily refresh your knowledge with the help of an online application. For example, the Zutobi app can help young drivers not only to prepare for the driving test but also to recollect necessary road rules.
Taking everything into consideration, we would say that if the budget allows, it is better to give preference to a new car with its modern safety systems, and if not, you would better trust the choice of a car to a professional car dealer, who will be able to choose the best variant of a used car for you.
