I’m definitely in the “new is worse” car camp. My number one pet peeve is the auto on/off every time I stop at a red light. Yes I can turn it off each time but it should be an opt in not an opt out feature. Second are touch screens that control everything…much prefer individual knobs or buttons that control the radio and climate, for example. The last 4 rental cars I’ve had: an Audi, a Volvo, a Cadillac and a Pacifica reinforce my feelings. For example, there is no standardization of the controls. It used to be easy to turn on the radio and change the station. Or set the A/C. Now it’s cycling through a number of touch screens but each automaker has its own format. I don’t plan on ever owning a car made after 2019.
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I am also in the used car camp. I want easily located manual ways to turn on windshield wipers, to keep the interior warmer or cooler, to change stations on the radio, etc. I do not want to turn my car on using a screen, and I absolutely don’t want to change gears with a touch screen. Call me old fashioned, I don’t care.
And don’t even get my H started on everything being electronic … he used to be able to fix pretty much anything on the car himself, and it is no longer as easy to do that.
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We bought two used cars over many decades. One was four years old Buick. The price was reasonable and that was all we could afford at the time. Second one was two years old Mercedes we bought few years ago. We wanted Mercedes and didn’t want to pay new car price. All other cars were new and we had them for over ten years. We are due for a new car for DH and it’s probably will be hybrid this time. We would never buy used car if we had money for a new. It’s like buying into somebody else’s problem. People who change cars every two years don’t take good care of them and often put very high mileage in a short period of time.
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I have a newish truck. The headlight assembly has an LED type strip around it that’s kind of a DRL. It’s called an accent light.
Drivers side stopped working. I go to change it only to find out the entire assembly has to be swapped out. $1500. It was still under warranty but service tech laughed with me when I asked if they fired the engineer who designed this setup.
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New but I’m in a new car every 3-4 months due to work. So I may be biased.
I was just in a rental Kia Sportage. Had nothing - no car play or push button - yep a key. They have it but rental fleets buy cheap. So you can have a used car with the bells and whistles that many hate - like auto stop - which by the way while annoying, helps with fuel economy, the environment and the OEM’s CAFE rating which is why it exist. It helps them to reach the required fuel economy standards - which both the CARB states (California and others have) as do the feds. I personally hate adaptive cruise and attention assist.
Why do I like new ?
Lots of incentives today at most brands but used car pricing is still high. And new has the full warranty. And all cars today - pricey to repair. So the delta new to used isn’t too bad.
Good luck with whatever you decide to buy. If it’s right for you - new or used or whatever brand - then it’s great.
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H just read an article that Hertz has dumped something like 12,000 Teslas on the the used car market (starting last year) and up to 20,000 by end of 2024 - not sure if these are the small/inexpensive 3s or a range of them but the new owners of ones already sold are complaining about all sorts of problems with them. Not sure if it’s a Tesla problem (we have way to many where I live, it’s kind of joke really) or standard issues coming out of the rental market.
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Between upkeep and residual, it was too costly. They went all in.
Everyone in the industry knew it would happen.
Residuals in EVs are beyond terrible. This will change as prices narrow with ICE vehicles, which they are.
EVs, while cheaper to maintain, are often pricier to repair. As Tesla controls its entire dealer network, it has pricing power although with Ford, Hyundai, Kia and more now selling EVs, their share of registrations has greatly fallen so a one year used one today can be a solid value.
H is in the market to buy what will likely be the last car he purchases (as he is >80 and keeps cars forever). He wants a new car and not a plug in. Will see what he ends up with. So far, we don’t like the Hynduai—all controls on a stick and a you have to pull a control up for parking brake.
H will likely get a Lexus. We shall see. He’s planning on a brand new car. My Prius Prime was purchased brand new—2018 bought at end of the year. I’m pretty happy with my plug in hybrid. Since we drive so little (5000 miles/yr or less), H can buy whatever he loves.
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I only buy new. Then I drive it until it dies.
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I’ve never purchased a new car in my lifetime. In the past when I’ve looked at cars, it did not make financial sense to buy new, with the steep depreciation in the first few years. I’ve also been able to find especially good value on particular used cars. The good value sometimes relates to a particular individual seller mispricing car below market value or a particular seller not packaging his/her car well for good general market interest.
I also can associate with many of the comments in the article and thread about not liking the direction of changes for newer car models. For example, I do not like cars turning off/on when stopping at traffic lights. I realize it improves fuel economy. However, working from home, I don’t drive long enough for this degree of fuel savings to be worth the inconvenience.
I generally find driving more enjoyable with cars that have minimal computer adjustments, where I am driving and not the computer. I like cars that have an strong engine rev, where you can both feel and hear the car accelerating. Newer cars are moving away from these things I enjoy, so I often have a less enjoyable experience when driving new cars than used. New cars feel more like a means of getting from point A to point B to me than a pleasant driving experience.
I currently have 2 cars. One is a 2005 exotic, and one is a 2007 luxury. The former has never had a significant mechanical issue in the 15 years I have owned the car, and I see no signs of this changing. However, I expect the latter will soon have mechanical issues that are not a good value to repair, so I may be getting a replacement later this year. I will probably buy used, but for the first time ever, I’m not as confident in the better value with used over new. The used market is still inflated from post-COVID supply chain issues. I’ll probably still buy used, but plan keep more of an open mind and at least test drive and research some new car models.
I do like the idea of some of the improved safety features in newer cars, such as auto braking/swerving to avoid accident. If they are implemented well, it could be a big positive, but if not implemented well, it could lead to a very unpleasant experience.
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OK. Pm me on what cars you have. Lol. Seriously.
My daughter drives a 20 year old Lexus ES 300. It drives smoothly. Hope it last 3 more years to get her through grad school.
We bought our last car new but usually buy a few year’s old. Let someone else depreciate the car for me. If you buy something like Lexus used they all seem to have fantastic engines and are built to last.
There are some really intriguing lease offers from like Polestar(EV) and others. Making a short trial of some of these cars interesting to say the least.
I bought my last two cars used and one used one for the kids. In two out of three cases, I wanted a particular model that was discontinued. I’d like to do EV or hybrid, but I like the safety of my old heavy Volvo. Ideally we’d have one regular and one EV/hybrid.
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I buy used. Then I drive it until it dies. 
Cars don’t do much for me. But I want a decent car - a safe and reliable car. I do not want to pay for bells and whistles. So we typically get cars that are 2 or 3 years old (and the lowest trim package possible).
I have seen some cars (on the road) with* huge* screens - like the size of a laptop. It seems like they would be distracting.
I was with my DC when they were test driving a car, and it seems like the cars where you have to press screens for volume control, for example, would be less safe than knobs - like you have to look and keep pressing on the screen vs turning a knob.
We had to buy a car during COVID and ended up getting a deal on a new one. We ended up staying in our budget by going with a smaller car. I admit I do like the Apple car play and blind spot warning (which we did not pay extra for LOL).
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The last new vehicle I purchased was a 2003 Honda odyssey, had no choice, #4 and #5 were due and it was the only minivan at the time with 5 shoulder belts, I needed to fit 3 car seats and 2 boosters. It was a hot item, had to pay over retail, recently found the invoice, $31,000 back then. We buy used from a local mechanic or dealership, get a one year warranty, and drive them until they need to be towed away. There are still two 2007 civics with close to 200,000 in our fleet.
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“bells and whistles” - I never thought I would pay for seat heaters living in the south until my the trim package included it - now I wouldn’t buy a car without it. Seat heaters on sore muscles when in a car for long periods is heaven! Now, Apple Car Play - won’t buy next car without it. I will never “rent” these items in a car though, if the manufacturer’s start going that route, which some say they are starting to do. Edit - I really wish manufacturer’s would include front/rear dash cams as part of a trim package.
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I admit that I absolutely love back up cameras. We have two older vehicles that have them - it makes parking and pulling out of parking spaces so much easier.
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Of course with new or gently used today, you have cars that park for you or pull out of spaces for you.
Oh, I am too much of a control freak for that!
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We just bought a new car. Looked at both new and used figuring used would be the better value. Didn’t work out that way. The used vehicles that were newer years and low mileage were only about $2000 less. We haggled for the new car and we were able to get $1500 off leaving only a $500 difference.
With the other new car incentives:
0% financing
6 free oil changes
Lifetime powertrain warranty
New car was a no brainer. Used cars did not provide these incentives. We also drive cars until they die, well, maybe not die but definitely in a coma 
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This bugs me also. My car seems to have an almost supernatural ability to turn itself off about a second before the light turns green.
On the other hand, the same car came with two things that I like a lot. One is the backup camera. The other is cruise control that matches the speed of the car in front of me.
We also purchase cars new and drive them until they are old and starting to fall apart. This might be as much as anything out of laziness. When our daughters needed new vehicles (in both cases for something similar to an internship related to university) we bought used vehicles. So far the used vehicles seem to have held up quite well.
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