48. Next Time You Buy a Car, Get It Secondhand

When you consider that a new car loses 30 percent or more of its value the moment you drive it off the sales lot, you have to wonder why anyone would ever purchase a brand-new car.

A high percentage of new-car buyers trade in their cars every two to three years. These trade-ins are an excellent source of used cars. Often, they’ve been carefully driven and diligently maintained, so it’s relatively easy to pay a mechanic to determine if there are any major defects. Generally speaking, if a car is going to develop problems, it’ll happen in the first ten to fifteen thousand miles.

Also, keep in mind that after two years, a car has dropped another 30 percent from its original value. So, if you buy directly from the owner—never from a used car dealer—you can save 60 percent off the original sticker price of the car.

Not only will buying a secondhand car save you money and, one hopes, the hassle of financing and monthly payments, but, if you buy carefully, you’ll have a car that has already had the bugs worked out of it, and that you can probably count on for many thousands of miles of trouble-free driving.