Best Used Cars To Buy In 60 Seconds

Used cars are the best buy

The next 60 seconds will reveal what exactly it is that makes used cars great, and which one is the absolute best buy.

The number one benefit that follows buying a used car is that its hard to lose money if you buy carefully. When a new car is purchased, the minute it is driven off the lot, its value drops significantly. I am talking thousands of dollars. This is because it is so perfect, and a little scratch or dent seems huge compared to its original pristine condition. It truly does seem to take away considerable value.

Contrast this with a used car which comes usually complete with a few parking lot dings and whatnot. We take this in stride, we expect this, and so we are also relaxed when we leave our pre-owned car in the stall at the grocery store. If there is already a door ding or two, how much will one more matter? Less gray hair and longer, happier life is the certain result.

The best used cars to buy

The best used cars to buy are, in my opinion, lightly used red German cars. Well at least German anyway I own several. The photo above is a 1991 BMW 318i and I recently bought the four-door version as a family car. You see my wife and I just had our first child arrive and what better excuse is there to buy another car than a new baby? That car was about $30K when it was new. I got it for $4200!

Our other ruby import is a 1991 Volkswagen Jetta GTX. I like this car a lot. I bought the Beemer “for my wife to drive”. Honest! But she didn’t like it because the ride is a bit too firm for her. Oh, okay, she can take the Jetta…

The 318i is a real sports car. I can hammer that thing into a sharp corner and when I straighten it out again it always amazes me how it never leaned at all. Nice handling, considering those are stock 14 inch tires. But the ride generally is much rougher than the Jetta. Not at all ideal for transporting a tiny baby in the back.

Both of these vehicles are exceptionally engineered, dependable, good looking, fun to drive, and a delight to own. The VW gets better mileage by a wide margin. They are both an adrenaline rush to drive.

Maintenance costs

New genuine German disc brake rotors for the Vee-Dub are approximately $20 CDN each. The same component for the BMW was a bit less than $60 CDN. The pads are comparable, so it looks like the cost to maintain the BMW will be about 2-3X that of the VW. The beemer also cost a lot more than the VW did when it was new.

Seasonal considerations

Here in the Great White North there is a lot of snow and ice this time of year. Both cars have 4 matching brand new Cooper Weathermaster snow tires. The 318 is a rear wheel drive, the GTX is front wheel drive. The difference is profound between the two in winter conditions. If you like life on the edge, RWD is plenty exciting and you can have lots of fun playing 4 wheel slidey all over the place. But if you are trying to get traction for take off after stopping at a red light on a small uphill, forget it. Sometimes the car will not even move, and its really embarrassing! The GTX in contrast is second off the snowy line only to all wheel drives.

I should clarify that the best used cars have been used and enjoyed. They are not abused cars. There are many ways to ensure that you buy a vehicle which has been taken care of, and they all involve doing your due diligence before purchasing.

To sum up, it really depends on what you want to use the automobile for primarily. If you want a car for your wife to drive and she’s anything like mine (more into babies than cars), then go with the VW Jetta. (I recommend the Mk II). If you want a true sports machine, the 318i or 325i will not disappoint.

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