I recently came into some money, and the first thing on my mind was whether I wanted to buy a brand-new car. Of course, I’m not planning to pay in full if it’s new; I’d rather stretch my funds unless I can find something reliable, even if it’s preowned. I already have a few models in mind, and that’s not the issue. I just want to hear your thoughts.
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There is no way someone can advise you about this without knowing a lot about you.
Will you have a 6 months of income left if you bought a new car?
How stable is your job?
What kind of models do you have in mind?
Here is my take on buying. I buy new and pay cash. Most Japaneese makes depreciate slowly and are reliable with the exception of Mitsubishi. Buy new.
American makes depreciate more,buy used 3-5 years old.
Korean makes Hyundai and Kia have 10 year warranties, buy new
Most European and high performance makes are money pits, buy only if you highly value the driving experience and are willing to pay for it.
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The last brand new car (truck) I bought was over 20 years ago. I’ve bought used ever since, and have never had a problem. Brand new cars have issues too.
Given your circumstances, it might make more sense for you to pay cash in full for a used one.
Good luck.
Nobody could possibly know “how reliable a used car is” without knowing the make, model, model year, odometer mileage, and maintenance history of a particular car. And, even with all of that information, one would still need a pre-purchase inspection by a qualified mechanic in order to have a fairly good idea as to the reliability of that vehicle.
Yes, but a new car will have multiple warranties that will cover any needed repairs for several years. And, a new car would also have “Lemon Law” protection, unlike a used car–in most states.
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What do you drive now and is it reliable? If so, you might want to wait. If you can’t wait and buy new, buying soon may be a good idea with tariffs coming on auto imports. Higher prices in new cars usually means higher prices on used cars too, another good reason to buy soon.
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What is good for me might be bad for you . I buy new and pay cash.
Also by your other post I suspect you are not in the USofA so you may have brands or models that most of us here are not familar with.
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+1
Additionally, “lemon laws” might not exist in the country where he/she resides.
You could go get the 2025 Consumer Reports April car issue, lots of info on new and used cars, reliability, etc.
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I’d buy a Land Rover.
Don’t buy anything without a carfax report. Many dealers who advertise online provide them for free. Carfax will tell you if the car has been in a wreck, airbag went off, tracks mileage so you’ll know if odometer has been rolled back, number of owners, how long they’ve owned.
Doesn’t guarantee you won’t get a bad car because ship can happen in the future. But it will tell you if the car is already a bad one.
ONLY if it was reported to the dealer or the insurance company, Carfax is not magic and if the work was not done at the dealer, or a shop that reports to Carfax, or it was reported to the ins company, then Carfax has NO way of knowing it was wrecked…
Now, yes, if it was reported then it will show up, so if it shows a negative report, then you know, but just because it does not show doesn’t mean it didn’t happen…
I can wreck a car and fix it myself, I can roll the miles back (if I knew how lol) and Carfax wouldn’t have a clue…
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If I “came into some money”, the last thing on Earth I would do with it is buy a costly vehicle. In case you aren’t aware, many great companies with strong balance sheets and a proven track record of paying sustainable dividends have seen their share prices crater. I would invest my newfound fortune, to have more money in the future. My only regret right now is not having more money to invest.
Does Carfax exist in the (undisclosed) foreign country where the OP lives?
In some states is actually against the law for any insurance claim to be reported to a third-party. So Carfax would NEVER know about the accident. The problem with Carfax is what’s NOT on the report. The reporting has increased over the years, but it’s still less then 30% of all repairs, service (oil changes) and accidents. I surely don’t report to Carfax when I do an oil change on any of my vehicles.
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Completely agree with oldtimer.
If you have a stable income, adequate savings and are “willing to buy what you need instead of what you want”, Buy New.
Even the most modest current vehicles will last 200,000 miles / 20 years with proper maintenance, offer improved MPG and safety features, and lower financing costs than Used sometimes as low as 0% interest.
As important, you know what you’re buying and have a manufacturer’s warranty to back it up instead of buying another person’s problem or abuse.
OTOH if you “Must” have a luxury vehicle with the “Right” nameplate, all the bling and “bleeding edge technology”, buying one a couple of years old with massive early depreciation may be a better choice
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Try to explain that to my 2023 Tacoma, fun cars aside, it gets worse gas milage than my old power wagon with a built engine, and worse than my 99 Dakota 3.9 V6 did… It is literally the worst MPG vehicle, other than hot rods, that I have ever owned… Now on the highway, I can get 19-20 MPG, but on average, I get about 14 MPG… lol
You haven’t really shopped for a Toyota have you, they hold their value quite well, at least the Tacoma’s do… I bought the newest, lowest mileage truck I could find, because a 2-4yo Tacoma was only a small amount less… The main reason I didn’t buy new, don’t like the new (4th gen) trucks…
Other than that I agree with you…
% agree… 
We have Carfax up here in BC, so I’ll certainly be using that before proceeding as I’m definitely going with used.
May want to check out this website for more info. Do Insurance Companies Report to Carfax? Find Out Now!.
I bought a Vibe/Matrix from a Toyota dealer used car lot, it had a Carfax report as all the cars on he lot did, it showed NO wrecks, well, I showed the salesman where the front end had been wrecked and prof that it had been wrecked and repaired…
Carfax did show the history of owners and what states it was in, a few maintenance records, but nothing about being wrecked and repaired, Hood, headlamp, fender and a few other things had been replaced, but it was done wright, so I got it for a lower amount due to the wreck… But it was exactly what I was looking for, for my wife to work out of, she found it and I checked it out… Been a great car so far… lol