I see the comment made often that buying a lightly used (say 1 to 2 years old) vehicle is a better choice financially because of the upfront depreciation that takes place.
Although I generally agree the upfront depreciation is a bear, the statement puzzles me sometimes because of the way some manufacturers (I'm think of my experience with GM specifically) offer heavy rebates up front.
What's a good source (assuming there is one) to measure that upfront depreciation that takes place as soon as you drive off the lot (other than driving that new car back to a dealer a week later and asking about trade in value
)? Would Nada used values be the best?
Although I generally agree the upfront depreciation is a bear, the statement puzzles me sometimes because of the way some manufacturers (I'm think of my experience with GM specifically) offer heavy rebates up front.
What's a good source (assuming there is one) to measure that upfront depreciation that takes place as soon as you drive off the lot (other than driving that new car back to a dealer a week later and asking about trade in value