Comments on: Things You Should Never Buy New and Things You Should Never Buy Used

By: Heidi

Heidi — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:29:20 +0000

I love hand-me downs. I enjoy checking out Craigslist, garage sales, and especially the local kids resale shops (I love Kid-to-Kid as well)!

No one will deny that owning a brand new car is really nice, but to spend a lot of money on depreciating assets do not make any practical or financial sense. The value that the new car loses once driven off the car lot is ridiculous.

Our Camry was bought used and has been one of the best purchases we have ever made. We bought it through a Toyota dealership so it was certified and the warranty was better (10-year/100,000 miles) than they were offering for brand new vehicles. It had only 1 previous owner who traded it back to the dealership after 2 months for a larger vehicle. We lucked out saving almost $10,000 buying a used, fully-optioned Camry with only 1,200 miles versus on a brand new one. The savings allowed us to pay off the car in 18 months. I know some people don’t have great experiences buying used cars, but if you do your research and are not pressed for time to buy, you will end up on the better end of the stick.

We are looking to buy a larger car (minivan) in ‘09 since my hubby’s car is nearing the end of it’s life expectancy. Unfortunately, the minivan we’re interested in purchasing is in high demand and there happen to be no used ones available in the San Antonio area through the dealerships. It will be interesting to see if we cave into buying a new one for the sake of our desires for a specific make/model.

By: ChristineMM

ChristineMM — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:51:25 +0000

Well, regarding what not to buy new…many of those are small ticket items that are popular GIFT items. I hope they said to not buy used stuff for presents for people. In my family these are commonly gifts especially for kids. That includes: toys, books, CDs, video games, and educational computer software. And jewelry is a common gift bought new for women. Perhaps listing ‘mens watches’ would have been smarter, especially for those men who love to buy very expensive watches and/or collect them. Hand tools are common gift items for older men.

I have tried buying some used sports equipment and often come up empty handed. Used video games are not always a bargain. I was in a shop tonight and they were selling the popular video games used for less than 5% off full retail for a new game. Ridiculous.

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:57:15 +0000

I only disagree with the CD’s and DVD’s. Even if they were treated well by the previous owner, I’m sure you’d be dealing with scratches in one way or another.

Otherwise, I love used things. I’m an ebay-addict. Not only do I buy for our household, but I also buy for the studio.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:27:52 +0000

Interesting lists! I disagree with a couple: I like new cars. And I have lots of used shoes for the kids that work great. I think used shoes for adults is another story – but for kids, they hardly get much use out of shoes before they’re outgrown, so hand-me-down shoes are awesome. Eli’s in a pair of used Stride Rites right now that’ll last all winter.