Used cars 101: From setting a budget to the test drive – a guide for buying a used vehicle

Used cars 101: From setting a budget to the test drive – a guide for buying a used vehicle

Illustration by Melanie Lambrick

So, you’ve decided to buy a car. Here’s the first question: new or used? In general terms, the choice is straightforward. A new car comes with the latest features, warranties and the promise of several years of driving free from all but routine maintenance. The benefits of buying used? If you choose well, you’ll save a bundle.

It hasn’t been so simple in pandemic times. The pandemic led to inventory shortages and soaring vehicle prices as people who would normally buy only new cars flooded onto the pre-owned lots. But the pandemic challenges aside, the basic

Used-car sales may recover for rest of 2023, expert says

Used-car sales may recover for rest of 2023, expert says

With used-vehicle prices back in depreciation territory, May and June could go down in the books as the “worst May and June in history” for used vehicles losing value, Smoke said.

However, those vehicles losing value is “a good thing for the people who’ve been sitting on the sidelines not able to find a vehicle at the price point they want,” Smoke said.

Floor under prices

There is a scarcity of used vehicles less than 4 years old because of a COVID-19 pandemic-induced lack of new-vehicle production in 2020 and 2021. Smoke said that downturn spelled trouble for the used-vehicle

Join the AutoForm Global Webinar: Evolving Hemming Process Development, June 7th 2023

Join the AutoForm Global Webinar: Evolving Hemming Process Development, June 7th 2023

Join the AutoForm Global Webinar: Evolving Hemming Process Development, June 7th 2023AutoForm users have long been able to complete hemming studies using the inner and outer parts of the closure. With the launch of AutoForm Assembly in 2021, users quickly became aware of the significance of developing their hemming processes while assembling all parts within the closure, accounting for tolerances, gravity, parts springback and hemming impact. We are now moving towards an evolution in hemming process development with improved process definition methods, improved gluing implementation, and better handling of scanned part geometries among the many capabilities.

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Your Used Car May Soon Come With Subscription Fees

Your Used Car May Soon Come With Subscription Fees

Drivers of used cars whom automakers have a direct line to—whether by email or app—are often offered free trial periods aimed at hooking a consumer to the subscription model of car ownership. But many drivers of used cars aren’t so easily targeted, especially those who don’t buy their cars through automakers’ dealer-controlled networks.

A 2021 survey of more than 2,000 US car owners led data and analytics company LexisNexis Risk Solutions to estimate that 83 percent of owners of used cars with built-in connectivity “remain untapped”—meaning automakers had left money on the table.

Since 2021, LexisNexis has offered a service