If driving, for you, is simply a matter of getting from A to B in a reasonable amount of comfort and safety – and doing so as cost effectively as you possibly can, then logic says you should buy the best cheap used Honda you can.
There are two basic truths behind this reasoning:
The first is that used cars are cheaper than new ones. This isn’t rocket science, but with all the tempting new car offers you see around in these cash-strapped times, it’s useful to remind yourself that they still don’t make basic financial sense.
So buy a brand new car if that’s what you really want – but never fall for the salesman’s trap of convincing yourself that it’s more or less the same as buying a used car and is all very affordable etc. The simple truth is that it isn’t.
A new car loses around 20% of its value the moment you’ve bought by virtue of the fact that it is, by definition, ‘second-hand’ immediately – and because you’ve paid the VAT on it. So if you do buy a used car, keep it going for as many years as you possibly can and get the cheapest car to run that you possibly can. And these days – that seems to indicate hybrids.
But why Honda? Well Honda has been found to be the most reliable carmaker for an unprecedented six years in a row by the What Car? and Warranty Direct study of reliability. And you can’t ask for much more than that!