WHICH TO BUY: A NEW OR NEARLY NEW CAR?

It’s an age-old dilemma: which is best, a brand-new car or a nearly new model? On the face of it, a vehicle that has had no previous owners would seem to be the best prospect. At McCarthy Cars, however, we beg to differ.

There are, in fact, many benefits to purchasing a pre-owned vehicle.

For one thing, we only ever select the very best used vehicles to be sold at our Croydon premises. Each model in our pre-owned range has been carefully tested by our expert technical crew, using RAC’s 82-point preparation criteria. Furthermore, all of our vehicles come with a car history check and a minimum three-month RAC warranty.

There’s more to consider than that, though.

A new car can depreciate very quickly. Of course, if you don’t intend to sell it anytime soon, it’s not really an issue. That said, a brand-new vehicle is a relatively unknown quantity, whereas, any vehicle that appears on our forecourt is clearly still going strong.

In any event, none of our cars are more than ten years old, and we regularly stock vehicles that are less than one year old. 

Another thing to ponder is Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). From April 1, 2017, VED – or road tax – rules changed, and higher initial year fees for all cars were brought in. A vehicle registered before this date will likely incur less road tax.

Ultimately, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Or, to put it in automotive terms, the proof of a car’s quality is in the test driving, and its RAC seal of approval, among many other things.

Please take the time to examine our pre-owned car stock today. We have more than 250 to choose from. Our RAC Approved Used models have been produced by many top brands, including Audi, Land Rover, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz.

If you see a vehicle that interests you, please don’t hesitate to book your test drive with us today.