If “A Brand-New Car!” represents the modern-day American Dream, what then is a well-cared-for, pre-owned vehicle? If it’s something less than dreamy, certainly a used vehicle doesn’t present quite the new car’s depreciation nightmare. Which is what enabled us to put together this quintet of comparisons, new versus old vehicles similar in price and purpose, if not prestige. We sourced excellent examples of the old cars, market values aligned in price with the MSRPs of their new counterparts. We also collated info about warranties, repairs, and running expenses with help from Vincentric. What we found is simple: Driving anything costs money, but the former is always more important than the latter.
