Car prices are cooling, but should you buy new or used? Here are pros and cons. (www.usatoday.com)

submitted 5 months ago by Recant@beehaw.org to c/finance@beehaw.org

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I personally would not be interested in buying a new car. They depreciate in value too quickly and do the same exact job as a used car.

Used cars also have been run so lemons that come from the factory have been filtered out or fixed.

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[-] lemming934@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 5 months ago

Bikes are cheaper than cars

[-] Recant@beehaw.org 5 points 5 months ago

True, but at least in America bikes alone are not a great option.

Over 60 million (1 in 5) Americans live in rural areas. These places don't have public transportation or are so spread out that bikes are not practical.

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2017/08/rural-america.html

[-] nicholasyager@beehaw.org 2 points 5 months ago

This just tells me that 4 in 5(!) Americans may be good candidates for using a bike instead based on geography alone 😁

This is very clearly a "you're both correct" situation.

[-] BarryZuckerkorn@beehaw.org 2 points 5 months ago

My 4-person household has one car, one electric cargo bike with two kid seats, a regular bicycle, accounts with bikeshare/scooter options around our city, plus mass transit passes, plus the option of Uber/Lyft.

Bikes might not work as a replacement for a first car, but they can work pretty well as a replacement for a second car, and a tool for reducing total mileage on the car you own.

Everything depends on where you live, of course, but a substantial number of people live in a place where a bike can reduce the number of miles you drive, even if you never actually give up the car.