Buying a New Car Can Be Cheaper Than Buying Used

No. It's simply a matter of low depreciation for certain cars combined with high incentives (often including low-interest financing).

The new-cheaper-than-used phenomenon is most common in the large-truck and luxury-car category (Luxury SUVs too).

The biggest new-over-used savings was with the 2010 Audi S4, Premium Plus quattro 4dr Sedan AWD. Over five years of financing, the new car is $5,460 cheaper than a one-year-old used S4.

Another big saving comes from buying a 2010 GMC Sierra 3500HD SLT 4dr Crew Cab 4WD instead of the previous year's model, saving $1,620 over five years' time.

General Motors was the manufacturer with the highest number of new-cheaper-than-used models, with Honda second and BMW, Nissan and Volkswagen tied for third.