I also posted this on another popular forum, but wanted to get opinions from people who actually own Mazdas.

For the past year, I've been eyeing the Mazda CX-5. My previous car gave out on me so I'm looking to buy a car that I can keep long term. Fell in love with the CX-5 and now debating to buy used or new. I know a majority of my redditors are going to say "Save your money! Buy used!" so here's my dilemma: 2017CPO in exact color and trim (GT WITH premium package!) for price listed as $26988. Has about 9500 miles. Second option, buy brand new, 2018 GT but without the PP. MSRP is about 30k, with local dealers (bay area) offering me about $27k-$29k before haggling/TTL. I would be driving over an hour to this dealer.

For the CPO, I got excited until I saw that the carfax listed as previous owner being "corporate fleet". I didn't know what that was so a quick google search showed me that it was a rental or a corporate car used for business. I went down a rabbit hole of reddit posts and found out that people tend to abuse these types of cars, dealers sometimes overlook the inspection and maintenance, etc.

For the new, I would get the grand feeling of buying a new car with no previous ownership and no worries about the usual used car problems. It would cost me more, but I'd get that peace of mind. If I end up getting new, I guess I could use the same dealer as their email quote they provided me was closer to $27500.

Would I be better off buying new or used? I know I'll save money with the used because of depreciation and all, but in the end, is it worth it? What do I have to look out for when it comes to buying a CPO from the dealer? In what cases would you buy brand new? I'm a complete car noob, venturing out for her first time so go easy on me.

 

Definitely spend the extra few thousand dollars for peace of mind of a brand new unmolested vehicle with full warranty.