Your credit score significantly affects your ability to finance major purchases. The credit scoring system is attended to assign risk to borrowers and predict their ability to pay their debts. In general, the more credit that you have, like loans or a credit card debt, the lower your credit score will be – at least if you have a history of not paying it back. On the other hand, having debt and making payments on time can help improve your credit score.

Credit scores are a complex topic, and a bad one can prevent or complicate the process of buying things like homes, renting apartments or even buying a car. You can purchase a vehicle with a low credit score, but the annual percentage rate (APR) of the loan you get might be high.

APR is the yearly interest you will be accruing on the money you borrow. You can determine your monthly interest rate by dividing your APR by 12. As a rule of thumb, bad credit scores mean higher APRs, while good credit scores result in lower APRs.

Credit scores vary greatly among individuals depending on their debt history. Even if you have never had a credit card or taken a loan out, your credit score might be low because the system has no way to judge your financial trustworthiness. That is why some experts recommend young people get credit cards to build their credit score. 

As you make those monthly payments and pay something off a loan, the actual dollar amount you’ll accrue will go down since the accrual rate is just a percentage of the principal – or what’s still left outstanding on your loan.

APRs also differ based on the type of purchase. For example, a home mortgage or credit card may have a very different APR for you than your vehicle loan.

The APR that you want to avoid the most is a penalty APR, which is a special even higher interest rate that is triggered by being late on payments. Penalty APRs are most commonly associated with credit cards, and they’re one of the reasons why it’s so important to avoid carrying a month-to-month balance on your credit cards. Triggering penalty APRs will lower your credit score.

Auto Loan APRs

There are really three important loan-related numbers that are relevant to car buyers who want to finance their purchase:

• Credit score
• Your pre-qualified or pre-approval loan amount
• APR

Your credit score will determine how much money you are eligible to borrow to finance a car purchase and the APR you’ll be charged on that loan.

A credit score should not keep you from getting a vehicle, at least not at every dealership. Our slogan at Easterns Automotive is “Your Job Is Your Credit®”. Even if your credit score is less than perfect, we can work with you to find a financing solution.

We sell cars to people with high and low credit scores and work with more than 30 lenders to find an auto loan option that meets each customer’s financial needs.

It’s worth noting that the best way to improve your credit score is to get financing, make your monthly payments on time and eventually paying off your loan. We truly believe our efforts to find auto loan solutions to every person, regardless of their credit, is a public service to customers with less than perfect credit. We want to be part of your credit healing journey.

Get a Great Pre-Owned Vehicle with the Best APR Possible in Baltimore and the DMV

By working with more than 30 lenders, we’re able to shop each used car customer around to find a lender that’s willing to offer them the money they need at the best APR possible. 

We also offer a simple and secure two-step credit form that helps ensure you go into your financing search with the knowledge you need to make an informed decision. 

Credit scores are a fact of life, but a high APR isn’t an inevitable part of the car buying process. Contact us at (888) 650-4775 or visit one of our many locations in the Biltmore and Washington, DC area to learn more about vehicle loans that works for your finances.

Shopping online is preferred by many. You don’t even have to leave your couch to buy anything from clothing to cleaning products. Online car buying has also been increasing in popularity. You can browse millions of cars online from all around the world, but unlike clothing, books or gadgets, cars are big, expensive investments.

Car shopping can be challenging. You might want a reliable, budget-friendly model, or maybe even a vehicle that’s sporty and filled with the latest features. Finding the right one is frequently easier said than done. 

The internet allows you to browse a wide variety of models without having to drive anywhere or spend any time in a dealership. Browsing online can save time and reduce the effort normally required for such a big purchase. You might even enjoy looking at several cars without the hassle of a car salesman. 

Even people who aren’t going to purchase a vehicle online tend to browse selections, check customer reviews and calculate potential car payments through research on the internet.

Dealership websites often have detailed photos of preowned vehicles and lots of features and facts listed for each car, truck or SUV in their inventory.

But when it comes down to the actual purchasing transaction, most car buying is still done in person.

Cons of Online Car Buying

While there are many pros to looking for a vehicle to purchase online, there are many cons.

• The biggest con is you don’t get to inspect or test drive a vehicle before you purchase it. In a survey done by Autotrader, 67 percent of people said they had to test drive a vehicle before purchasing it. They consider it to be an essential part of the buying process.

• If you’re using a specific app to purchase a vehicle you lose the ability to visit multiple dealerships to get them to compete for your business.

• Purchases online also may not include a breakdown of the costs included in the purchase of a vehicle. As a result, some additional fees might get charged without you noticing. 

• Shopping online also makes financing a vehicle more difficult. The choices may be limited, and no one is there to shop around for different financing companies for you. Some online purchases may limit you to certain lenders and restrict you from additional options. 

• Buying online complicates the trade-in process. Although some companies offer pick-up and delivery, you could get shorted on the full value of your vehicle. 

• Many online car buying platforms offer generous return policies, but they are still a hassle. Getting your hopes up on a great pre-owned vehicle then having to deal with returning it and going without a car again is frustrating.

The Best of Both Worlds in Car Shopping

Easterns Automotive tries to give you the best of both worlds with Direct Car Buying.

DirectCarBuying.com allows car shoppers to browse a large selection and have the car they want delivered to a dealership closest to them. This method allows the buyer to shop online and not have to travel far to pick up a great pre-owned vehicle. They also have a chance to see the vehicle before they take it home.  

Online inventories are great for new and used car buyers. Easterns Automotive has a substantial online inventory with nearly 1,000 vehicles for sale in the Washington, DC and Baltimore area. We aim to make car buying as simple as possible for customers.

While buying a car online is appealing to many people, seeing the car in person is always ideal, especially if it is a pre-owned vehicle. You want to confirm the quality of the vehicle and make sure you get what you are paying for.

Call us at (888) 650-4775 or come into one of our many locations and test drive a car today.

There are several reasons why selling your vehicle to a local dealership is a better, more convenient option for most car sellers in Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Maryland:

• It’s straightforward and nearby
• You might have an existing relationship with the dealership
• You don’t have to deal with the logistics of selling a car online
• You’ll be working with a registered business that use properly secured transactions

Trust and Reputation

It’s not in any dealership’s interest to take advantage of people selling their cars. Local dealerships have a reputation to uphold, and they want you to come back to them the next time you want to buy or sell a vehicle.

If a dealership takes advantage of you, treats you poorly or gives you a bad deal, they are essentially losing a customer forever. That customer could also tell their friends about a dealership’s bad behavior or vent about their treatment online. Any dealership that wants to maintain a good reputation must treat customers fairly. Loyalty doesn’t matter to online marketplaces. They might have hundreds of thousands or even millions of customers worldwide – losing your business or getting one bad review doesn’t mean anything to them.

Do You Know How to Sell a Car on an Online Marketplace?

Unless you’ve already researched or gone through the process of selling a car online you might not have any idea how it works. Selling a car to a dealership is simple and intuitive:

1. Get an offer
2. Drive the car to the lot
3. Exchange your keys for a stack of bills or a check

To sell your car on an online marketplace, you usually have to:

1. Download an app, make an account and figure out how to use it (you’ll also likely get spam emails for the foreseeable future)
2. Take lots of pictures of your vehicle, inside and out and from all angles
3. Go through the process of filling out all your vehicles information
4. Write a report on your vehicle’s condition, history and warranty
5. Enter the price YOU want
6. Decide where and how your vehicle will be listed in the marketplace
7. Depending on the marketplace you may need to meet prospective buyers for test drives or inspections
8. Once it sells you have to get it to the buyer  

Some online marketplaces are also hotbeds of scam artists and creeps.

There’s no guarantee someone you meet from Craigslist is going to be safe. You can maybe report scammers and dangerous people to the platform, but the offenders can just make a new account and keep doing what they’re doing.

Some of the better online marketplaces will come pick your car up when you sell it. These higher-end platforms take extra steps on their end to make the process less cumbersome for car sellers, but in many of those cases the marketplace ends up taking a bigger cut of the sale since they’re putting in so much of the work.

Local dealerships are easy to use, and you have an opportunity to negotiate and exert more agency over the process.

Peace of Mind and Security

Meeting up with random strangers for a car inspection, test drive or to exchange your car for cash can be dangerous and unpredictable. Handshake deals and cash exchanges aren’t exactly secured. There’s little to no recourse if the check they give you bounces, or if you’re the buyer and you find out the title isn’t clear when a repo man tows your new car off.

A lot of car buyers also want some kind of guarantee of reliability and quality. They’ll want to see Carfax or some other kind of preowned certification or warranty. If you’re selling on a marketplace or you’re just listing your car on Craigslist or a similar website, any warranties or certifications you offer will have to be done by you.

In many cases certified preowned vehicle warranties are transferable, but the new owner will need to let the manufacturer know the vehicle has changed hands. A lot of automakers charge extra fees for warranty transfers.

If maintaining the certified preowned warranty is important to you or you’re using it as a selling point, you should look into the transferability of the warranty. Some automakers have special rules that may or may not invalidate warranties if you sell a certified preowned vehicle.

Avoid the Headache

Whether selling your car on an online marketplace will net you more or less money is debatable. Chances are any difference will be negligible, especially now when preowned vehicles are selling for record high amounts.

If you want to get a great price on your vehicle sale, call Easterns Automotive at (877) 867-4212. We’ve created an easy process that allows you to sell us your car for cash way more quickly and easily than any online marketplace. We can give you an offer in three hours and you can finalize the deal right afterwards. No meeting prospective buyers for test drives in parking lots, no need to create a picture gallery of your vehicle and no paranoia about whether or not you’re getting a fair deal.

Let Easterns Automotive make your car sale easy – call or visit one of our lots today!

Yes – at least at Easterns Automotive Group. You can sell us your car for cash without buying a different one from our lot. Whether a dealership will buy your vehicle outright – and what they’re willing to pay – is highly dependent on the dealership.

Some dealerships may be less likely to take some vehicles. A dealership that just sells sports cars or luxury brands may not be at all interested in purchasing a 2005 Toyota Camry or a 2003 Jeep, even if your vehicle still has a lot of miles left in it.

At Easterns Automotive, we’re not brand, year or model elitists. Even if your car has problems, we may still be able to work something out so you can at least get some cash or at the very least credit towards a new vehicle.

Car owners in Baltimore, Washington D.C. or anywhere in Maryland that want to sell their car, truck or SUV should fill out the vehicle sales form on our website – we’ll send you an offer within three business hours.

Why Are Used Cars in Such High Demand in 2021?

Every auto sales expert seems to be in agreement – there’s a serious car shortage in 2021. The shortage has increased the valuation of preowned vehicles by quite a bit, which is good news for people who want to sell their used vehicle for cash or as a trade-in.

In March, Edmunds found that the average trade-in was being valued at $17,080, a 21 percent increase from March 2020. The average preowned vehicle sales price was at $25,463 in April, roughly $2,800 more than the average price in April 2020. According to J.D. Power, the April 2021 average used car price went over $25,000 for the first time in history. 

What’s Causing Used Car Prices to Go Up?

It’s a bit counterintuitive, but one of the main reasons for the increased price of preowned vehicles is a shortage of chips for new cars. The difficulty manufacturers are having getting enough chips has resulted in fewer new cars being made, meaning a lot of dealerships have fewer new cars in their inventories.

The pandemic also caused the temporary shutdown of many car manufacturing factories, which meant many companies lost at least two months of production in 2020.

Analysts and dealership experts also suspect leasers are deciding to hang on to their leased cars, trucks and SUVs longer than normal, which has meant fewer previously leased vehicles are entering the used car market.

Another interesting pandemic-related reason for the new and preowned car shortage has to do with rental car services. One of the biggest sources of preowned vehicles for sale are rental car companies that sell off their “old” rental cars.

Rental car companies usually keep their vehicles for between four and 22 months, which means they represent a frequent infusion of used cars into the preowned vehicle market. During the pandemic, when very few people were actually traveling and renting vehicles, those rental car companies had no reason to purchase new vehicles. That means the 2020 rental vehicles that should be entering the 2021 used car market aren’t materializing.

The scarcity of new vehicles has also changed the way rental agencies are purchasing vehicles, with many opting to hold onto vehicles longer rather than overpaying for scarce new vehicles. Companies like Hertz and Enterprise have actually begun purchasing preowned vehicles when it becomes necessary to replace vehicles in their fleet, which is a pretty rare move for the rental car industry.

While those complications have, in most cases, been a negative for new car manufacturers and dealerships, they have resulted in a significant increase in preowned vehicle sales. TrueCar estimates that 3.4 million used vehicles were sold in the U.S. in April 2021, which is a 58 percent increase over April 2020. The increase in used vehicle popularity has further stressed the supply of available preowned vehicles. Dealerships had about 18 percent fewer used vehicles available for sale at the start of April 2021 than they had in April 2020.

Why Does This Matter if I Want to Sell My Vehicle?

The current scarcity of both new and preowned vehicles has resulted in an increase in the valuation of used cars, trucks and SUVs.

To put it simply, 2021 will be a historically good year for anyone selling their vehicle, since valuations on preowned cars are likely to stay high until the chip shortage is over and the supply of new vehicles begins to normalize.

If you want to take advantage of this opportunity and sell your vehicle, call Easterns Automotive at (877) 867-4212. We’re always happy to accept preowned vehicles for trade-in or cash – whichever you prefer.

When seriously considering purchasing a vehicle, there are a lot more factors to consider than just the model, make and color that you want. What drives the automotive industry is value.

It’s a good idea to consider depreciation when shopping a used car dealership for a pre-owned vehicle. Most Americans want a car that is going to last and hold its value. The pursuit of long-lasting value has resulted in a shift towards reliability in the auto industry in recent years. 

iSeeCars.com regularly tracks vehicle resales to determine which best retain their value. Sports utility vehicles and trucks are currently holding their value best. That’s not a huge surprise considering big trucks and SUVs have long been associated with the American way of life. Many drivers have traded in their four-door sedans for midsize and large SUVs.

The main type of vehicle missing from most of the top 10 lowest depreciation lists are hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles. The good news for used car shoppers is you can buy reliable hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles like the Toyota Prius (52.5 percent depreciation over five years) or the Nissan Leaf (70.1 percent depreciation over five years) for a fraction of what it cost new just five years earlier.

Jeep

The most valued vehicles depreciate the slowest, on average between 19 and 40 percent over a five-year period. Current models that retain the most value include the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.

Wranglers are known for their durable exteriors and are made for an active and adventurous lifestyle. They have a lifespan of over 10 years, which is an additional attractive incentive to vehicle owners.

A Jeep’s diverse functionality, including their ability to go off road, tow and get you to work, makes them a desired vehicle that holds their overall value. 

Toyota

A well-known brand for reliability and long-lasting value is Toyota. Three Toyota models are frequently on the top ten list for lowest depreciation: Tundra, Four Runner and Tacoma.

The Toyota Tacoma depreciates at about 32 percent on average over the course of five years. The Toyota Tundra and Four Runner range between 35 and 37 percent.

These Toyota models last owners for years and have a great resale value. Toyota has some of the longest-lasting cars on the market and a good reputation for reliability. The brand tends to focus on function and safety, making them valuable investments. 

Honda

Another brand that is known to hold its value is Honda. Honda ranks at a 4.0 out of a 5.0 on the reliability scale. Their vehicles tend to have great gas mileage in addition to their longevity.

The Honda Fit and Honda Civic made last year’s list for top vehicle models under $25,000 with the lowest depreciation on AutoGuide.com and iSeeCars.com.

The Honda Ridgeline also retains more than 50 percent of its value over five years. Other models by Honda that have become popular for their reliability and long-lasting value are the Honda Odyssey and Accord.

GMC and Chevrolet

Two makes that hold their value in the premium truck sector are GMC and Chevrolet. The GMC Sierra and Canyon models have a depreciation of 46.1 and 41.2 percent. The Chevrolet Silverado comes in at 45 percent.

These trucks are known to be large and luxurious on the inside and tough and sturdy on the outside. For vehicle owners looking for something that seamlessly combines work, play and comfort, these trucks are impressive for their value. 

Porsche

One of the few sports car manufacturers that makes the list; Porsche – especially the Porsche 911 – excels at defending its title as a luxury, performance and durability leader. While Porsche has a higher price point than most vehicles, it excels at holding its value for vehicle owners, with an average depreciation rate of about 36 percent over five years.

The Porsche 911 is one of the only cars of its class on the current top 10 vehicles with lowest depreciation. There are several Porsche models that are good at holding their value, from the four-door crossover to the two-door coupe.

If you are looking for something to splurge a little more on, Porsche is a top-of-line investment. 

Subaru

The other sports car that has made it on the top 10 list of vehicles with the lowest depreciation is the Subaru WRX. The WRX boasts a depreciation value slightly less than 40 percent. Subaru’s are unique for being a sports car and a sedan all in one.

The Subaru WRX proves there is value in space and speed. They are also durable and reliable, like most other Japanese models. 

Find an Affordable Used Vehicle Near You in Maryland

The vehicle you choose to purchase really depends on what is most important to you. Whether it is reliability and durability or size and model, getting the most out of a dollar well spent is often the top priority for shoppers in the automotive resale market.

Even the best new vehicle depreciates at least 30 percent over its first five years on the road. At the end of that five years, it may still be in like-new condition with a hundred-thousand-plus miles to go. In nearly every scenario you’ll maximize the value of your automotive purchase by buying a preowned vehicle rather than new.

At Eastern Automotive, we offer a range of these models on our Maryland and Virginia lots for vehicle purchasers looking for the best value. Come check out our inventory, visit us online or call us at (877) 867-3612 to ask about our selection.

We also offer great trade-in deals and are committed to paying fair valuations to local Baltimore and Washington DC car sellers.

People born in the ‘80s or earlier can still remember a time when people had to look in the yellow pages, call a business or drive somewhere to learn more about products. Love it or hate it, the internet has completely changed the way people live their lives and shop.

The stigma associated with buying a used car was built over the latter half of the 20^th century. People told jokes about “lemons” and used car salesmen that were often false or exaggerated, even then.

The internet has gone a long way towards dispelling those tropes.

You don’t necessarily have to buy a car online to take advantage of safer used car dealership shopping experiences. Online inventories, pre-owned certifications and a nearly limitless supply of information has made online research and vehicle purchases from used car dealerships an easy choice for many car shoppers.

Quality Verifications

Concerns about reliability are certainly not exclusive to used cars. Most people have probably owned an unreliable car at some point in their life. Frequent breakdowns, trips to the mechanic and expensive repair bills can hound some new vehicles as well.

Before the internet, it was tough to get an unbiased, honest assessments about a vehicle’s quality. You might see a car on the road, like how it looks and then visit a dealership. At the dealership, the car salesperson would give you a rosy, maybe even slightly misleading assessment of the vehicle. In these dark times, there were few ways for a car shopper to easily fact check the salesperson’s claims.

It’s unlikely that many new car salespeople were telling customers that a vehicle had a history of unreliability, even if it were true. They weren’t warning shoppers that they might end up paying mechanics thousands of dollars on repairs over the first couple years of ownership.

The internet brought us Carfax, countless car blogs, hundreds of websites about new cars and a practically limitless supply of personal anecdotal experiences on social media and message boards. Consumers and experts were able to speak directly to car buyers about their experiences with particular makes and models.

It’s never been easier to get unbiased information about the reliability of a vehicle from third parties with no incentive to mislead car shoppers.

Fair, Honest Pricing

It wasn’t always easy to be confident that the price you were paying for a new or used vehicle was fair.

The Kelley Blue Book has been around for nearly 100 years, but not everyone had easy access to an updated copy prior to the internet. Even CarMax and Carfax slightly predate the internet, but they weren’t exactly accessible or widely used until the 21^st century.

Back in the pre-internet years, used car buyers often had no idea whether they were purchasing a vehicle that had been in an accident, suffered flood damage or was otherwise compromised.

It’s difficult for vehicle resellers to get away with selling unreliable vehicles today. Car shoppers have several ways to look up the history of a vehicle they are considering. Many pre-owned dealerships have embraced this new age of transparency by performing their own detailed vehicle checks and certifications. All of these advancements have been good for pre-owned vehicle shoppers. You can safely purchase a used car or truck and feel confident about the quality of your vehicle thanks in large part to online car buying resources.

Online Inventories

Pre-internet car shopping usually meant driving around all the dealerships in your town to find out about their selection. If you lived in a rural area or there weren’t many dealerships in your city, you might only have a handful of options to choose from.

Online inventories have completely revolutionized the pre-owned vehicle choices available to car shoppers.

Easterns Automotive Group has an inventory of about 1,800 pre-owned vehicles. You don’t have to drive around our eight Baltimore, Washington DC and Frederick locations to learn about each vehicle. All you have to do is browse through the comprehensive inventory on our website.

Clicking on a vehicle is just as good as walking up to it in person. There are several images of the vehicle, a link to the Carfax report and even a picture of the window sticker – all available on your phone or computer.

You can even find out what kind of financing, lease or cash purchase options you can get on each vehicle in Easterns’ inventory. Modern shoppers can quickly and easily sort inventories by price, model and feature, something that would have been unheard of in pre-internet days.

Find a Reliable Pre-Owned Vehicle for Sale Near You at Easterns Automotive

Ready to upgrade your vehicle? Easterns Automotive Group makes it easy to find a great pre-owned vehicle at a price that works for you. Our friendly sales staff are customer-centric professionals who are committed to helping you find the right car, truck or SUV.

Worried about your credit, or aren’t sure you’ll qualify for financing? We work with more than 30 lenders to ensure we can work out some type of deal with nearly every car shopper, regardless of their credit. We even offer pre-owned lease options.

Call us at (877) 867-1407 to get started or visit an Easterns Automotive location near you.

We haven’t quite made it to flying cars like The Jetsons, but we do at least have electric cars. They are environmentally friendly, energy-efficient and typically require less maintenance. States, the federal government and manufacturers are also incentivizing the purchase of electric vehicles with rebates and tax credits. Purchasing an electric car can save you money and save the planet. 

Maryland is one of 10 states that participates in the Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV) program. The ZEV program aims to reduce harmful emissions by requiring automakers to meet certain electric and hybrid vehicle production and sales quotas based on the number of non-electric cars they sell.

In addition to ZEV, Maryland’s Department of Transportation and the state’s Energy Administration have partnered to encourage residents to purchase electric vehicles (EVs). Their efforts have culminated in multiple current and future incentives for those who do purchase an EV. 

Tax Credits for EV Vehicle Purchases

Electric car buyers can receive a federal tax credit worth $2,500 to $7,500. Tax credits depend on the size of the vehicle and the capacity of its battery.

The Maryland legislature also has a bill to revive funding for the state’s electric vehicle state excise tax incentive worth up to $3,000 for electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids.

EV and hybrid vehicle purchase incentives do benefit from some bipartisan support in Maryland and throughout the country.

“Our Clean Cars initiative has been incredibly successful, and we are urging the legislature to work with us to extend the program and make it accessible to more Marylanders,” said Governor Hogan last year in support of the Clean Cars Act of 2021 legislation.  

The state of Maryland will hopefully continue to encourage electric vehicle purchases with additional incentives.

Rebate for EV Charging Equipment

In addition to the tax credit, Maryland offers a rebate for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) purchases and installation. Rebates are offered on a first come first serve basis. EVSE rebate applications for the fiscal year ending in June 2021 are currently available.

Electric vehicle owners can get 40 percent of their vehicle’s charging equipment and installation paid for by the state. Both residential and commercial purchases qualify for the rebate.

• Up to $700 for individuals
• Up to $4,000 for businesses
• Up to $5,000 for service stations/gas stations

There is also a Federal EVSE credit of up to 30 percent or $1,000 available for installing a charging station. Residents and commercial property owners can receive this in addition to Maryland’s EV charging equipment rebate. 

A quality EVSE costs between $300 and $1,200 plus installation of up to $600.

With both federal and state incentives combined, you can theoretically get the government to pay for 70 percent of your EVSE purchase and installation.

EV drivers in Maryland still must pay for the electricity they use to charge their vehicles, but with government rebates the charging equipment is astonishingly affordable. Considering the reasonable cost and the rebate incentive, electric cars are quickly becoming an attractive and convenient alternative for many vehicle purchasers. 

Fuel Programs and Charging Station Savings

Drivers in Maryland that want to go green can sign up for fuel programs, including the Clean Fuels Technical Assistance Program (CFTA) and the Clean Fuels Incentive Program (CFIP). These programs make alternative fuel for EV vehicles more accessible and offers a variety of driver incentives. The goal of the program is to reduce the consumption of imported petroleum. 

Some companies are also joining the green bandwagon by offering savings to fuel up. Pepco and The Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) reduce electric charging rates during peak hours for drivers. These time-of-use charging rates save drivers even more money on top of the savings they are already enjoying from not having to purchase traditional fuels.

BGE also has a goal to install more charging stations throughout the Baltimore area and are encouraging EV vehicle purchases in Maryland through their EVsmart Program. 

HOV Access

What might seem like a minor incentive at first glance is possibly the most compelling of them all. Electric vehicle owners can use the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane at all times, with or without a passenger. That’s right – unlimited HOV lane access even in rush hour traffic. 

Take Advantage of EV and Hybrid Vehicle Incentives While They Last

Maryland’s incentives for purchasing an electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle are enticing to people looking for a new or used car to purchase. The state’s goal with programs like ZEV and EVsmart is to increase the number of electric and hybrid vehicles on the road to 300,000 by 2025.

Both government and non-governmental organizations in Maryland hope to encourage residents to purchase electric vehicles by creating an array of accommodations that make EV vehicles more affordable and convenient than traditional vehicles.

If you’re interested in learning more about used car leasing or EV purchases, Easterns Automotive can help you. Our used car dealership have a wide variety of hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles for sale near you. Browse our selection or give us a call at (877) 867-3612 so you can find the right vehicle for your driving needs.

Being in the market to buy a new car can be overwhelming, especially with all the ways to buy a car these days. The internet has made the new and used car market easily accessible to all, but the debate is still ongoing about purchasing a car with 0 miles versus 30,000 miles.

The truth is that buying a car is personal, so the real question is, what is better for you? Most car buyers are focused on value; that is why at Eastern Automotive, we believe buying a used vehicle tends to be the better choice for shoppers.

If you are trying to decide if you should buy a used car or a brand-new car, here are some factors to consider.

New Car Versus Used Care Depreciation

What is depreciation? It is the reduction of value over time. The rate of depreciation on brand-new vehicles tends to be accelerated. A new car can depreciate as much as 30% in the first year you own it.

Depreciation is not a tangible loss that owners can see, that is until they decide to sell their “new” vehicle. After a couple more years, your brand-new purchase may only be worth half of what you paid for it.

A huge percent of the depreciation has already occurred before you purchase a used vehicle. The previous owner most likely took a significant loss. That is why you can buy a used car at a much lower price, just a year or two after it rolled out of the factory.

Think about a vehicle’s value and useful life as a percentage if that helps.

Someone who bought a new 2018 vehicle decides to sell it after 30,000 miles in 2021. This hypothetical vehicle can reliably go 150,000 miles, so it still has 80 percent of its useful life left.

Now you have a chance to purchase 80 percent of that useful vehicle life for half (or less) than what the original owner paid for it in 2018. The vehicle is just as good and still has all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a nice modern vehicle – it’s just half off.

Affordability and Loans

Financing a new vehicle purchase with a long-term loan often leaves people with a lot of extra accrued interest on an asset that’s already lost a ton of its value. By the time you finish paying a new car loan, you may have paid $45,000 for a vehicle that you can only sell for $20,000 (if you’re lucky).

Financing a pre-owned car often lets borrowers:

• Take out less money
• Pay off loans quicker with far lower monthly payments
• Accrue less interest
• Avoid huge losses due to depreciation

Less Expensive Car Insurance and Registration

Most used cars will have lower auto insurance premiums than new vehicles. Renewal tags are also generally cheaper on pre-owned cars, trucks and SUVs. These expenses are essential to take into consideration because they must be paid monthly (insurance) or every two years (Maryland and Virginia registration renewal). 

A New Feel 

Just because you are buying a used car doesn’t mean it has to be old and outdated. You can buy a practically “new” used car without eating the depreciation cost of a brand-new model. Plus, even pre-owned vehicles are new to the buyer. 

Also keep in mind that reputable dealerships like Easterns Automotive perform thorough checks and restorative maintenance to make sure they’re only selling reliable pre-owned vehicles.

Get Access to Way More Vehicles in Your Price Range (Including Luxury Cars)

Buying used also opens up your options to purchase a luxury car that would be out of your price range new. You can get the speed, sporty look and the luxury aesthetic and features for far less than a brand-new model.

Luxury cars also depreciate faster than most other vehicles. In some cases, last year’s luxury car model can be half the price when purchased used. 

Make the Smart Choice by Buying Pre-Owned in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

If you want to save the most money, opting for a used vehicle is almost always best. If you are in the market to purchase a car, we recommend seeing what Eastern Automotive has to offer. We are committed to serving local Maryland and Virginia drivers with the best pre-owned vehicles, affordable prices and flexible financing options. 

If you are looking for a used car, call us at (877) 867-1357 or visit one of our eight Virginia and Maryland locations in Washington DC, Baltimore or Frederick. You can also search our inventory online to see what’s available in a lot near you.