Purchasing a new car gives you access to the latest safety technologies available. Analysis of crashworthiness by year of car manufacture carried out under the Used Car Safety Ratings (UCSR) program shows newer cars are on average safer than older ones. Furthermore, if safety features are optional, purchasing a car new allows these optional features to be fitted to the car. Most critical safety features such as airbags and ESC can only be fitted to the car at time of manufacture.

However, purchasing a used car often saves many thousands of dollars over purchasing the same car new. This allows you to buy a larger car or a car with better safety features than you may have been able to afford otherwise. The UCSR has identified that larger cars and cars with more safety features generally provide better real world occupant protection in a crash than smaller cars with less safety features. It is often the case that an older second hand large or luxury car will provide better crash protection than a new small car with few safety features, for around the same money.

Unfortunately, optional safety equipment is often not requested on new car purchases which means finding some critical safety features in a used car can be more difficult and require more effort by you.