There are a number of reasons to consider buying a used car instead of a new one, with the primary reason for most people being price. But if one of your major motivations is the environment, then a used car could be more environmentally friendly.

Even when taking fuel efficiency into account, it is probably better for the environment for someone to buy used.

According to the Hartford Courant, from a “green” perspective, it’s better to drive an older, well-maintained car that gets 25 miles per gallon than to buy a new car that gets 35 miles per gallon.

“And don’t forget that the new hybrids – despite lower emissions and better gas mileage – actually have a much larger environmental impact in their manufacture, compared with non-hybrids,” says the paper.

The paper says that while it may seem better for the environment to buy a new hybrid, the batteries used to store energy are not environmentally friendly, and the manufacturing emissions to create the car are higher.

If it is absolutely necessary to get rid of a car because of its lack of fuel efficiency, the paper suggests turning a gas-guzzler in for a used car with better gas mileage.

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A Michigan man had a string of bad luck on Tuesday that ended with his 1994 Buick sinking into a frozen river near the U.S./Canadian border.

On Tuesday, an unnamed man went out looking for his dog when he drove onto the frozen Black River in Port Huron, Michigan. Because of extremely cold temperatures in the area, it is not uncommon for snowmobiles and cars to drive onto the river St. Clair County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Matt Paulus told the Detroit Free Press.

However, when the man got out of the car, he locked the keys inside with the car running. The heat from the running engine melted the ice below and the car eventually became submerged.

Paulus told the paper that it is not uncommon for police to have to fish a car out of the river in the winter months.

“We usually get a couple a year,” he said. “We already had two snowmobiles go in last week.”

To make matters even worse for the man, the car he was driving was not his own. According to police, the man was using a loaner car from a local collision shop as his car was being repaired.

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Among the unforeseen problems resulting from the recession is an increase in the amount of motorists on the road without any insurance.

That’s according to a new study from the Insurance Research Council which predicts a sharp increase in the amount of uninsured drivers from 13.8 percent in 2007 to 16.1 percent by 2010.

The increase in people without insurance could affect insured drivers, as they are likely to see rates increase or could be forced to have more coverage.

“Most people who are insured have uninsured motorists coverage and that protects them in the event they are hit by someone who doesn’t have insurance,” said IRC spokesperson David Corum. “So obviously, that does increase the cost of insurance for those who are insured.”
Of states with the most insured drivers, New York ranked fourth with only 5 percent of the state’s motorists being uninsured.

The study found a correlation between the number of uninsured drivers in the country and the national unemployment rate and expects uninsured drivers to increase as the number of unemployed rises.

In addition to New York, states in the Northeast had a fairly low uninsured driver rate with Pennsylvania coming in seventh, New Jersey 11th, Connecticut 16th, Delaware ranking 18th and Maryland 27th.

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Georgia police made a shocking discovery after making a routine traffic stop outside of Atlanta finding more than $1 million in cash.

On Friday, Santiago Valdovinos-Moreno was pulled over after officers witnessed his car swerving in and out of a lane in Lawrenceville, Georgia, about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta.

While speaking with Valdovinos-Moreno, police say he pushed an officer and attempted to flee the scene on foot, but was captured and charged with obstruction of a law enforcement officer, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

It was in searching the car following the arrest that police made the discovery of more than $1 million in a duffel bag, which was seized.

Ironically enough, Valdovinos-Moreno is being held on $1 million cash-only bond, according to the news provider.

It’s probably unlikely that anyone searching for a New York used car will find anywhere near $1 million, but it is possible for buyers to save a great deal of money by purchasing a used car with some reports saying consumers can save up to 19 percent on a car that is only one year old.

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Missing the school bus in the morning wasn’t enough to stop a 6-year-old Virginia boy from trying to get to school earlier this month when he took the family car for a ride to school, crashing more than 10 miles from home.

No one was injured in the crash and police took the boy to school after a local hospital released him for a bump on the head.

On January 6th, the boy, whose name was not released, missed his bus and took the keys to his parents 2005 Ford Taurus while his mother was asleep.

Police say the boy, who was likely standing the entire time he was driving, drove through at least two intersections and over a bridge before losing control and hitting an embankment and a utility pole.

Authorities said the boy told them he learned how to drive by playing video games like Grand Theft Auto and Monster Truck Jam.

“He was just bound and determined,” Northumberland County Sheriff Chuck Wilkins told the Washington Post, “he did not want to miss breakfast and PE.”

There was a time when the thought of purchasing a used car made people pause, but today many factors make buying a used car a great option.

Over the years manufacturers have made cars more dependable, which means there’s still a lot of life left in a car when its first owner trades it in or sells it, meaning cars can often go well beyond the 100,000 mile mark.

“The quality of cars has generally trended upwards,” Santosh Viswanathan, co-owner and managing partner of a Delaware dealership told the News Journal. “I can’t remember the last time a customer called and said they got a bad product.”

Another advantage of buying a used car is a lower depreciation of its value. The buyer of a used car is likely to get much more of its purchase price than in the purchase of a new car.

There are also considerable savings in buying a car that is only a couple of years old. According to the news provider a driver can save 32 percent with a 3-year-old car and 19 percent with a year-old car.

Of course it’s always a good idea for buyers to check the going price of a used car by finding the market value from Kelly Blue Book.

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Just because the economy is down doesn’t mean you have to stop having fun when you’re driving. MSN autos lists a few cars that are a fun ride, but still relatively inexpensive.

Among the cars listed are the Chevrolet Cobalt SS, which Edmunds calls “an example of America’s ability to build a decent compact automobile.” MSN says if you peel away the Cobalt’s plain exterior you find a powerful sedan with a 260 turbocharged horsepower engine.

But if you want to feel like you can enter a weeklong race over the desert, then a Subaru WRX might be a good fit with its rally looks and its ability to hit 0-60 in under six seconds.

Talk of “fun” cars can’t be had without talking about the MINI Cooper. Just looking at the car makes most people smile and since BMW revived the car in 2002, many people have found it to be perfect for tackling urban and not-so-urban terrains.

Another fun car is the Volkswagen GTI. For more than 20 years VW has been selling some form of the GTI, so finding a good used one should be pretty easy.

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