Used vs. Pre-Certified Used Cars - what's the difference?

[siamesecat2965]

There is also the fact that most new cars lose a chunk of their value as soon as they leave the dealership.  If you can get a very good used car, you might as well let the previous owner take the hit on the value.

Which is exactly why I've never bought one new. Alhtough if I did, I'd get  my money's worth out of it since I drive them untilthey're dead.

[Kiara]

new isn't really an option for what I want, as its more than I want/can afford to pay. I need a slightly larger car, think Camry v. Corolla or Civic, and new is out of my range. My current car is 11 years old, with over 100K, so I really don't want to go through yet another winter with it.

I will defnitely be careful as to what I buy; I'm also leaning towards a CPO since the last two used cars I bought, several years after, had the transmission blow. both were fine when I bought them, and there was no way of knowing this would happen. I'm also going with something slightly more reliable

Camrys are awesome.  And I'm not saying that because I just bought one.  ;-)  I do know they're trying to get last year's models off the lot already, so you may get a desperate salesman if you look around.