Women's First Handgun Purchase

Chapter Eight - New or Used Pistol?

Book Title:  Women's Guide to Buying Your First Handgun Series:  Firearm/Pistol For Life Series Author:  Ruperto Elpusan Jr. Be sure to look for ISBN #0-9772088-3-4 at Amazon, Powells and other fine online retail bookstores.

Chapter Eight:  Used or New?

The advantages of purchasing a new gun are as follows:

1.                Better likelihood that the new gun’s design incorporates better (though not always better) and improved technology.

2.                Better likelihood that the new gun incorporates improved safety features --- that are at least compatible with your state requirements (used guns can be exchanged but usually have lack of modern safety features grandfathered in).

3.                Carries the manufacturer and possibly the gunstore’s warranty, whereas used guns typically do not.

4.                Better likelihood of being able to obtain technical documentation on the gun.

5.                No wear versus some wear for a used gun.

6.                Eliminates the worries of buying someone else’s headache, which is often true of whatever it is you purchase that is used.

Whereas we would be more forgiving in buying used when it comes to automobiles, we can afford to be stricter when it comes to guns for the following reasons:

·       The price breaks with used guns are not appreciably great in today’s marketplace.  Sellers often price their used guns close to the price of newer models

·       Even if there is a substantial percentage price break, the difference between a new and used gun may be a matter of a hundred dollars or so.  Is the savings of a hundred dollars worth it for an investment in a tool that is intended for possible lifetime use?  This is not like with cars where savings can be in the several thousands of dollars, which would be significant for some people.

If your financial situation is such that one or two hundred dollars difference is significant, then by all means pursue the purchase of a used handgun.

Places you can find a used handgun are as follows.

This may surprise some readers that we take a firm stand on buying new versus used.  The reason is that although bargains are definitely possible by buying used, most of the time, for most people, there generally is much better value buying new over used. 

There are people who can consistently benefit by buying used guns.  However, these are typically gun aficionados with substantial knowledge about the firearms marketplace. 

Also, among the gun aficionados, there are people who like to collect certain types of firearms that are, by definition, used.  Collectors of military surplus rifles, by definition, collect used firearms.  So what we are recommending about the desirability of new guns is not a blanket statement for everybody.

Ch 1 - Introduction | Ch 2 - Why Handguns | Ch 3 - Why Many Handguns Aren't Right | Ch 4 - What to Look for in Handguns | Ch 5 - Revolver vs Semi-Automatic Pistol | Ch 6 - Revolver Choices | Ch 7 - Semi-Automatic Choices | Ch 8 - Used or New | Ch 9 - Internet or Local | Ch 10 - Why Practice is Important