second hand car vs. used car

[jirickova]

Hello everybody,
do you know what is the difference between the second hand car and the used car? For me it sounds to be the same but UK companies offer both, second hand cars and used cars. That´s why I am brooding about it. Maybe, it is a question of a lease. Or anything else??
Thanks,
Marketa

[Anglika]

In the UK I would say most dealers prefer "used cars", but informally people talk about second-hand cars"

[buggles]

In the UK, "second hand" has come to have a slightly downbeat ring to it. It conjures up pictures of junk shops and a certain grubbiness. Many people now advertise things as "previously owned" which, up to now, has none of those associations.

buggles (not a teacher)

[TheParser]

Hello everybody,
do you know what is the difference between the second hand car and the used car? For me it sounds to be the same but UK companies offer both, second hand cars and used cars. That´s why I am brooding about it. Maybe, it is a question of a lease. Or anything else??
Thanks,
Marketa

***NOT A TEACHER***Here in the United States, many people are ashamed to say that they bought a "used car." Therefore companies offer "pre-owned " cars. Sounds better.

[Searching for language]

If you want to be technical about this, shouldn't second hand mean exactly that? You are the second owner.

Here it is either used or previously owned most of the time.

I am not a teacher.

[Offroad]

What about the fourth a car was sold? The car would still be called a second hand car - regardless of how many times the car has been owned in the past.

I was going to ask this very same question.

[buggles]

Second-hand should mean only one previous owner, but it actually means "owned before" and there's neither limit to, nor any indication of, how many previous owners the item had.

[billmcd]

In the U.S. the terms are understood to be synonymous regardless of the number of owners however, most car dealers now prefer the term "pre-owned".