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We can't afford to buy a new car. [Nevertheless | But], my wife wants to continue to look for one.
Sales of new cars have been down the past six months, [nevertheless | but] this is expected to change soon.
Which one must be chosen in each case? Which one would you use?
"We can’t afford to buy a new car. Nevertheless, my wife wants to continue to look for one."
Nevertheless is an adverb usually following a concession make sense in the sentence, consequently can be used, and conveys the meaning that second sentence follows a concession. As an adverb it also modifies and tells us about the second sentence.
"We can’t afford to buy a new car. But, my wife wants to continue to look for one."
But is a conjunction which conveys the meaning of a generic opposition, contrast: even if we can’t afford to buy a new car, my wife still wants to continue to look for one.
"Sales of new cars have been down the past six month, nevertheless, this is expected to change soon."
Nevertheless conveys the opposition of the second sentence against first sentence, and tells us about the status of the second sentence which is going to change.
"Sales of new cars have been down the past six month, but, this is expected to change soon."
But as a conjunction transmits a simple, generic opposition (contrast) sense.
As a result both words can be used, nevertheless they transmit different meanings and have different functions.
nevertheless = never the less
It means "will not become worse".
So the sentence before it will say a bad situation, and then the sentence after it will say the situation will become a little better.
The word "but" is a neutral vocabulary.
One reference is from Wiktionary: https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/nevertheless
