Picture this, you are driving past your favorite automobile dealer in your town and you sight this very sleek new car and you could not just take your eyes off, then you decide to take a closer look. You drive into the dealership and you notice it’s a black shiny Ford Mustang with the characteristic double white stripe running across the middle. The best part of it is that it’s a convertible. How blissful. Granted, it is a sight to behold, but should you just negotiate and pick up the car? No, you should not, even though it’s a very difficult situation to find yourself.
Before buying a new vehicle, you really should check out these 5 things, so you will be sure you are making the perfect decision, you won’t be stuck in buyers remorse or caught up in debt:
1. Budget:
To avoid getting caught up in unnecessary debt, it is important to state your budget. Note that the cost price of the car is just a part of the total cost. While working on your budget, compare it against the running cost of the car – maintenance cost, gas fee, insurance among others. Know how much you are willing to pay for a new or used car, as the case may be. Auto salesmen always have a way of making you spend a lot, especially when you do not have a budget. Factor in the cost of repairs, cost of parts, and so on before committing to buying a car.
2. Your needs and wants:
Taking cues from economists, list out your must-haves in a car, which would account for your needs, then the features you can always do without, as your wants. The purpose the new car will serve also plays a large role in deciding the kind of car you will go home with. A family car for trips? A minivan would most likely do. A daily driver for work? A midsize sedan would do.
Basically, knowing what you need a car for will determine what car you will buy. It determines if you will get a new car or a used one, it will determine the specific add-ons you are getting in your vehicle.
3. Research:
Giving due diligence to research will separate those who will get ripped off from those who will get a good deal on their car. Give due diligence to researching about the car, knowing the fuel consumption, reliability, operational cost, and so on. Also carry out some research on the best trims of a model, usual pain points, and other important details about your proposed car.
4. Test drive:
After doing your research, knowing what your particular needs are and what fits into your budget, you can be tempted to just drive off in your “new” car without adequately test-driving it, which could be a big mistake in the buying process. Before making a choice, take the car for a spin, let the rubber hit the road, and know what it feels like. You really cannot know what the car feels like until you take it for a spin. Test it out on the highway, where you push the limits, as well as within the city.
5. Add ons:
Add-ons are basically extras added to your car for your comfort. They can be sourced from the dealership, online, or through other means. Sourcing them through the dealership usually adds a great deal to the price of the base model. The base model of a Volkswagen Passat for example lies around $20,000, while the V6 SEL Premium edition costs about $35,000, which is a whopping 71% increase on the base model for extras that you may not need. You can buy the base model and fix some add-ons you really need to cut down on cost.
It is important to do the above stated when checking for a new vehicle. In addition, Quincy, an auto expert says to never show an auto salesperson your love for a particular vehicle like saying ‘I’ve wanted this Camaro since I was 16 years old,’ because if you do, then they have you in an emotional hullabaloo. Make your adequate research and make the best possible choice.
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