A new car is always greeted with so much joy. Unfortunately, the joy soon wears out due to bad experiences with the car, making you realize you hit a bad deal on your newly bought car. Bad deals can come in all forms and fashions, like the cost of the car, inappropriate loan schemes, etc. Thinking of getting a new car? You should read this to avoid getting a thorn in your flesh in the place of a vehicle.
If you see these five signs in your quest for a new car, run or follow the instructions.
1. When the price is far away from benchmark:
Before buying a car, it is expected that you would have carried out your research. And by research, a 280 character tweet or 3 minutes ad on YouTube does not cut it. Doing your research involves in-depth reading about the car and users’ reviews. After doing some research, you would have an idea of what the car would normally cost. If the car costs way more or way less, you should raise your eyebrows. If it costs way more, there is a probability you’re about to be ripped off, and if it costs way less, it’s most likely faulty.
What to do: If it costs way more, stand your ground and negotiate, but if it cost way less, find out the reason or just walk away.
2. Financing:
The popular rapper Jay-Z in an interview once said “if you can’t buy it twice, then you cannot afford it”. As much as we at Autosparkle don’t live by rules, I think this one is quite sensible. If you have “just enough” for the car, it may be a bad deal, here’s why: cars need constant financial support to keep it moving and if you don’t have that, you’d have successfully shot yourself in the leg, it’s better to go for a car with lesser price and a lot lower maintenance cost.
What to do: Go for a car with a lesser price tag on it, wait till you have more than enough to maintain the car, or get a very low-interest loan if you must.
3. Peer pressure:
If the main reason you want to buy a new car is the pressure of wanting to be among, the deal is automatically now a bad deal. Many of the people you’re trying to measure up to will tell you congratulations that day, after that day you have your mechanic to deal with. Psychologist Barry Schwartz shows that “the abundance of choice we have in an affluent society wreaks havoc on our happiness”. If your happiness is tied to the car, you most likely will never be happy, because you’ll be in a constant tussle to buy the best that tops every other one in your circle, making you anxious about the choice and depressed when you choose poorly.
What to do: Don’t buy the car, invest your money in other deals other than the car.
4. Dealership pressure:
Car dealers or salesmen, in general, are known to be very persuasive in their approach. But when persuasion is gradually becoming pressure from the salesman, then you have reasons to check twice. Many times when dealers have a faulty vehicle, they tend to push it off to the next customer who shows the faintest interest in it. They persuade you and pressurize you into buying that particular vehicle.
What to do: Once you sense unnecessary pressure, opt-out, make your findings of the car, specifically if it has any issues, then opt back in if it’s a clear coast.
5. Too good to be true deals:
In Nigeria, too-good-to-be-true deals really exist as many people are looking for quick ways to make money and defraud others, especially when it comes to car purchases and real estate. The tactic they use is to show you a car, you’ll negotiate, and after paying them, they’ll cook up a cock and bull story for you till they finally disappear into thin air with your money, leaving you with no car.
What to do: RUN!!! For example, you see a 2018 Camry in good working condition being offered for 1.5 million naira, it’s most likely a scam or a stolen car, RUN!!!
Following these few rules will reduce your chances of getting a rip-off, or a bad deal on your next car.
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