How much is your new car budget?
Before you embark on searching for a new car to buy, you need to plan and work out a favorable budget. Determine how much you can comfortably spend on the new car. How much is your monthly disposable income after meeting all your expenses and costs? Do you have enough money to pay cash for the new car? If you choose the auto financing option, how much car loan amount can you afford? What is your most comfortable repayment installment and loan term? If you are not a first time buyer, will you be trading in your old car? How much is it's value? Have it's trade-in value estimated at NADAguides.com. Use any online loan calculator to help you estimate the loan amount eligibility.
Once you have answered all these questions, you can begin a vehicle search.
Where to buy your car?
The options are almost limitless. You can buy from an individual, a street corner, auto mart, scrapping yard, an independent salesman or an authorized car dealership affiliated to a manufacturer. Where you buy your car will in part be influenced by the financing option of choice, purpose of the car and your budget. Used cars are in general much cheaper to buy than brand new cars but may not necessarily be cheaper to maintain.
Which vehicle to buy?
This is another crucial step to consider if you are to buy a car. Decide on the car manufacturer, type(SUV, Truck, sedan, etc) and model basing on historical performance, affordability and your intended use. From experience, every car manufacturer has a vehicle model that offers superior performance than those from competition for a given application. For instance, I find the Actros Trucks from Mercedes far superior in terms of performance. Decide basing your intended car use on the model most suitable for you. Visit car review sites to get a good insight. whether you want to buy it used or brand new.
Buying a used car
If you choose to buy a used car, there are a few things you might need to know about used cars;
- Pre-owned cars can be found in any condition and model in the dealer's lot or private owner. They are characterized by higher mileage and lower purchase price.
- Program cars are ex- lease or rental cars normally not more than a year of operational use. They are cars bought by the dealer or cars returned by the consumers for disposal.
- Demonstrator cars are used by dealership employees. They normally have low mileage and extended manufacturer warranty.
As a last note, in order to get value for money on a used it is recommended to;
- Get an independent mechanic to do extensive checks on the the car
- Query the VIN with AutoCheck or CarFax for historical information.
- Ask for a maintenance records if available.
- Drive test car under varied road conditions to assess its handling ability.
Buying a new car
If you are buying a new car, you need to know the base MSRP (the price of the vehicle without any add-ons) and the individual add-on package prices through price research. Visit different dealerships and compare prices or use the internet for your research.
Vehicle search
Before you embark on searching for a new car to buy, you need to plan and work out a favorable budget. Determine how much you can comfortably spend on the new car. How much is your monthly disposable income after meeting all your expenses and costs? Do you have enough money to pay cash for the new car? If you choose the auto financing option, how much car loan amount can you afford? What is your most comfortable repayment installment and loan term? If you are not a first time buyer, will you be trading in your old car? How much is it's value? Have it's trade-in value estimated at NADAguides.com. Use any online loan calculator to help you estimate the loan amount eligibility.
Once you have answered all these questions, you can begin a vehicle search.
Where to buy your car?
The options are almost limitless. You can buy from an individual, a street corner, auto mart, scrapping yard, an independent salesman or an authorized car dealership affiliated to a manufacturer. Where you buy your car will in part be influenced by the financing option of choice, purpose of the car and your budget. Used cars are in general much cheaper to buy than brand new cars but may not necessarily be cheaper to maintain.
Which vehicle to buy?
This is another crucial step to consider if you are to buy a car. Decide on the car manufacturer, type(SUV, Truck, sedan, etc) and model basing on historical performance, affordability and your intended use. From experience, every car manufacturer has a vehicle model that offers superior performance than those from competition for a given application. For instance, I find the Actros Trucks from Mercedes far superior in terms of performance. Decide basing your intended car use on the model most suitable for you. Visit car review sites to get a good insight. whether you want to buy it used or brand new.
Buying a used car
If you choose to buy a used car, there are a few things you might need to know about used cars;
- The purchase price is usually much lower
- Characterized by Lower depreciation
- Registration and license fees are comparatively lower because of lower valuation of the car.
- Insurance premiums are also lower due to lower car valuation
- Manufacturer's warranty may not apply for a used vehicle
- Potentially higher maintenance costs like high fuel consumption, breakdowns, etc.
- Higher interest rates may be charged on your auto loan or lease.
- A likelihood of reduced reliability
- Pre-owned cars can be found in any condition and model in the dealer's lot or private owner. They are characterized by higher mileage and lower purchase price.
- Program cars are ex- lease or rental cars normally not more than a year of operational use. They are cars bought by the dealer or cars returned by the consumers for disposal.
- Demonstrator cars are used by dealership employees. They normally have low mileage and extended manufacturer warranty.
As a last note, in order to get value for money on a used it is recommended to;
- Get an independent mechanic to do extensive checks on the the car
- Query the VIN with AutoCheck or CarFax for historical information.
- Ask for a maintenance records if available.
- Drive test car under varied road conditions to assess its handling ability.
Buying a new car
If you are buying a new car, you need to know the base MSRP (the price of the vehicle without any add-ons) and the individual add-on package prices through price research. Visit different dealerships and compare prices or use the internet for your research.
Vehicle search
- Visit dealerships to test drive and compare prices
- Read vehicle reviews on the internet and magazines to get a clear picture of the specifications of the car you want to buy.
- You can also seek an expert or your peer's opinion about a particular car you want to buy. You might be surprised how useful this might be.
No comments:
Post a Comment