Cars are a part of life that isn’t going away anytime soon. You need them to get to your job, get groceries, and handle other tasks. And if you want to do those things reliably, you need a car that works.
That’s why there are so many car sales every year. Reports show that 74 million cars were sold in 2020 alone. The problem comes with finding a car that meets your needs.
Since you’re spending so much cash on a new car, you must take your car selection seriously. Use the car buying tips below to find the best deal you can when buying a car.
Determine Your Budget
The last thing you should do when shopping for cars is to start looking without a budget. You don’t want to waste time looking at cars you can’t buy. You want to maximize your time by looking at cars in your budget.
If you want to pay for your car with cash, determine the maximum you want to pay and filter your search to those cars. If you’re fine with a monthly payment, determine your down payment and the maximum you want to pay monthly.
However, remember that you can trade in your car when you do this. This can take off a lot of the purchase price, so keep it in mind when coming up with your budget.
Decide on New vs. Used
The next decision you need to make is whether or not you want a new or used car. For used cars, you can find a lot of great deals. Cars lose a lot of value after you drive them off the lot, so you’ll save a lot of money.
But at the same time, you can experience many more issues with used cars. If you aren’t careful, you’ll have additional expenses after you buy because of your car’s age.
New cars may cost more money, but you usually don’t suffer from problems after you buy them. On top of that, you can get the latest car features on the market.
You’ll also need to consider insurance for this. New cars have a higher insurance bill, so you may run into problems if you want to get cheap car insurance for your car.
Get an Inspection
An inspection isn’t necessary if you buy a new car. However, things are different when you’re buying used. Not every person selling a used car will be upfront about its issues.
If buying from an individual seller, see if you can get an inspection. It doesn’t take much to get one, and it will inform you about a car’s apparent issues.
The same is true with a dealership. Ask to see an inspection of a car before you buy. Many dealerships will take care of this before putting a car on the lot and offer an inspection report detailing any pressing issues with a car.
If you want to go the extra mile, look into a car’s history. You can get a car’s incident report to see if it’s been in any accidents in the past that will cause problems.
Get Financing Before Shopping
A big mistake people make when buying cars is waiting until they go to a dealership to think about financing. Car dealers don’t make too much profit when they sell a car. A lot of the money they make is selling loans to customers.
This means you’ll get pressured to get a loan that’s not right for you when shopping at a dealer. However, you can put yourself in a better position if you get pre-approved for an auto loan before you start shopping.
You can look at traditional lenders to get an auto loan. Get quotes from as many lenders as possible and get pre-approved for as many as you can that look good.
When you do, you have leverage when you’re at the dealership. The dealer then needs to compete for the loan instead of offering a financing deal that works best for them.
Take a Test Drive
One step you shouldn’t miss when looking at the types of cars available is the test drive. Even if a car has many great features, it may not handle it in the way you like.
You need to take a car on the road to drive before you decide to purchase it. Driving a car will give you a feel for how it handles during a daily commute and if it will suit your needs.
Make sure you also drive a car in different conditions. See how it performs in the city in normal conditions and on the interstate at higher speeds.
Try to Negotiate
Another essential thing to remember when buying a car is that the price you see isn’t final. Many dealers and individual sellers put a sticker price at the ideal number they want to sell at. However, that doesn’t mean it’s what a car will sell for.
This is especially true for used cars — where dealers have more margin to work with. Come back with a number that makes better sense to you and see if the dealer will come down in price.
It’s also possible to get a reduced price on new cars if you don’t want all the bells and whistles. See if there are other trims with fewer features that cost less money.
Make Use of These Car Buying Tips
Buying a car can be challenging. You have countless options and pushy salespeople trying to make a sale and charge you the most money. If you don’t come into the process prepared, you may make the wrong decision.
But now that you’ve read the car buying tips above, you should have more insight into what it takes to make a better buying choice. Start looking at cars for sale today to see what options you have.
Are you going to be making any other big decisions in your life after you buy your next car? Check out the blog to find more advice that will help.
