Deciding to buy a new car (even if it’s new-for-you) is something to celebrate. Seriously. Grab the streamers and practice your best ‘yeehaw’! And when the fanfare has died down, put on your smartypants and get down to business with these incredible tips that will help you avoid making a bad decision and ensure that you find the best deal for your budget.
#1 Use Google
Dealers can be amazing. They generally have your best interests at heart, but they also have a job to do and a sale to make. So, as a rule, don’t walk into the first dealership you find and take a look around. Also, before you venture out, go online and research the makes and models that you’re interested in.
#2 Chat to car dealers
Adventure is a wonderful approach to life, but if we’re completely honest (just for a second), we all know that it doesn’t necessarily apply to every aspect of life. You never want to let your adventurous side loose when making big purchases.
That’s why the next step is to take the research that you’ve done and put it to good use. Take your mental list of what you need (like colour, automatic vs. manual, sedan for the kids vs. hatchback for the city vs. bigger wheels for the farm) and use it to chat to car dealers. Your list will help you keep calm and talk to the charmingly, helpful salesperson about what you actually need.
#3 Choose between new or used
It’s important to consider the trade-offs when choosing between buying a new or used car.
If you buy a used car, you’ll get a more expensive option for less money… but you also won’t know for certain what the car’s history is, depending on where you buy it from, of course. Additionally, you’ll get a shorter warranty period during your ownership. On the other hand, if you buy a new car, you might only be able to afford the basic model, meaning that you’ll enjoy fewer bells and whistles for the same money that you could have paid for a car with more features. You’ll also have the benefit of knowing that you’re the only driver, the full warranty, and special inclusions, like free maintenance.
#4 Check that you can afford everything about your new car
Let’s say that you found the mother of all specials, with relatively low mileage, fairly modern features, a younger year than you expected, the right colour…
What you need to check out before you sign on the dotted line is that you can afford the tyres, parts, and services. For instance, not all car brands manufacture their parts in South Africa, and because of their inaccessibility, you could end up paying way more and dealing with major delays due to shipping and deliveries. You could end up waiting up to 5 months for a single tiny part that costs R13,000, which you need so that you can keep your warranty.
Do yourself a favour and make sure that you check out how much a “fancier” car will cost you in the long run.
While buying a car can be a daunting task, these top 4 tips will surely help you find the car of your dreams that not only fits your current budget, but can work with your monthly budget when it comes to all the other expenses that you might have to deal with.
[Info via King Price]
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