Which Car is Right for You?

Buying a new car for the new year? Slow your roll, there! There are many considerations you have to go through and think about before you make this big purchase; you aren’t choosing between apples at the grocery store; this is a MAJOR investment.

Budget

The first thing you want to think about is your budget. How much money (total and monthly) can you spend on this? General rule of thumb is no more than 20% of your income each month.

If you are really strapped for money, a used car or leased car might be the option for you.  If you are buying a used car, make sure you listen to that little fox on the commercials and get the “carfax”. You have to know what the previous owners have been through with the car so you know what to expect while driving it. For example, maybe the air conditioning doesn’t work well or brakes are extra sensitive. Even if this car would be perfect new, some of these details may steer you away from a certain car. (Steer, haha, get it?)

Leasing a car has its pros and cons. Some pros are that leasing requires little to no money down and has lower monthly payments. You will be driving a more expensive car for less money and driving a newer model when your lease is up. In the long run however, leasing will become more expensive rather than just buying a car because eventually that car will be paid off and you can drive it until it dies. Another con about leasing is that if you drive a lot and go over a specific mileage, you will be penalized.

Features

Every car has different features that make them special for targeting a certain group of people. Here are several questions you should ask yourself shopping around: How many people do you want it to fit? How much trunk space do you need? What surface will you mainly be driving on? Do you live somewhere where it snows? What safety features are important to you? Will you be using car seats? How much parking space do you have? Is fuel economy important to you?

If you have a large family with children, safety features such as back-up camera, automatic braking, that beeping noise when someone isn’t wearing their seatbelt may all be very important to you. Also a car with a lot of seats and car seat accessibility is important. However, you do not want a minivan like that if you are living in a highly populated area; where would you park it? If you have a big driveway and a garage then yeah, a minivan would be fine for you.

If you do a lot of off-road driving, a feature such as all-wheel drive would be good for you. Whether you are in a desert or in the snow, all-wheel makes driving much safer.  If you are very eco-friendly and you have a long commute to work everyday, you may want to look into a smart car. They are much more expensive but in the long run it may save you money on gasoline.  

Test-Drive

Test-driving a car is very important. On paper, it may be the greatest car in the world and it may look super cool but if you don’t like the way it drives you shouldn’t buy it. It’s like that old cliche “can you see yourself driving this car?” Remember, this is a major money investment and you will be stuck with this car for 10+ years (unless you sell it) so make sure you buy one you like!