There’s a lot at stake when you buy your first car. Buying a car is one of the biggest investments you can ever make, aside from buying a house, of course. There is a range of new and secondhand cars that are available from private sellers, dealerships, auction houses – as you can see, car buying can be confusing. If you have never bought a car before and this will be your first ever car, then the chances are you need some help.
There are several tips that you will need to make sure that your car buying Jennie is an easy one. From using resources like Edmunds to help you to learn which cars are the best options for your needs, speaking to car dealerships, and learning what the prices are that you can afford, we’ve got some of the top tips that you need to buy in your first car. Don’t panic, everything you need to know is listed below!
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- Set your budget. Before you go and dream over all of the cars that are in the car dealership, you need to set yourself a budget so you know what you can spend. Your maximum price has to also include all those extras that you might not consider, which include things like stamp duty, insurance, delivery, registration – you get the picture. That should be your maximum price for all of your costs. You should also insure your budget includes things like the ongoing maintenance costs of the car that you want, and that’s often something people forget about. You can see the rising cost of petrol every time you go past a gas station, so you should make sure that you can afford the petrol prices to keep your car on the road.
- Work out whether you go private or go with the dealership. Once you’ve decided to buy your car, the next decision is where you should buy it from. No, you may have already looked at the resources like Edmunds to help you decide the reviews on the car that you want, but if you know where you should be buying it from you’ll be able to find out if the price is right. A dealership is often a safe place to buy a car, and that’s because they are licensed and required by law to give you a warranty on the car. There is no such promise with a private seller.
- Don’t be bamboozled. When you do go into the car dealership it might be worth taking somebody with you who has bought a car before. Sales people are designed to take as much from you as they can, it’s just their job, but you don’t have to let them. Don’t waste your money and all the unnecessary extras that will push the price right up, especially if you get no obvious benefits for it. Always go into negotiations with your car prepared, as a sales person will be less able to take advantage of your lack of knowledge.