Buying a car doesn’t necessarily have to drive you crazy. There are steps that you can take to make getting on the road much easier. New or used, there are some very basic steps to buying a car. Take a quick look at these tips, and my personal story, to help you on your journey to owning a car.
Things to Consider
Research! I cannot stress this enough. If you think you know what you want, be sure to do as much research on the vehicle as you can. Read blogs from those who actually own the car, read reviews, and get a history report on the specific car you are looking to buy. Knowing about the car’s history is very helpful. You can find out what repairs the car has had, and then you are aware of what issues you may come across with the vehicle.
Planning is also very important, and somewhat of a broad concept. You want to plan for a down payment, or full on cash payment. If you are going to be taking out a loan you will want to budget and be sure you know what you can afford to pay monthly. You need to remember that you will also need to budget in licencing and sales tax, insurance, and it’s a good idea to budget an emergency fund (for repairs). There are other expenses to remember when you buy a car; obviously you will need fuel, you will need to change your oil, and you might want to wash your car every now and then.
Save, save, save!
Once you have your goals set, start saving. Never buy a car, or anything for that matter, unless you are financially stable enough to make that purchase. You will want to save for your down payment, your licensing, insurance, a repair/regular maintenance fund, and budget for your monthly payments.
Here are some other tips for buying a car I found online:
1. One rule of thumb is that you should spend no more than 20% of your household income to buy and operate car.
- 2. If you don’t have a car payment now, consider whether you’re willing and able to take one on. Try putting aside a car payment, say, $500, each month for three months and not touching it. Are you able to live easily without that money? Would you really rather do something else with it?
- 3. Call your insurer for full-coverage rates on the cars you’re considering.
- 4. Contact your local motor-vehicles department to see what registration and licensing would cost.
- 5. Before you hit the showroom floor, take a hard look at the kind of driving you do. Don’t assume you need a brand-new car, and consider keeping a driving journal for a week, or even a month, to chart exactly when, where and how far you drive each day. Then buy a vehicle according to those needs.
- 6. Get financing approved in advance. If you have a pre-approved loan elsewhere, the dealer then is motivated to compete against the deal you already have.
My Story
Coming from a rural part of the States, owning a car was necessary for me. While I was living at home and attending high school, my parents allowed me to use one of their vehicles to travel to and from school (for extra-curricular activities). I also started working while I was in high school, and my parents allowed me to use one of their vehicles to go to work. When I went off to study at the University, my family was kind enough to let me use their car until I could buy my own. So this is where my journey began; all the planning, saving, researching, and expectations I had for buying my own car.
My First Shot was a Fail
After a couple years of studying and working, I had saved enough to buy a used Volkswagen Beetle. It had high mileage, somewhere around 90,000, but was a fairly current model and was super cute! It had all of the things I thought my car would need, fake leather interior, sunroof, CD player, and a really large (somewhat humorous) decal on both sides. I purchased the car, with cash, for $7,000. I thought that I had made a pretty smart buy, and it might have been if I 
had done a bit more research. After two months of owning the car, a timing belt broke and destroyed the engine. It was estimated $3,500 for repairs. I also had the local scrap yard give me an estimate on what they would buy it from me for. They quoted me $4,500, as is. So, I was faced with the decision to live without a car, in order to save the $3,500, or sell it for $4,500 and use the cash for a down payment on another car. I had to decide to either pay an additional $3,500 for the car to work or take a loss of $2,500.
My Second Try
I chose to take the loss of $2,500. In this case, it was the best alternative after doing more research on my first purchase. The Volkswagen’s had some timing belt issues, and the timing belt would need to be replaced regularly. This time I decided to do more research on my prospective purchases, get advice, and have a plan for the next time disaster struck. I saved the money from selling my Beetle, and began saving more, as I shopped around. I set goals like; I want to have at least $5,000 for a down payment, I need to be sure that I have enough extra to pay for licencing, tax, and insurance, also I need to be sure I can comfortably pay my monthly payments.
I had different requirements for my new car. My new car needed to have a warranty, in case something happened. It needed to be fuel efficient, comfortable, and reasonable. I had to kiss my ridiculous decals and leather interior goodbye. After 3 months of searching, I found my nearly new car. It had previously been used by a business for travel, they had put a hefty 30,000 miles on it in one year, but it was still under manufacturers warranty. It was in my price range, according to my budget of what monthly payments I could afford. The newish Saturn was very fuel efficient and somewhat stylish.
One Happy Car Owner
I purchased my car two years ago, I haven’t had to put any money into repairs (thanks to my warranty). I only had one issue, it was quite small and the dealership fixed it in a matter of hours. I am very pleased with my purchase, and am relieved that it was much easier than my first attempt. I think that researching, planning, and saving really helped me to make this a better experience. So I would like to go into more detail about the actual process of buying a car.
What tips do you have for those looking to buy a car, and what are you experiences?
Looking to buy your own car? Make it your goal in heaps! and you’ll be on track to saving up for that big purchase.
Teaching your child about money management is an important lifelong skill that will enable them to be financially successful later in life. According to FamilyEducation.com, everyday spending decisions can have a far more negative impact on a child’s financial futures than any investment decisions they may ever make. That is why is so important to make sure your child understands how to save and spend wisely from an early age.
By Alicia
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