Written by Stephen Mills; Group1A
Looking forward to graduating? Starting your new career? And then what? Probably getting your own place and buying your own car. Here lies the issue, buying a car can be a difficult task and much of the simple steps are commonly overlooked.
First you need to evaluate your current financial situation to find out how much you can afford in terms of whether you are going to finance the car or buy it outright. If you are buying a relatively new car, chances are you will have to finance the car and pay monthly payments.
New vs used is a common question people ask themselves when buying a car. You may be able to afford more car by going used but you know what to expect from the car when buying new. If you take the used route you are going to want to learn about the cars history. Carfax.com is a great site that provides the “medical history” of the car. It will let you know what the cars history has been like in terms of it being in the shop.
Either way you will need to budget yourself properly to ensure that you can afford the monthly payments if you chose to finance the car. You must also take into consideration the cost of insurance as well as put money aside for unexpected costs the car may incur.
Source: 1, 2, 3.
You simply have to be able say 'no, thanks at that price' at least once to the dealer. This gives them a strong message that you are serious about your research.
ReplyDeleteYou should also bring a piece of paper to the dealership and make sure you do all the math of the finance calculations yourself. The point is not that they will do the math wrong. The point is you will see exactly how the deal is structured. Do not be afraid to take the time to do this or look like a fool for mapping out your car deal in the dealership.
My dad swears by this process, http://tinyurl.com/knflt6