Buying a new vehicle can be exciting or it can feel like a real headache. After all, it’s a big cost item, so making the wrong decision can land you in the right mess! Fortunately, by keeping the points below in mind when choosing your next vehicle you can ensure that the stress stays to a minimum and you are as happy with your new purchase as possible.
Make sure you know what you need
The first thing you need to remember when buying a new vehicle is to keep your needs in mind. This means having a list of essentials that would be nice to have is helpful as it will keep you on track and ensure you aren’t wowed by tech that you don’t need.
Of course, what you need will differ from family to family, so you must consider things like
- Number of seats
- Boot space
- How much a vehicle can tow
- Fuel type
- Running costs
New cars vs used cars
There is some debate over whether new cars or used cars are a better investment. It depends on the specific car and the specific deal you are getting. For instance, if you buy a brand new car, you will lose money as soon as you drive it off the forecourt, yet you will have the peace of mind that it’s very unlikely something will go wrong with it, and if it does it will be covered by warranty so you won’t have to pay out.
However, if you do your homework and find a great deal on a used car, you can save a significant amount of money. Some used cars even come with warranties now too if you buy them from a second-hand dealer, which means the risk that there will be a significant and expensive problem down the line is greatly reduced.
Check you can afford the financing before you buy
Another factor to consider carefully when buying your next vehicle is whether you can afford the cost comfortably. Remember comfortable means not stretching your budget too thin on a monthly basis, or paying out a lump sum that you can’t afford.
One way of making sure that you can comfortably afford the cost of a new vehicle is to choose one from a provider like Edmunds that offers tools to calculate financing and budgets. By using such tools you can be 100% sure that you can afford your new vehicle and even work out how much it will cost you each month.
Fuel economy
Finally, before you buy your next vehicle you must do your research into fuel economy. Fuel economy is traditionally expressed in miles per gallon or MPG in petrol and diesel cars and miles per kWh in electric cars.
The higher the number of miles you get per unit of fuel the better, as this means your car will travel further on less fuel, and so will cost you less to run.
Also considering investing in an electric car over a petrol or diesel one is a good idea, as this is the way that the market is going, and it means you won’t have to update your vehicle later on when liquid fuels become harder to source.
