How to Buy a New Car

With so many new cars (and trucks, SUVs, hybrids and "crossovers") to choose from, how to buy a new car that suits you? It is easy to go on looks alone, but on the road is a problem (like picking a spouse based on looks alone). Or, you can focus on the price of your new car, but if you make it to the exclusion of other considerations, such as comfort, security or reliability, it is unlikely you satisfied with your "bargain". So where to start? To ensure that you buy a new car that suits your needs, start by answering these 10 questions: 1. Do I prefer a domestic or an import brand? Does it matter? 2. Do I need (or want) a big new car, a medium-sized new car - or a small one? 3. Do I need (or want) a vehicle with rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive or some form of all-wheel-drive/4x4 system? 4. Do I prefer a soft ride, a company, "sporty" ride - or something in between? 5. How important is power / performance? Do I need (or want) a new car that can do 150 km / h? 6. Do I need (or want) a vehicle that can carry the load? How much? 7. What kind of gas mileage is acceptable - and what is not? Is my personal "tipping point" at least 28 mpg - 16 mpg or OK if the car otherwise meets my needs? 8. How is security? Are crash-avoidance test scores very important? The presence (or absence) of features like side-facing curtain airbags, stability and brake assist? 9. What level of guarantee meet my expectations? Is three years/36, 000 miles enough? Or is it a minimum of five years/50, 000 miles? 10. Is the resale rights / trade-in value a great replacement? Some brands hold their value much better than others. Your answers to the above, will automatically exclude a number of makes / models, reduce your pool of potential candidates substantially. Now is the biggest issue: 11. How much do you spend? Never planning to buy a new car without thoroughly calculate in advance the maximum amount you are comfortable spending - and stick to it. This will keep you on budget and help you avoid the "low monthly payment" SHUCK and jive as often unsuspecting new car buyers in way over their heads. Be sure to include everything in the bottom line, too. This means that the finance costs, interest, taxes, insurance, everything you will need to spend to own and drive the car. With fixed at a figure you can further limit the potential of new cars on the list to a manageable half-dozen or so. Now is the time to actually look at any vehicles left on your list. Sit on it, see how the controls feel and preferably to all for a more extensive test drive. It is strongly recommended that you insist on a test drive at least an hour or two before you even start talking about buying a new car. Otherwise, you can buy a pig in a poke that would prove to have places that are too hard, the engine is too noisy, a transfer that is difficult for you to move smoothly, the blind spots that make changing lanes dangerous - any number of things you can not detect without actually trying out the new car. Take a notebook with you and note the things you like about the vehicle - and you do not - for future reference. Most dealers will accommodate a buyer's request for a test drive. It is a reasonable request, given you are considering a purchase, which can amount to tens of thousands of dollars. If the dealer refuses to allow a test drive, it's smart to just pencil vehicle off the list and go to the next candidate. And remember to take the test without a salesman riding with you. Once you have test driven all the candidates, you will have a much better idea which one of them may be "right" new car for you. Usually you will be able to restrict the choice to just one or two specific models that have the right combination of properties and equipment, style and feel "that works for you. The rest is easy. With fixed on one or two "possible," you can get down to practical details of the research new car prices (remember to bargain from the dealer invoice, not from MSRP "window sticker) and negotiate the best when you buy a new car. A mark / model may be the focus of a very convincing rebate / incentive / financing transaction. Or maybe you can get more options / features of a new model for about the same price as the other. Or maybe you just happen to like how one of them looks a bit more than the other (everything else is more or less equal). But depending on which brand / model you stop driving home, you are obliged to buy a new car that suits you. And it is the very definition of successful new car shopping, whether you're spending $ 15,000 or $ 50,000.