Buying Your First Car - How To Go About Buying Your First Car
Buying Your First Car - How To Go About Buying Your First Car
Put some time and effort into researching the car you're going to get. Here are some things to think about before buying your car:
1. What's my car buying budget? The price of the car is only one thing you'll have to consider. Other costs include the cost of insurance and the taxes on the vehicle. Maintenance should also be a huge consideration, especially if you're buying a used car.
2. What are your car needs? Is this your back and forth to work car or your weekend car? Will this be a family car or will you be driving alone? Is your car mainly for showing off, or do you need a functional vehicle?
3. New or used car? You'll likely have to budget for monthly car payments if you choose a newer car. However if you're buying a used car then you want to buy a car that's reliable and get a report about the previous owners of your car. You definitely want to make sure you aren't buying a car that's no good.
Once you answer the above questions then you can embark on your car search. I would suggest only dealing with a licensed dealer since this is your first car purchase. Licensed dealers have to sell you a working car or you can bring it back due to the lemon laws. Make sure you pick up a few newspapers to compare prices of cars. Comparing prices amongst different dealers would be a smart thing to do. As mentioned above get a report on the car to make sure that it hasn't been in an accident or been salvaged or damaged in a flood. It would also be a good idea to bring someone along with you that's purchased a car before.
Read your contract thoroughly to verify all the necessary information is on it. If there are any express warranties then make sure that the warranty is included in the contract. Pay attention to the mileage, vehicle information and selling price that is listed on the contract. You basically just want to make sure that the contract is what you agreed to.
The last step you'll have to do is heading to the DMV to get your car registered. Most dealers will deal with the DMV so you won't have to. You should have to make very few trips to the DMV yourself and should be able to drive your car off of the lot in a couple of days.
Just remember that buying your first car should be a fun learning experience so try not to stress yourself too much over it.