subject: 5 Steps To Take To Ensure You Can Afford Your New Car [print this page] Buying a car is a fantastic experience, as you have the opportunity to try a whole range of different cars until you find the one you want.
The problem for many is that it can also be an expensive process and therefore to ensure that you can afford your new car, make sure you abide by the following 5 points.
1. Always, always, always stick to your budget - one of the easiest ways to make yourself unable to afford your new car is to spend more than you can actually afford, because you've been persuaded that you need a better trim level or a different car altogether.
Carry out some research, look at the cars you're interested in and set a maximum budget. Then, when you go out to actually look for cars, simply don't go over the budget - if you explain this to the dealer and are adamant about it, it's likely that they'll come down in price to meet you.
2. Don't go for upgrades or additional extras - the way car salespeople make their money is by earning commission from selling a car. However, they also earn additional money by selling upgrades or extras for cars, such as extended warranties or service packs.
Whilst it's generally advised that you take out some form of warranty, anything extra can usually be disregarded.
3. Look at the insurance - an easy mistake to make is to buy a car knowing that you can afford to purchase it, but then getting home and realising you can't afford the insurance.
It should only take 5 minutes to check if you use online comparison websites, but it will ensure that you don't get your car home and end up paying a lot more for your insurance than you originally expected.
4. Buy a popular car - when you buy a car that is extremely popular, you're likely to benefit from reduced base prices (the cars are made in larger quantities as the demand is there) and also reduced maintenance costs, as the cars are better supported.
Don't worry if you've got your eye on a car that isn't popular, however, you just have to make sure you do your research first. Buying a car from Jeep dealers, for example, although the cars are more popular in America than in the UK, spare parts are easy to come by for the fact the company is so prolific across the Atlantic.
5. Ensure you know about any hidden costs - you're just about to purchase the car and you know how much the insurance is going to be, but have you been told about any administration fees? How about arrangement charges for the finance package? Some garages will charge you to get the car taxed, too.
Any additional charges will usually only be explained to you at the last minute, so that you feel obliged to pay them, but if you can't afford them or they're not in your budget, feel free to walk away - if the car salesperson wants the sale that bad, they'll reduce or even waiver the charges.
