6 Essential Steps For Buying Your Best First Car

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Updated: 16/12/2022

Buying the first best car is one of the challenging steps that most first-time car buyers have to get familiar with- such as the model, price, mechanical check-up, and dealerships.

This is because there is a ton of things to consider as one small mistake can have a negative impact on getting the first best car in terms of the financial aspect and the quality of the car. For this reason, we need to have a proper plan in order to find the best quality car you desire.

In this article, the following step-by-step guides help you to select the best first car possible- and especially can be able to match your set budget for a new car.

1. Determine Your Budget
2. Explore Different Ways Buys Your Best First Car
3. Always Negotiate to Get The Best Deal Possible
4. Find The Best Deal For a Car Loan.
5. Take a Test Drive and Check a Car
6. Ready to Sign The Paper Work

Key Takeaways

• Following the 6 tips for buying the first best car give you a higher chance to strive for a better deal.
• negotiation tactic is a must for everyone to consider before buying a car from either private sellers or car dealers.

Further reading:

> 6 Best Ways to Make Money With Your Car

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1. Determine Your Budget

The first important tip to consider is to determine how much you can afford to pay for a new or used car. this is considered the most important to decide the car you can get. In addition, if you don’t have enough money to purchase a car at the time, then alternatively consider taking a loan from a dealer or any financial institution such as a bank.

However, the best alternative is to buy a car at the appropriate price, where you have the financial capability such as income and a stable job to pay off the loan.

Otherwise, you must apply the rule of delay ratification, which requires you to take some time for saving enough money in order that you can pay down the specific car model at one time. By saving enough funds, you can avoid the hefty interest fees for purchasing the car- the interest rate is around 2- 7% for a car loan ( Bankrate- Car Loan, 2021).

key factors for determining your budget to buy a new car:

• How much you can afford to pay fortnightly or monthly?
• Highlight your monthly expenses and income, and then you can estimate the amount of saving per month, which can determine how much is your budget.
• Consider, how long are you going to use the car.

Related Article: Best Budget Apps to Save Money for 2023

2. Explore Different Ways for Buying Your Best First Car- Car Dealers vs Private Sellers

Alright, the next step in choosing your best first car is to spend some time searching around, which allows you to explore the different options for buying a car or leasing.

This could be either going through a car dealership or a private seller. However, depending on the budget you can determine the plan to buy a used car or brand new car. The two key scenarios you should consider are:

1. You plan to buy a used car, but you still don’t know which way to buy from. The answer is the dealership’s normally a better and safer option because those dealerships will give you a warranty certificate and safety checkup before selling out to the market.
2. Another option to explore is to buy a used vehicle from a private seller, this is considered a risky option because private sellers normally just want to get rid of the car as soon as possible once they found the car is having major problems. However, the benefit of buying a used car from a private seller is the price is much cheaper.

Therefore, if you know nothing about cars and don’t want to waste money on the window, then buying a car from the dealership is the best option. However, you can only buy a used vehicle from a private seller unless you have a piece of good knowledge about the car, or accompany by someone who is an expert in the car.

Even if you have good knowledge about the car, but are still not confident enough to buy a car from private sellers in terms of car accident history, whether it is still under finance or written off.

Then you can use ” Vinalert – Vehicle History Reports” to make an informed decision with Instant Vehicle History Report about:

• Car accident history.
• Service records.
• Mileage Rollback.
• And, Previous owner history.

It gives you peace of mind to buy a used car confidently. 

3. Always Negotiate to Get The Best Deal Possible

After choosing the best car to suit your budget, the next step is you need to follow the negotiation tactic to get the best deal possible in terms of price, warranty, and other free gifts as well as sign a car loan contract.

In particular, you should always negotiate less than $2000 of the car value and ask for a free gift, which can come along with a car. The reason for this is, Dealerships normally accept the offer within $1000- $2000, and if more than that it’s hard for them to make a deal with you because they need to pay for their employees and other fees to run the business.

In Addition, you should always check the car’s current market price on the most reputable car websites, which give you an estimate of how much you will pay the maximum for the particular car model based on the year and quality of the car.

If you decided to go through a car loan, then you must explore different loan terms as it gives you an overview picture of which is the best contract term you would go for buying a car.

The last important tips of the negotiation tactic are to double-check again if there are any hidden fees that you need to pay in the future after purchasing a car. This action may save you a good amount of money for paying nothing.

Read next: HyreCar Review: Features & How It Works

4. Find The Best Deal For a Car Loan

As mentioned above, you need to determine how much you can afford to pay off the car based on your income and also negotiate with dealers to explore the best car loan terms such as 2,3, or 5 years, which can save you heaps of money in the future.

However, you still haven’t finished the job yet, this is because your credit score is more important than ever when buying a property or a car as it can determine the interest rate you are going to pay back in the future.

For this reason, go for a credit check to see your current score, which allows you to figure out the appropriate interest rates the bank or other financial institutions are going to offer you.

5. Take a Test Drive and Check a Car

The next tip is to take a test drive and check the car- this step can only satisfy you once you are happy with all the previous steps in buying a car.

The reason to take the test drive is to give you the experience and feeling of how you think about the car. This is because you are going to spend a good amount of money on a brand-new or quality used vehicle.

In case you have several cars to check, then give them a call to make an appointment to take the test drive for all the cars, which you can narrow the list of buying cars to one or two. Hence, you just only concentrate on the best car, which suits your budget, quality, and color.

6. Ready to Sign The Paper Work

The last step is to sign the paperwork to take the car home after you are happy with all the features, quality, and price of your new car.

Before signing any contract, give yourself some time to read through all the terms and conditions such as the maximum amount of warranty coverage in case the car is breaking down, insurance, interest rate, as well as monthly payment fee.

Reading through the terms and conditions upon signing a contract, gives you confidence and knowledge to deal with the dealer if something goes wrong with the car. Or even you can ask them to reprint the contract again if you find there is something not as their promise from the beginning.

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By Jiro Nguyen. 

The content is only based on the author’s personal opinion and experience. It is for informational purposes only, and it does not rely on as a comprehensive or a substitute for professional advice.

References

• https://www.bankrate.com/loans/auto-loans/rates/-buying car or leasing
• https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-buy-your-first-car-2386025- buying car or leasing
• https://bettermoneyhabits.bankofamerica.com/en/auto/buying-your-first-car-buying car from a private seller
• https://www.budgetdirect.com.au/car-insurance/guides/car-buying/tips-for-buying-your-first-car.html