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Step 1
Make a list of monthly expenses and determine how much you can afford to pay for a used or new vehicle. See how much cash you have or if you need to shop around for a car loan.
You can get loan from a car from bank, finance companies, or friends and relatives.
Don't buy a car if you don't have enough money or if it will increase your debt. -
Step 2
If you are considering buying a new car, avoid buying the newest and latest model as soon as it come out. Buy an end of the year clearance model, usually December and January - get good bargains. OR you can buy a cheaper model of the same vehicle.
It is also wiser to buy a new car with the dealership the last day or week of the month.
You can look into a late model, low-mileage and well maintaind used car.
Avoid trading in your present vehicle to a car dealership because you will get significantly less. Try to sell it privately. -
Step 3
Don't lease a car, this can be very expensive.
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Step 4
Look other places when buying a used car- don't only limit to newspaper. You can buy used cars online with sites such as ebay, Craigslist.com and AutoMax. When purchasing a used car, if there are repainted portions of a car, it can indicate the car has been in an accident. Check the history record of the car.
Look for low-mileage car. If you have children, or intend on having children in the near future, consider buying a vehicle to accommodate them. -
Step 5
Test drive the car. Take the car on different roads, highways, back roads and check the brakes.
Comments
truecarjulie said
on 9/3/2009 Once you've picked the vehicle you want, it’s helpful to visit TrueCar.com. TrueCar aggregates data from many different sources to show car buyers and dealers how much people actually paid for a particular car in their geographic area. They also publish invoice price and actual dealer cost. So if you bring a free TrueCar Price Report to the dealership, you will be both knowledgeable about what a good deal will be and prepared to negotiate for that deal.
purrfect1969 said
on 10/6/2008 With this market, you need to be as savvy as you can when it comes to buying big ticket items. Great advice.
MIghtyDreamer said
on 10/4/2008 Definitely good tips to think about.
tokidoki said
on 9/30/2008 Great tips for those looking to buy a new or used car.
Desula said
on 9/30/2008 These are good ideas for buying a new car. We bought one a couple of months ago from Carmax.