How and Where to Buy Your First Car
If you’ve never bought a car before, then you might be feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the options that are before you having to do with the whole process. Whether you are looking at used cars or new cars, there are two main ways that you can go about it.
- Car Dealerships
The most obvious way is to visit a car dealers. That might be a used car dealership or maybe one that sells new and used. You want to be careful here, however. If you have never bought a car before, then the car sales people can come on a little strong. But if you are looking for a reliable car then this is a good way to do it. There will be warranty included and you will know where they came from. You might end up paying more than the car is worth if you decided to do payments what with the interest and all, but if you feel that is worth it to make sure that you end up with exactly what you want, then this is the way to go.
- Private Sellers
There are sites online full of people in specific areas selling their cars. You would only check these sites if you are looking to buy a used car. There will never be brand new cars on these sites unless they are linking you back to a car dealership or it’s a scam. That’s the main thing that you have to be careful of with these kinds of sites; scams. There are a lot of people that work fraudulently so beware of deals that sound too good to be true; they probably are. The good thing about these sites is that you can pay cash in hand and own the car outright. This means that you don’t have to put full coverage insurance on the car; liability is fine. It also means that you will be responsible for any fix ups that are necessary. Make sure that you get all of the car records from the seller so that you know what has been done and what needs to be done. Another good thing about buying privately is that the price is going to be more negotiable than at a dealership.
Now that you know where to buy, here are a few tips before you head out to do so.
Do Your Research
Never go into a dealership or meet with a private seller unarmed. You need to know everything about the car you want or are looking at before you get there. You can look up the value of the car in its current state so that you know you are paying a fair price. Research other cars of a similar make, model and year and find out what they are going for to make sure that you can not get a better price somewhere else. Sometimes, if you want to buy from a particular dealership but find the car cheaper somewhere else, you can let your chosen dealership know and they may match the price. But, they’ll never tell you that you can get the same car for a better price somewhere else.
Bring a Mechanic
You might even want to bring your own mechanic with you to the sale. If the seller or salesperson is hesitant to allow it, that should be a red flag. If you have a mechanic with you that you trust, then you can have them take a look under the hood and listen as you test drive the car. It’d be a good idea to even let them drive. They know what the particular model of car should look and sound like and will be able to advise you as to whether or not this is going to be a good buy.
Know Your Budget
The easiest way to narrow down your options is to set your budget. If you know how much you are willing to spend, you can request to only see cars within those parameters and you can set the filters just so on the private selling sites.
Follow these few, simple tips and you probably will be able to find just what you need for a good price.