There are many different types of vehicles to choose from. It is important to determine your needs and align them with the car you purchase. You could need the vehicle for commuting to and from work, for long drives recreationally, to take your kids to school and the list goes on. The first step in determining which car is right for you is to figure out what you need.
How many passengers do you need
What kind of features do you require
Does the vehicle need to be fuel efficient
Will you need room for a car seat
Will you be going on adventures
Do you require 4x4
What sorts of weather conditions will you be driving in
Does the car need to be new or used
What kind of safety rating do you require
Are you loyal to any one particular brand
The next thing to consider would be your budget. Knowing your budget makes it a lot easier to weed out options that are not suitable for you. Figure out if you are paying cash or financing? If you are financing it is important to know how much of a payment you can carry and for how long of a term. A very conservative way to budget for a vehicle would be to not exceed 10% of your monthly take home pay on your monthly car payment.
The next step is to decide if you are going to keep this vehicle for more then 3 years. If not then it may be a good idea to lease a new vehicle. If you plan on keeping a vehicle for longer then three years then it is a good idea to buy a new or used car. There are many perks to leasing a vehicle You would be ablet to drive a brand new car for a very small payment. Depending on the vehicle you are purchasing, there is often zero down and 0% interest options. The best part is at the end of the lease term you return the vehicle and start looking for another brand new lease deal. With this in mind, the most economical decision would be to purchase a used car. Purchasing a used car will save you a lot of money. Even purchasing a used car that is only 1 year old will save you up to 20%. So why not let somebody else take the depreciation hit !
Once your needs and budget are set, you can now start searching options for vehicles that suit your criteria. Likely you will have narrowed it down to 2-3 options. Now is the time you start to do research on websites like edmunds for reviews on the vehicles you are considering. Another great research tool would be youtube. Simply type in the car you are looking for and reviews and you will see many great review videos. Researching on new and used classifieds sites may be a good tool to determine price range but these are not always accurate because individuals will list their vehicles at higher than real value. This gives consumers an unrealistic view on what a vehicle should cost and may have you paying more than you need to.
Once you've finished your research, use www.carleado.com to put in a request for the vehicles you have chosen. Here it is easy for you set your budget and select the vehicle criteria you are looking for. Once your request is submitted, dealers will respond back with their best deals. There is no worry for unrealistic pricing as dealers cannot see what else you have been offered so they are encouraged to give their best price up front. You can go through all offers and select which ones are best for you.
The next step would be to book a test drive. As stated in blog posts before, a test drive is a very important step to purchasing a vehicle. If everything checks out during the test drive it is time to start negotiating. Negotiate a deal that you are comfortable with. Don't be pressured into any purchase that you are not comfortable with.