Four Easy Tips for Buying a New Car

Buying a new vehicle is a really exciting time – who doesn’t love that new car smell?? And there’s something so great about driving a new car right off the lot. But it can also be a stressful time. There are so many options on the market at a variety of different price points, with a million different optional features. So how do you narrow it down to find your dream car…at a price you can actually afford.

We’re sharing four easy tips you can utilize to ensure you’re selecting the best car for your needs! But first, familiarize yourself with the common steps to purchasing a new car, courtesy of Edmunds.com. They include:

• Research
• Car loan pre-approval
• Plan a trade-in strategy, if necessary
• Locate and test drive your selected car
• Get a sale price
• Review the deal and check for dealer financing options
• Close the deal
• Receive the new car!

It can be a quick or longer process, depending on your needs and how much research you’d like to do. Don’t be afraid to negotiate on the deal as well. Here are a few easy tips to help you find and purchase your new car:

1. Consider your needs. Sure, it would be great to have a big, expensive SUV with four-wheel drive, but if you don’t drive in snow or ice often or have a lot of cargo to carry around, is it worth it? Think about the types of driving you do (highway, surface streets, etc.), if you’ll be driving children who need car seats, how many passengers you need to carry on a day to day basis and more. Make a list of all your needs and wants, which will help to narrow down the vehicles to check out.

2. Check cars out in person or online. Once you’ve narrowed down the field and decided exactly what type of vehicle you’re looking for, now the fun starts! You can start looking at actual vehicles at the dealership. However, if you’re limited on time, skip the dealership (for now) and look online. You can start to review the information provided (pay close attention to the features most important to you!) online and narrow your list even further to vehicles you want to test drive. Once you’ve made it to the dealership, be prepared to have the salesperson show you the features of the car, but make sure you have a list of questions to review as well. No question is silly – make sure when you leave the dealership, you know all you’d like to about the car.

3. Do additional research. Now that you’ve narrowed down your list to specific vehicles, and checked them out in person, you can start looking closer at the features of each. At this point, you may have narrowed it down to one or two cars only, so you can use a comparison tools found online like at cars.com or Kelley Blue Book. Don’t be afraid to look at reviews as well – they may answer lingering questions or bring up other items to consider.

4. Don’t skip the test drive! Next, if you haven’t already, go to the dealership and ask any lingering questions you have about the vehicle or its features. Make sure to go on a test drive, and don’t be afraid to test the different features you’re most interested in.

Once you’ve completed researched your options, asked all the questions you have and completed a test drive of each of your vehicles, the choice should be clear! Congratulations on selecting your new car – we hope it brings you many safe drives.