How to Buy a Car
How to Buy a Car
Stephanie Gallion
ENG 080
Looking for a new car? Well here are ten easy steps to finding the car that best suits you and your needs. First step, “What kind of car do you need?” Instead of worrying about what you are wanting, worry about what you are needing. What are you going to use the car for? How many seats do you want to fill? Do you care about gas mileage? What kind of driving do you do the most? How far do you drive every day? Usually people, when buying a new car, only buy the car that is their favorite color, or has nice rims, ect. Mainly the one that is most eye-catching rather than the one that would be the smart choice. Here are a few other questions to keep in mind when you begin your car buying process: Do you want a manual or automatic transmission? Do you need four-wheel or all-wheel drive? What safety features do you want? Will you be doing any sort of towing? Step 2, “What is your budget?” You need to establish a realistic monthly payment that will fit into your monthly budget. The car payment should not exceed twenty percent of your take home, monthly pay. This is a crucial step in buying a new car. You don’t want to go over budget and put yourself in a terrible situation. Purchase price, down payment, interest rate, and length of loan are what you should be basing your monthly payment on also. This will also help when negotiating with a salesman. Step 3, “Should you buy or lease your new car?” Buying a car is more expensive and payments are higher, but when the loan is paid off, you can keep or sell the car. Leasing the car requires little to no money up front and lower payments, but when your lease is up, you have to give the car back and start over. Here are some advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of Leasing:
• Drive a better car for less
• Drive a new car every few years
• No trade-in hassles at the end of the lease
Advantages of Buying:
• No mileage penalties
• Sell whenever
Stephanie Gallion
ENG 080
Looking for a new car? Well here are ten easy steps to finding the car that best suits you and your needs. First step, “What kind of car do you need?” Instead of worrying about what you are wanting, worry about what you are needing. What are you going to use the car for? How many seats do you want to fill? Do you care about gas mileage? What kind of driving do you do the most? How far do you drive every day? Usually people, when buying a new car, only buy the car that is their favorite color, or has nice rims, ect. Mainly the one that is most eye-catching rather than the one that would be the smart choice. Here are a few other questions to keep in mind when you begin your car buying process: Do you want a manual or automatic transmission? Do you need four-wheel or all-wheel drive? What safety features do you want? Will you be doing any sort of towing? Step 2, “What is your budget?” You need to establish a realistic monthly payment that will fit into your monthly budget. The car payment should not exceed twenty percent of your take home, monthly pay. This is a crucial step in buying a new car. You don’t want to go over budget and put yourself in a terrible situation. Purchase price, down payment, interest rate, and length of loan are what you should be basing your monthly payment on also. This will also help when negotiating with a salesman. Step 3, “Should you buy or lease your new car?” Buying a car is more expensive and payments are higher, but when the loan is paid off, you can keep or sell the car. Leasing the car requires little to no money up front and lower payments, but when your lease is up, you have to give the car back and start over. Here are some advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of Leasing:
• Drive a better car for less
• Drive a new car every few years
• No trade-in hassles at the end of the lease
Advantages of Buying:
• No mileage penalties
• Sell whenever
References: Philip Powell (2009), 6 Easy Steps to Buying a New Car, http://cars.about.com/es/testdrives/a/6steps_title.htm Car Price.com (2009), 8 Steps To Buying a New Car, http://www.carprice.com/8-steps-to-buying-a-new-car Philip Reed (Senior Consumer Advice Editor), 10 Steps to Finding the Right Car for You, http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/78388/page001.html