5 Factors To Keep In Mind Before Buying A Car

We recently bought a new car and the reason I wish to share a blog post regarding the same is because it was the first time that I was part of the more important factors in the decision making process such as the make of the car, the safety features, driving pleasure and also finance apart from the basic thing that is choosing the colour of the car. 

So here are my observations of the considerations one should make before buying a car

Determine your needs

Buying a second car was an abrupt wish that just popped up. We were on a drive and passed through some dealerships and decided to pay a visit. When we took a test drive of various cars, we realised that we need to determine our needs before investing in a new vehicle. 

That led us to think of the type of car that we required. Since we were buying a second car, we realised our priority was to upgrade from the current vehicle we were using. However, we were not sure if we will keep both vehicles or sell our current car. Also we are a small family and we reside in Mumbai, so to buy a bigger vehicle such as a 7 seater was not a requirement. 

Thus, we made a list of our needs. First and foremost ,the type of car that is SUV verses a sedan. Once we knew we wanted a SUV,  we put in pointers such as whether we wanted a petrol or diesel vehicle, price, brand, safety features, mileage, service and maintenance network etc. One needs to put a thought into what you will be using the car for such as daily commuting, longer road trips etc. 

Once we had a list, we researched on the car makes and models available. We read through car reviews on the internet, asked friends and family who were using the cars for their personal experiences. 

Check your credit score

Buying a car is a big investment, so it’s important to know if you will be able to finance the vehicle. Checking your credit score will help you get a better interest on your car loan. 

 If your credit score is not satisfactory, you can determine actions you need to take to raise the score. 

Review your car loan options

We already had a car loan on our previous vehicle, so we didn’t need to check our options, we went to same bank, however, the sales person at the dealership did suggest a few options to us. You can review your options based on the credit score. 

The process of obtaining the car loan was quite simple and it got approved in 48 hours after due process because we chose the same bank. So, if time is an important factor consider financing your vehicle from your parent bank, it makes things convenient. 

Find out your car’s trade-in value

We weren’t sure if we wanted to trade in our vehicle, but before buying the new car we wanted to be sure of the value of the old car, in case we would have to sell it. So, we went prepared to the car dealership. We already knew the worth of our old car. We also however, got the value ascertained from the dealership. Finally we decided not to trade in as we were getting better value on the car without trading in. So, go prepared. 

Determine your payment cycle

Understand the terms of your loans and fees so as to calculate the monthly payment that you can afford. There are online tools available to calculate car payments which would help you with calculation results instantly, ability to calculate car price that fits a monthly payment etc. Also, tools are available to calculate your fuel budget. 

Finally after considering all the above mentioned factors, we got our dream car home. This time it was a more pleasurable experience for me although my husband bought it as I was a part of research we did. Felt as if I made some contribution to the getting our car home. 

Next on agenda is to buy a car for myself from my income. A girl can dream, right ! 

What factors have you considered before buying a car, do share your inputs too.