collaborative guest post
There’s no denying that buying a new car is an exciting time. However, it can also be nerve-wracking and with so many options now available, it can be difficult to know where to start. To help make car-buying a positive experience, I’ve put together some top tips on buying a car.
Decide what you need
The first thing to do, is decide what kind of car is right for your requirements. Families might want to look for a versatile car that has space and versatility. However, if you spend most of your time driving short distances in urban environments, you might want to opt for a small and economical city car.
Do your research
Once you’ve decided on what type of car is right for you, you should do some research. Nowadays, cars come in a variety of different specifications and offer a host of technology and safety features. Getting to grips with some of the latest car offerings will help you to narrow down the features into wants and needs.
Explore your finance options
Buying a car used to mean either saving up and paying for it outright or getting a bank loan. However, there are now numerous different ways to pay for a vehicle.
One of the most popular buying methods is Personal Contract Purchase (PCP). PCP offers customers low monthly payments as you only pay monthly payments towards a portion of the car’s value for an agreed period. At the end of the agreement, you can make a final lump sum payment on the remaining value to keep the car, or you can swap to a new PCP deal. PCP is great if you want to change cars frequently and are looking for the lowest monthly payments.
However, if you are looking for a more traditional car buying option, you may want to explore Hire Purchase (HP). With HP, you simply pay off the full value of the vehicle over an agreed number of monthly payments.
Choosing between new, nearly new or used
Finally, it is time to decide whether a new, nearly new or used car is best. New cars are brand new vehicles specified to your requirements, nearly new cars have already been registered but are in like-new condition, and used cars are pre-owned cars.
Many people think that a used car offers the best value for money, but this isn’t always the case as car manufacturers often offer the best deals on their new cars. What’s more, new cars usually cost less to run as they have more efficient engines, so you get lower fuel and tax bills. Plus new cars are less likely to go wrong and are usually covered by a warranty, meaning lower maintenance and repair bills.
If you want more tips to ensure you have a positive car buying experience, check out this comprehensive guide from Stoneacre.
