Hot Rod: 5 Essential Tips For Buying Your First Car

The excitement that comes with buying your first car is unforgettable - a sense of freedom, of future potential, of limitless possibility. Owning your first car can enable you to take long strides into the future of adulthood. Yet this lofty road also has plenty of potholes and you don’t want to drive headlong into these. Here are 5 essential tips from the thought process to finance, to help you buy your first car.

1) New Or Used

The first thing to consider when buying a first car is if you’re going for something fresh off the lot or a used car with plenty of life left in it. Whilst a new car may seem appealing, it’s often not a cost effective way to go - this can be especially important when buying your first car as you’re often on a tight budget.

The value of new cards depreciates fast - you lose up to a 10th of the value of the car just by driving it off the lot. If you end up selling your car down the line you have to eat that cost - if you think you might trade your first car in after a few years, buying used is the way to go. Whether you’re going for new or used, sites like myAutoloan can provide you with the finance you need to make the right choice.

2) The Budget Comes Before The Car

It’s easy to get carried away when you’re down the dealership - tempting mod cons or flash cars outside your price range can lure you into spending more money than you can afford. Before you go about buying your first car, figure out what your budget is before getting carried away exploring the car of your dreams.

“When calculating your budget, don’t just think about cost at the outset. You’ll also have maintenance costs, tax and insurance to consider,” says Vicente Arnold, a writer at Last Minute Writing and Writinity. “Remember to include all of these in your overall budget - don’t get caught out by additional expenses.”

3) Study Up

Before you go ahead and buy your first car, make sure to do your homework about what owning a car entails. As mentioned above, there are a number of hidden costs and expenses that can rear their ugly head.

As well as figuring out which expenses need to be managed on a long-term basis, there’s also paperwork to deal with. Local laws about car ownership and transfer vary considerably across state and international borders so ensure you’ve down your research. Usually, you’ll need a bill of sale, documents that register the car and a title transfer as well as tax and insurance documents to be street legal.

4) Figure Out What You Need From A Car

Cars come in all shapes and sizes so before you head down to the lot, figure out what’s essential to the kind of lifestyle you want to build. Are you looking for a hot rod to pick up your date on a Friday night or a practical vehicle with plenty of space for moving bulky items?

You’ll need to have a sense of how many passengers you need to carry, how much boot space you need as well as aesthetic and personal preferences. Having a strong sense of what you need from your first car can guide your decision making.

5) Find Your Own Finance

“At the dealership they’re going to offer you some finance options but this is rarely the best place to get a good deal on car finance,” says Timothy Parry, a car blogger at Draftbeyond and Researchpapersuk. “Before you go car shopping you need to shop around for loans to enable the purchase of the car of your dreams.”

Interest rates on the lot are inflated because they don’t have any competition down there. Using myAutoloan to find the best deal for your budget will enable great savings, and a great choice of car.

Speeding Off

Buying your first car is an exciting moment - it opens up a world of freedom, adventure and fun. But there are a few practical considerations to take into account. Remember our top tips for buying your first car and you’ll make a perfect choice. Happy driving.