Where does a person begin when one decides to make a change in their mode of transport, especially a car? Shall it be a new one? A new model a person may have seen cruising around the neighbourhood lately? Would a second hand vehicle suit the bill? Will it be for a growing family? Or for a family where the children have grown up and left the nest, making a smaller one seem preferable? When purchasing a new or pre-owned vehicle, there is a short list of things to watch out for and do. Let’s take a look at them.
1 – Budget is a very important factor as one arranges to purchase a new car. There are many resources available on the Internet to assist one to check out the car a person is interested in, plus, many auto-loan sites offer free online calculators that are designed to help a person in estimating the amount of monthly payments, based on an estimated total loan amount, the length of the loan, and a projected interest rate.
2 – Take along a professional vehicle inspector for car inspections from www.spotonvehicleinspections.com.au, especially if one happens to be in the Perth area of Australia. They can check the car over and give an open and honest assessment. Having a professional vehicle inspector there to check out everything of importance, from a visual inspection, under the boot inspection, computer system scan and a test drive will give that extra special, peace of mind. They can also tell a person more things about the car, than the person making the sale, be it for used cars or new ones.
3 – Before pre-purchase, be sure to consider the extra expenses one will have once that new car is purchased. After buying a new car, one will have to pay for insurance, registration, maintenance, and repairs. Even having the additional expense of a warranty may be part of the deal.
4 – Consider fuel expenses when buying a car. Electric vehicles tend to offer good fuel economy as you would likely have charging units installed at home, making it easier to recharge your car, and at lower rates too. Besides, there could be some great options for you to explore if you want to switch from petrol or diesel to electric. A few interesting models that offer good performance in addition to fuel efficiency include the likes of the MG4 EV, Tesla Model 3, Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Hyundai Ioniq 5 among many others.
5 – Important also is recourse. Should something happen to go wrong with a purchased vehicle, the dealership will usually fix it without much of a fuss. A person should review most dealerships records on-line, and make sure of that before dealing with them.
6 – Many people get so excited about buying that nice new car that they buy on impulse. Do not do that! Think ahead!
7 – Don’t let a salesperson lead one into anything, but still be kind to them as they will control the sale later. It doesn’t matter how good one’s negotiating skills are, they are better! After all, they are used to doing it every day, and it’s their livelihood. Plus, everybody knows the reputation of dealers of used cars, even though there are good ones out there too!
8 – When the test drive is over and if the inspector gives the thumbs-up, ask to see all the records on the vehicle, such as service reports and inspections. Read the details and don’t be afraid to ask any questions. Naturally, if it’s new it won’t have one, because it doesn’t need one. So, good luck and happy car hunting out there!
