“What car is best for me?”
If you’re thinking about purchasing a car sometime soon, you’ve probably started to ask yourself that question. But unfortunately, it can be tough to answer it.
Most people decide what kind of car they want to buy based on looks alone. They go to a car lot, check out a bunch of cars for sale, and settle on the one that looks the nicest to them.
But if you want to get a car you’re truly going to love for years to come, you should do more than that. You should also take the time to consider all of the other aspects of a car before buying it.
Take a look at 5 tips that will help you find your perfect match the next time you start shopping around for a car below.
1. Consider Whether You Want a New or Used Car
Before you start shopping around for different cars, you should decide if you want to buy a new or used vehicle. There are pros and cons that come along with both options.
New cars are great because they don’t have many miles on them and they’re in great condition overall. They also don’t need to have much maintenance done to them when you first buy them.
But you’re obviously going to pay the price to drive a new vehicle. They will often cost significantly more than used cars.
Used cars, on the other hand, don’t have the high price tags that new cars have attached to them. You can buy used cars that are in good condition that cost just a fraction of the price of new cars.
However, many used cars have a lot of miles on them and don’t include all the latest forms of car technology inside of them. Additionally, there’s a higher chance of used cars needing to have repairs made to them at some point in the not-too-distant future.
Weigh all the different pros and cons out before choosing to look at either new or used vehicles.
2. Think About How Much Space You Need Inside Your Car
Outside of having the new vs. used car debate with yourself prior to purchasing a vehicle, you should also spend some time thinking about how big you want your new car to be.
If you’re a single person who doesn’t need much room, a small compact car might do the trick for you. But if you’re married with four kids, that small compact car just isn’t going to cut it. You’ll likely need to go with a minivan or SUV.
If the car you’re buying is for work purposes, a truck might also be more in line with what you actually need. Shop now for one great option that’ll provide you with the kind of truck that could benefit you.
Cars come in all kinds of shapes and sizes these days. Decide how large you need your car to be and then start looking at cars available in that size.
3. Keep the Fuel Efficiency of Different Cars in Mind
On average, Americans are paying right around $3 for a gallon of gas these days.
And when you consider that most cars have gas tanks capable of holding 12 to 15 gallons of gas at a time, it’s easy to see why fuel efficiency should be one of your major concerns when shopping for a car.
The fuel efficiency of a car will let you know how far it can stretch a gallon of gas. Some older cars will only get 15 miles per gallon. Some newer ones are capable of getting upwards of 35 or even 40 miles per gallon.
Do your research and find out how fuel efficient certain cars are before looking into buying them. The last thing you want to do is to spend a bunch of money on a car only to find out that you’re going to need to spend even more money than you were expecting to fill it with gas.
4. Figure Out How Much It’ll Cost to Maintain and Repair Cars
Regardless of whether you decide to buy a new or used car, you’re going to have to spend money to maintain it every year. People pay almost $1,200 on average every year in car maintenance costs.
Some cars are easier to maintain than others, though. For example, a small domestic car will likely cost less to maintain than a larger foreign model. There are also some luxury cars that could force you to pay a premium for parts.
Look into how much it costs to maintain individual vehicles. You could end up saving yourself a lot of money down the line by steering clear of cars that come with high maintenance costs.
5. Always Test Drive a Car Before Buying It
No matter what kind of car you want to buy, you should always, always, always take it out for a test drive before you sign on the dotted line and take ownership of it.
Once you get a car out on the road, you might absolutely love it. Or you might find that it doesn’t provide the kind of smooth ride you would expect. You also might find that you don’t like the way you feeling sitting in the driver’s seat and riding down the road.
By test driving a vehicle, you’ll give yourself a better idea of what it’s like to drive a car. It’ll tell you just about everything you need to know about whether or not a car is right for you.
What Car Is Best for Me? Let These Tips Guide You
To answer the question, “What car is best for me?”, you need to do more than just look at photos of cars and judge their outer appearance.
You need to dig through the specs for cars and see what they’re all about. By arming yourself with information about individual vehicles, you can compare them and pick out the one that’s best for you.
Check out our blog for more info on making smart purchases on cars, household items, and so much more.