The first step in buying a car is to find a vehicle that best suits your wants and needs. Never forget that buying a car is not like buying a house, cars will never appreciate but only depreciate in value. Your vehicle will depreciate faster than you are able to pay it off so make sure the car you’re buying is one you plan on hanging on to for at least 3-5 years. Trading out of the vehicle any sooner will put you in a negative equity position.
Make a list of your “must have” and “like to have” equipment. This is where a lot of buyers tend to struggle. We all want champagne on a beer budget. Make sure you have realistic expectations. Ask yourself what you are willing to settle on and what you are not. Sure, navigation would be a great feature to have, but can I live without it?
Once you have narrowed down your needs for a new vehicle your search begins. There are a lot of great websites available on the web where you can do your homework and nail yourself down to a specific make, model, trim level and equipment. Once you have your dream car picked out, it’s time to track it down. Online is a great place to start, such as the manufacturers website or your local dealers website. However, the inventory on these sites is often out dated so calling the dealership or contacting their Internet Department (if they have one) is the next best step.
From here set up a test drive or simply drop into the dealership to make sure that the vehicle is everything you expected. Use this visit to drive the vehicle and get familiar with the options. Make sure it’s everything you were expecting. Make it very clear to the sales person that at this time you are simply making sure this is right car for you and under no circumstances you are ready to buy it today. Don’t fall for the “today only” trick. That same deal will be there tomorrow. This is simply an exploratory visit and you simply want to confirm your selection.
Cahpow Car Buying Service 