Well, this is the time you have been waiting for your whole life! The long anticipated time when you get your license and your first car. This is a time in your life that can be very exciting, and overwhelming at the same time. It is my goal to help you safely navigate this process, so I have dedicated this page specifically for useful first time car buying tips. There is no better time than now to help lay the foundation for future car purchases, as well as good sound financial decision making when it comes to purchasing a car or truck. The decisions you make now will have a lasting effect on future purchases if you demonstrate good sound decision making now.
- AFFORDABILITY-Make sure you choose a car or truck that you can truly afford. I was your age once, and I certainly made my share of mistakes back then. In general, most of us always want more car than we could realistically afford. There is nothing wrong with having a desire for a nice car or truck. The trick is to keep things in perspective, and not get in over your head. For most of you the amount of money you have to spend will be limited at best. I suggest trying to find the least expensive lowest mileage car you can get for the money that you have to spend. In a perfect world, this would be car that is still under factory warranty. However, that would mean the car would be fairly new and out of reach for most of you. Do not be discouraged though, there are several choices in older preowned cars that if you look hard enough will be available at reasonable prices.
- INSURANCE-Check your insurance rates before you make a final purchase of a new or preowned car. In many instances, because you are young inexperienced drivers, the cost of insurance will be far higher than most young drivers may be able to afford. This could lead to a situation of you getting really excited about a certain car or truck, and then suffering the heartache of finding out that the insurance is far too much money. If you are looking at a certain car or truck then it will only benefit you to get the VIN#( Vehicle Identification Number), and then get a free quote from one of my trusted partners. This one simple step will save you a great amount of time and disappointment before you get too excited about a particular vehicle.
- RESEARCH-Research the vehicles you are looking at closely and narrow the choices to vehicles with high marks for safety and reliability. The fact that you are an inexperienced driver with more than likely very limited resources, then it stands to reason that you should seek out the safest and most reliable car or truck in your price range. You can find almost all the information you need about this at www.consumerreports.com as well as the government site www.nhtsa.org. This should help you select a car or truck that scores the highest in these areas and keep you safely on the road.
- FINANCING-If you are planning to finance a car, then you should seek pre-approved financing. It is highly likely that most of you will only have a part time job, and no real credit file. Once again, you do not want to be in a situation where you get very excited about a car, only to find out that no bank will approve the loan. If you submit for a pre-approval based on your income and employment information, then you will have an idea how much the bank would be willing to lend in your situation. This will give you the confidence to look at a certain price range car, and know that you have secured financing to actually buy it. It will also give you leverage if you are purchasing from a dealer, and they offer you financing at a much higher rate. If for any reason the bank turns down your application, they will give you the reason(s) why so you can adjust your game plan. They may ask for a co-signor(in most cases a family member with an adequate credit file or FICO score) to cosign the loan for you because of your limited, or non existent credit file. This is a very common practice so don’t panic. The bank has no basis to determine whether you can pay back the loan, so they want someone else to back the loan with you. If this happens to you, then just ask some family members if they would be willing to help.
- CRAIGSLIST.ORG-I am sure there are many of you that are familiar with a website known as Craigslist. This is a great site that is used by millions of people, and can be a good source of cars for sale. There are upsides and downsides to shopping on this site, and I will touch briefly on both. First the upsides, you can search your immediate area for cars that are for sale by private owners, as well as dealers in your area. This gives you access to cars and trucks of all makes and models that are available in your immediate area. If you choose to you can expand the search area as far as you want, but best to stay local when searching for cars in the lower price ranges. There are many cars that are available from private sellers, and in some cases you can find some really nice cars at very reasonable prices. Now the downsides, there are many scam artists that prey on potentially naive people, as well as some really dangerous people. You must be extremely careful when shopping on this site. There are millions of legitimate sellers, but there are a few bad apples that can spoil things for you. Just be sure to read the section called safety located at the bottom of the Craigslist site. This discloses to visitors what to look for, and what to be aware of when attempting to contact or meet sellers. It is very important that you never go alone to look at a vehicle, and do your best to meet in a busy area to avoid any attempts of foul play. I have recently read stories of local police departments offering Craigslist safe zones where prospective buyers and sellers can meet on their premises, under the watchful eye of cameras and law enforcement. Check with your local law enforcement to see if this is available in your area. If the seller is unwilling to meet you in a a busy place, or one of these safe zones, then I suggest you proceed with caution or simply skip that car or truck altogether if it seems a bit sketchy.
- EBAY MOTORS, AUTOTRADER.COM, CARS.COM-These are also very useful sites to search for cars and trucks available in your area. They are very easy to navigate and there are literally thousands of vehicles to choose from, and with each you can do localized searches also.
- COLLEGE GRAD PROGRAMS-If you are considering a new car and you have recently graduated from college or a degree program then you should check and see if the manufacturer is offering a College Grad Rebate program. These usually range from the $300-$500 range and every little bit helps. There are usually restrictions to these programs and they can vary, so check with each manufacturer for details. This information can usually be found on their websites so take the time to look, and you could save yourself some money. Some of these manufacturers also offer first time buyer financing(restrictions normally apply here also), so be sure to check for any programs related to that.
- FIND A REPUTABLE MECHANIC/BODY REPAIR MAN-There are millions of preowned cars and trucks available at any given time for sale. The trick is to recognize the good ones, and stay away from the bad ones. I strongly suggest having a car looked at by a professional who knows exactly what to look for when assessing a vehicle. This one simple step could save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. I am sure if you ask some friends or family there is someone who knows a good mechanic, that would be willing to look at the car for a small fee, and sometimes for free. I also suggest having a skilled body repair man look at the car if it is a fairly new preowned car. They can spot a car that has been painted or repaired within seconds, and give you some insight as to what many have been damaged on the car. I am in big believer in running a Carfax report or Autocheck report, but in some instances an accident many have been recent, and has not shown up on the report yet. This can have a serious effect on the value of the car, when it comes to trading or selling the vehicle in the future if it shows up after you purchase the car. It pays to take these steps to avoid getting stuck with a car or truck that becomes a problem for various reasons, and costs you a lot of money.
- PURCHASING/NEGOTIATION-For first time buyers this can be a daunting part of buying a car. Most young buyers are not skilled at negotiating, or navigating the purchase process. It can be a little scary and overwhelming but fear not, because I have a few pointers for you. If you know someone that has already purchased vehicles, and is familiar with the process then you can ask them to go with you. This will make you feel more comfortable that you will not make a bad choice, or get taken “for a ride” unsuspectingly. This could be a family member or a friend. This also creates a little buffer zone between you and the seller. Negotiating is a bit similar to playing poker, you never want to tip your hand and give the other person the advantage. Do your best to not show any emotion, when you are looking at a car or truck even if you love it and are really excited. It is easier said than done, but do your best. It will give you greater leverage, and more than likely save you some money.