How To Ensure A Car Is Right For You

Buying a new car can be a nerve-wracking process, even if you aren’t exactly new to driving. Cars, after all, are investments; they represent a significant upfront outlay as well as other ongoing costs. For your money, you want something that’ll do exactly what you need it to do and last you well for many years to come.

In the knowledge that, aside from buying a house, purchasing a car is one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make, you’ll want to get it right the first time. With this in mind, you might benefit from considering the following points during the search for your next daily driver.

Affordability

Naturally, your first consideration will be that of budget. You should have a set amount in mind when looking at cars, based on the amount you can afford to contribute from your savings. You should also calculate how much you can afford with respect to ongoing costs, just so you don’t find yourself unsuspectingly stiffed with a high monthly insurance premium.

Once you understand exactly what you can afford, you can start to narrow the search pool down. If your budget precludes you from a certain class of vehicle, you might benefit from looking at used cars rather than showroom-fresh models. Used cars have already done most of their value depreciation, so you won’t be losing a significant amount of value following purchase. Besides, older models have been more robustly road-tested by a nation of drivers, enabling you to more judiciously pick a vehicle that will go the distance.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle is the next essential consideration, being the variable that will impact the kind of car you get and the kind of costs you can expect to incur. As much as you might hanker after a sleek executive saloon, there’s no point to your expenditure if it isn’t justified by your lifestyle.

As someone with a growing family, you’ll need to ask if the cars you’re looking at have enough seats and storage to accommodate your family needs day to day. If you’re travelling short distances or in urban environments, you might want to look at petrol-powered vehicles over diesel, which is better suited for long stretches on the motorway.

Electric vehicles (EVs) have appeal far beyond their green credentials but are still developing; if you’re attracted to the reduced fuel and maintenance costs, make sure the models you can afford have a decent max distance.

Brand

Brand is a crucial variable in your car search. If your car knowledge is limited, you might struggle to discern the different brands and their differences – but there are some stark differences between brands in mission, discipline and even build quality. Choosing a Japanese brand usually guarantees some level of longevity, while German manufacturers like BMW and Volkswagen are better-engineered. Some brands have you paying a premium for the badge, so, again, the used car market can be a good friend here to sniff out the true value beyond inflated showroom prices.