Tips and advices for buying a car. In some countries or cities having a car is a luxury, but in others is a necessity. For example you live in the middle of the city, but you work out of it.
Even if you may travel by train, bus or other transport vehicles, this is can be uncomfortable. You will have to wait for the train or bus to come into the station; it can snow, rain or could be very hot outside; you may have to carry with you a laptop every day. Probably it already occurred to you to buy your own car. You will have more freedom, more comfort, but also responsibilities and costs. It is very important to think about your needs and your limits. You should always look at the buying price, the maintenance costs, car’s safety, your space requirements and the gas consumption. Also, if you buy a second hand car you should be very careful not to be cheated.
Check these tips when you want to buy a second hand car
First of all you have to think very well why a second hand car worth more than a new model from the dealer. A second hand car has its advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:
- Is cheaper;
- More amenities compared to a new one in the same price;
- Possibility to negotiate with the seller;
Disadvantages:
- If you are not careful you can buy a car which was involved in an accident, was stolen or had a very poor service;
- You don’t know how was used; if the seller took care of it and so on;
- For most of the second hand cars the warranty is missing or the warranty terms were broken;
- It will be very difficult to resell it afterwards because it will be at least at the third hand.
Now that we know the advantages and disadvantages of the second hand car we have to clarify other things:
- We will establish our budget very well (you shouldn’t make loans or go over your financial possibilities for a used car)
- We establish the class of the car (mini, premium, family, etc)
- We will think of a maximum number of km (depends on the budget, but never over 120.000 km), on a minimum year of construction (not under 2000) and to a maximum number of previous owners (the best scenario is when the seller is the first owner)
- We will think about the country from where the car will be bought: your own country or from abroad;
- We will decide over the kind of fuel the car will use: in general gas vs. diesel, but there also possibilities like gas plus electric, hybrid and so on. The recommended fuel is diesel because of the low consumption.
- We decide over the power (minimum and maximum), the capacity displacement, number of cylinders and their layout, number of seats, emissions of NOx and so on. We think about the minimum level of equipment (in our days at least 2 airbags, manual AC, fog lights, electric windows in front, radio player, pollen filter.
- We make a list with all the documents necessary: owner’s manual, receipts, story of the car and so on.
- We avoid cars used for companies (probably the driver didn’t took care of it) and also the ones which were used as taxi, the one with tuning and things like that because most probably were modified and also very old cars with small number of km on board .
Now that we decided what we need and we have the money, we start to look for the car: on internet, newspapers, among friends and so on. We should avoid the car markets because most probably the vehicles there have been changed, modified, the prices are bigger. We also have to consider that on the pictures the car looks nice and seeing it with our own eyes is different. Also you have to look at the seller. If the seller seems strange to you, is best to avoid buying from him. Always compare the acquisition price with the money you have to invest in maintenance and service. Look for the signs of damages: check the paint, the design line (if is the same of both sides), look signs of rust, if all the lights are functioning, take it to a test drive (accelerate slow but also fast, put a brake fast, one slow, pay attention on the car’s behaviour). If you don’t have the necessary knowledge it is better to take someone with you.
Before buying the car if should take it to a garage to have it checked, better to be an independent service auto or one you know. Also check very careful the documents of the car to make sure you buy the right car. Different countries have special taxes for second hand cars depending on NOx emissions, engine capacity, power and so on. Check the procedure in your country so you won’t have the surprise to pay taxes higher than the acquisition price.
Assuming that everything was ok and you bought the car, it is time for you to register it. For that you will have to check the requirements of the authorities from your country.
Buying a new car
For buying a new car things are easier. You have warranty, you will make full insurance, the vehicle is new so you don’t have to worry too much about the maintenance costs in the near future. But you also have to look at the viability, safety, comfort, space, future costs of the spare parts, fuel consumption, the terms for mandatory revision, the parts covered by the warranty and so on. It is very important to strictly respect the deadlines for the revisions, change of oil and so on. Also pay attention if you have to make a loan at the bank. It is better to analyse all the offers and to choose the right one for you.