Buying a car is never easy. Sure, if you’ve got a lot of money to spare, you may not think much of it. But for most people, it’s a decision that can be quite stressful, especially if you’re worried about being ripped off of taken advantage of.

2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback

Top Tips For Buying A Car

People overpay a lot of the time, they also make other small mistakes which can see them paying more money down the line for repairs or even by losing the car altogether. Everyone has a different knowledge base when it comes to buying cars. You might see a few tips you already know about, or they might all be new to you. Whatever the case, they may help your mind start to spin in the right direction, and open up new avenues of negotiation you haven’t thought about. These apply to all cars too, from minivans right up to luxury sport models and everything in between. You can avert disaster completely or save yourself a bit of cash!

Do Your Research

Before you buy the car, check it out. Is it a good car? There will be a glut of reviews by industry experts online. Have a look and make sure the car you’re buying wasn’t a flop. When doing this, you can check out its safety rating too. It’s Important if you are going to be using it for ferrying around your family. When going private or to a less known showroom, you might consider https://www.autoverleden.nl/ to check the car’s history. You can find out if it’s stolen or if it has had any major accidents and been written off. Knowing is half the battle in this case, it gives you more negotiating power so ensure you do your research first and foremost.

The internet can be your best friend in these situations. By simply Googling “Volkswagen dealership near me“, you can find the nearest dealerships in your area and compare prices and services offered. This will give you a better idea of what to expect when it comes to purchasing a Volkswagen, whether it’s new or used.

Check A Showroom’s Reviews

Again, this forms part of the research process. You’ll want to check the reviews of the showroom online. There will likely be some on Google, you might have to have a little dig. Remember, there are always some bad, so one or two bad in a sea of good shouldn’t send the alarm bells ringing. However, if there are mainly bad reviews you know something is wrong. Have a read through them. Are there recurring themes? Speak to some friends too. Do they know anything about it that could shed some light on what’s going on? Reviews are a key consumer weapon these days. By taking twenty minutes to read through them you could save yourself a lot of hurt and avoid the bad places entirely.

buying a car, Buying A Car? These Top Tips Can Stop You Making A Mistake, Days of a Domestic Dad

Buy At The Right Time

Each showroom will have key targets and deliverables to achieve. If you go when they’ve already hit these you could get a good deal. You need to find out when their year-end is or when they report to. The likelihood is if you go in the last two weeks they would have already hit their targets. Also, think about what you’re buying. If you’re thinking about buying a convertible right before summer you’ll likely pay a premium. The same is true of a 4×4 before winter. Buy at the opposite times and you’ll save some money in most cases. It takes some planning to do and might not be appropriate if you desperately need a new car right away but if you have the opportunity it’s definitely something to think about and put into practice.

Consider How You’re Going To Pay

If you’re paying full cash, great. But if you’re jumping right in and taking out car finance with the garage in question you might be paying more than you need to. Depending on your personal financial situation you might be much better off by getting a loan from the bank and paying that off rather than going for finance. It’s just about checking out the rate of interest you’ll be paying on the purchase of the vehicle. By doing this, to the dealership you’ll be paying cash. When you’re paying cash you’re a lot more attractive in a way and you can get a better deal in certain situations.

buying a car, Buying A Car? These Top Tips Can Stop You Making A Mistake, Days of a Domestic Dad

Make Sure You Test Drive The Car

A lot of people skip out on the test drive. Don’t. This isn’t to say that there might be something wrong with the car. Just that you really might not like how it drives. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to the feel of a car. It’s good to find out how it works. You can also see how certain gadgets work like reverse camera etc. Plus, you might actually feel something strange and realize there is actually a fault. For this, you might want to bring someone who knows about cars along to the purchase. Their expert knowledge can help you significantly.

Don’t Fall For The Scams

Car salesman employ a lot of tricks to get you to part with your cash. First, they’ll try to keep you as long as possible. You’ll just want to leave, leading you to make erratic decisions. That’s why they’ll drop extra things in at the last minute when you just want to leave. They’ll also tell you the monthly payments instead of the overall cost of the car. Something that’s tens of thousands of pounds may sound huge but if you break that down into a monthly cost it’ll really be affordable, think about your mortgage. Just keep in mind what they’re trying to do here. You’ll also want to watch out for any unnecessary upgrades they offer on the vehicle. Think about them in full, don’t make a rash decision and work out whether you’ll actually need them. They might also try to mess with the value of your trade in. They’ll point out the flaws and make you a low offer. If you don’t know it’s true value have a look online for similar cars.

Knowing the value goes a long way and can potentially stop them from undervaluing it meaning you pay more for the new car. If you go into the dealership with the value in mind it’ll be a lot harder for them to undervalue it and give you less money.