Top 5 Rules to Pick Your First Car
Which car to choose? For those who plan to buy a vehicle for the first time, this is one of the most important questions.
It’s necessary to have a clear idea of the purpose for which the vehicle is purchased beforehand. Otherwise, the result of your purchase will be as unpredictable as games at an online casino in Canada: you never know what awaits you around the corner. First, decide where and how you plan to use the vehicle:
- Will it be long-distance travel or moving around the city on the route home-work?
- What will you use the car for more often, for work or leisure?
- Do you need a roomy family car or a compact small car?
Regardless of what purpose you buy the car for, it should meet your requirements as much as possible. With this in mind, you can decide which car is best for you.
Understand Your Goal
Think beforehand how you plan to use the car – where, with whom and how often you want to drive. This will help you get your priorities straight.
There is no best car for a beginner. In reality, everyone operates a car in mixed conditions with different proportions of city, highway and off-road. But there are nuances to which you should pay attention first:
- How many people do you plan to carry in the car?
- Do you have kids?
- Do you plan to go out of town and travel?
- What is the state of the roads in your area?
Listen to Yourself
When people don’t know about cars, they often try to choose a car for a newcomer strictly rationally: they watch test-drives and crash-tests, study characteristics and listen to the reviews of their acquaintances. But you should never forget about emotions. Otherwise, there is a risk that the car will stay in the garage for many months, and then will be on sale again.
The first car must be the one you really like. It’s important that you get pleasure from the way it behaves on turns, how it responds to steering movements, and how the interior is arranged. No matter how pragmatically the future car owner is, he will not be happy with the car of that brand, to which he has a prejudice. But he will close his eyes to the defects of the used car of his favorite brand.
The main thing is not to get into emotions too much: evaluate the car objectively first, and only then listen to the feelings.
Check the Car Before Buying
Newcomers to the secondary market are the easiest to fool: they not only don’t know much about the mechanics they may also not know that they should check the history before buying their first car. A car can be badly beaten up and unsafe, have restrictions, and be sold badly worn out afterwards.
Check the car before the inspection. If there are a lot of problems, you don’t have to waste time with the appointment and look for other options.
Remember About the Equipment
Manufacturers give cars a lot of different options and offer packages of varying degrees of equipment, and additional options are installed for a surcharge. Often many of them remain unclaimed. When choosing options, it’s necessary to proceed from the needs and budget, refusing unnecessary functions.
Remember, the main criterion for choosing a car is safety, so you shouldn’t save on active and passive safety systems.
Assess the Cost of Maintenance
Determine the amount to be spent on the purchase. It’s also worth considering the cost of maintaining the car. The costs consist of the cost of insurance and taxes, maintenance, fuel and lubricants and the loss of value when the car is sold. There may also be unforeseen expenses, such as those incurred in traffic accidents. The insurance benefits almost never cover the damages. You can find an average cost per kilometer for a specific car on the Internet, with all costs taken into account. This makes it easier to make a decision.
