Avoiding Hasty Used Car Purchases
It happens to all of us. We rush into buying something and then regret our decision and waste precious, hard earned money. If you're lucky the item was an inexpensive purchase and no major harm came of it. Buying the wrong used car, on the other hand, is something that could have longer lasting effects especially when you cannot resell the car easily. So what should you do before buying your used car?
Start off with your finances. Calculate how much you spend in a month on all household expenses like groceries, utilities, education and any other major heads. The next step is to work out your current savings and what your monthly and annual saving should ideally be. If there is a shortfall, you will probably need financing of some sort and the car you buy should be a practical, more basic car that doesn't prove to be a burden. Call up car financiers and banks to find the best options with minimum markup on the period of payment that best suits your requirements.
The next step should be which particular car, make and model you want, something that will suit your budget. For example you could choose a Toyota Corolla Gli 2005. If you're on a tight budget, buy a car that has high resale value so you can easily sell it off a few years later. In Pakistan Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and all Suzuki models are extremely popular and always in demand no matter what the year of manufacture. This strategy will pay off and help you save in the future.
Take several key factors like maintenance, fuel consumption and spare part costs into careful consideration while selecting your car. Quick acceleration on the highway can be exhilarating, but equally devastating for your finances come time to fill gasoline in your large fuel tank. A small error in judgment on your part or the driver behind you can prove to be expensive in terms of repair and part replacements. A Toyota proves far costlier to fix in Pakistan than a Suzuki, which has an equally good resale record. Repairs are a reality that all drivers must deal with eventually.
While widely distributed newspapers and periodicals can be a great source for used cars, its often a hassle to manually select cars that match your available budget. I almost always use more popular classified websites that cater to used cars in my area. A simple search on Google can provide you with an ample list of sites to search for cars within your range Most of these classifieds also have advanced price filters to display only cars that you can afford. Makes life easier and the search literally takes minutes.
Try and keep your findings well organized in the form of an Excel sheet or on paper. Keep a tab of car makes, models, prices and features so you can easily compare and find the best deals through your numerous searches. This can prove very handy in negotiating a better price for your car as well, since you now have hard facts about the average market price for each car that you are considering for purchase.
Before buying your car make sure you take it for a test drive and have it thoroughly checked. No need to be embarrassed in taking a little precaution. I hope you feel satisfied and more confident in buying your used car after having followed the above steps. Good luck and enjoy your new ride.