What car should I buy? How to decide
What car should I buy? How to decide
Buying a new car is a unique experience. Like it or not, a new
car is likely to be one of the biggest purchases you’ll ever make. Many of us
look forward to the process, but others may find it incredibly daunting,
especially given the huge amount of choice that faces buyers today – even in just
one manufacturer’s showroom.
Either way, Carbuyer is here to help. Here, we show you exactly
what to expect, from initial choices like those between new or used, petrol,
diesel, hybrid or electric power and even a choice as simple as body style.
From picking the best optional extras to securing the best possible deal when
the time comes, we’ve tried to cover all bases and offer guidance for every
step.
Our mission
is to help you find your perfect car, while answering any questions you may
have about the buying and ownership process. As such, we’ve put together
dedicated in-depth articles on car
insurance, road
tax, warranties and
more, so be sure to have a look if you’d like to know more. www.truebluedeal.com/used car mart
in chennai
New or used?
Deciding to
buy new or used is the first step towards buying your next car. Your budget is
likely to play a big part in your decision, but it’s worth remembering that
both methods have their merits. Buying new means you’ll benefit from the peace
of mind of a manufacturer’s warranty, which should last for at least three
years. You’ll also get to specify your car exactly to your tastes and needs,
but remember that you’re almost always likely to lose more money in the long
run than if you bought used, due to depreciation. If you’re thinking of buying
new, our guide to the slowest
depreciating cars is worth a look.
Used cars, meanwhile, have their own benefits. A used car will
almost always be cheaper than its new equivalent and its first owner is likely
to have taken the initial hit of depreciation so you don’t have to. A good
place to start your used-car hunt is on an ‘approved’ used forecourt, where
cars come with added backup from manufacturers.
Unless you’re
buying an older second-hand car, you should also expect some kind of warranty,
and aftermarket
policies can offer extra peace of mind – though be sure to
check what is and isn’t covered. Used cars that are between one and three years
old can offer serious savings together with some remaining manufacturer’s
warranty, while pre-registered
cars offer something of a halfway house between the new and
used market. www.truebluedeal.com
/used car in trichy
Petrol, diesel or alternative fuels?
What fuel you want your new car to run on should be the next
aspect of your purchase to think about. While some cars are only available as
diesels, such as the BMW X3, most
manufacturers offer petrol and diesel engines, while hybrid and electric models
are becoming increasingly common and can be an excellent choice, particularly
if you do a lot of town driving.
As a rule of thumb, if you cover fewer than 12,000 miles a year,
a petrol engine is best. Diesel cars cost more to buy than their petrol
counterparts, and you’ll need to cover quite a lot of miles to make up the
difference in fuel savings. Do bear in mind that the used-car market values
some petrol-engined cars (particularly SUVs) less favourably than their diesel
counterparts, as used buyers are often put off by the increased running costs
of larger petrol engines. Conversely, most petrol-hybrid models offer lower
running costs than their petrol-only counterparts.
You should
also consider the type of journeys you’ll be doing in the car. If you mainly do
short trips, a diesel is probably not for you, as diesel engines need to be run
at speed regularly to burn off soot that collects in the Diesel
Particulate Filter (DPF). If you don’t give a diesel engine the
chance to do this from time to time, you could find yourself with a blocked DPF
and a big repair bill. Our dedicated
guide to choosing between petrol and diesel has more
information. If you want to further increase economy and lower emissions, a
diesel-electric hybrid could be a good choice.
If you plan to use your car for shorter journeys or commuting,
an electric car could also be a viable choice. www.truebluedeal.com/online car
mart in puducherry.
Decide on a body style
If you were buying a car a two or three decades ago, this choice
was simple; if you didn’t cover that many miles you bought a hatchback, an
estate was for those who needed to carry large loads regularly, while everyone
else drove a saloon.
Today,
carmakers often seem to offer cars designed around a ‘lifestyle’, and this is
no bad thing: four-wheel-drive cars were once the preserve of farmers and those
living in the Scottish Highlands, but crossovers like the Nissan
Qashqai and Renault
Kadjar have redefined SUVs and hatchbacks simultaneously, and
made life easier for hundreds of thousands of people in the process. Models
like the Mercedes
CLS, meanwhile, blend coupe looks and saloon practicality to great
effect, and it’s even possible to buy a soft-top SUV in the shape of the Range
Rover Evoque Convertible.
We like to
keep things simple, and classify each of the cars we review into nine different
categories, from tiny micro cars right up to estates and MPV people carriers.
Our helpful Car
Finder tool will help you narrow your search.
When you’re
deciding what car to buy, keep in mind roughly what size and shape car you
want, but be prepared to look up and down in terms of size and body style. If
you’re after a traditional hatchback like the Volkswagen
Golf, for instance, would the extra space available in a similarly
priced Skoda
Yeti SUV be useful, or is all that extra room just going to go
to waste?
It’s a similar story with brands: be prepared to consider
manufacturers you might once have thought of as too luxurious, as well as
brands which might previously have been dismissed for seeming too ‘budget’.
Consider the Volkswagen
Jetta saloon, for example. It’s a perfectly decent car that’s
priced similarly to its sister model, the Golf. A well-equipped Jetta, however,
is about the same price as an entry-level BMW
3 Series, which is traditionally considered a far more desirable
car, and one that’s much better to drive.
Similarly, if
you’re in the market for a car like the BMW 3 Series, it’s worth considering
direct rivals like the Audi
A4 and Mercedes
C-Class, as well as models from less prestigious manufacturers, such
as the Ford
Mondeo, Volkswagen
Passat and Skoda
Superb. These cars may not have the same badge appeal as a BMW, but
you’ll get a great car with more equipment and a more powerful engine if it’s a
compromise you’re willing to make.
Whichever
kind of car you’re in the market for, our series of articles detailing the Best Carsyou can buy
breaks them down according to body style, while also featuring recommendations
based on what you’re going to need the car for – be it towing, avoiding
the London Congestion Charge, and more. When you’re reading any of
our car reviews, be sure to look at the right-hand sidebar, as here you’ll find
other cars you may want to consider – including less obvious alternatives –
which might just fit the bill perfectly. www.truebluedeal.com/second hand
car in puducherry.
Work out what's essential
If you’ve got a rough idea of the size and shape of car you’re
after, think carefully about what you use it for. If you have small children, a
crossover SUV is a good bet, as the raised ride height makes getting kids and
their seats into the car much easier. If you’re keen on DIY, carrying capacity
may be important – but look out for cars that have easy-to-fold rear seats that
lie flat when dropped. This is something we’ll always point out in our reviews.
If you
need your car to have certain features, such as sat-nav, parking sensors and
leather seats, try to go for a trim level that includes them all together, as
this is usually better value than adding items individually as options.
Specifying a new car’s options car can be a tricky business; use our guide
on this subject for some help.
Each of our Carbuyer reviews has a ‘Prices and Specs’ tab, and
clicking this brings up all the different versions of a car, including engine
choices and trim levels. It also includes technical information such as power
and performance figures, as well as fuel economy and CO2 emissions data. We
also list useful information about boot space, road tax bands and each trim’s
standard equipment, so whether you prioritise performance, economy, levels of
equipment or a combination of all three, ‘Prices and Specs’ gives you all the
information you need at your fingertips.. www.truebluedeal.com/second hand
car in Chennai
How are you going to pay?
With over 75% of new cars bought using some form of finance, and
with dealers encouraged to sell cars via this method, cash is not necessarily
king, and you’re as likely to get a discount or deal by buying a car on
finance.
We’ve put
together a comprehensive guide to buying
a car using finance, as well as specific guides to PCP
deals, Hire
Purchase agreements and Personal
Contract Hire. If you’re using one of these methods to pay for a
car, keep an eye on the total price as well as the monthly repayments; an
optional extra may not seem that expensive on a monthly basis, but it’s easy to
lose sight of the true cost of options, and you may not get your money back
when it’s time to sell your car or trade it in.
Also look closely at the final settlement figure involved in a
lot of finance deals. This is known as the ‘balloon payment’ because it’s much
bigger than the monthly payments; if your package involves a balloon payment,
you won’t own the car outright until it’s made, so make sure you’re happy and
able to pay this if you want to take ownership of the car, rather than trade it
in, at the end of the deal.
Taking out a GAP
insurance policy when buying via finance is also a good idea
as, if you’re unlucky enough to write off your car, you could find yourself
seriously out of pocket, adding insult to injury.
If you’re
trading in an old car as part of the buying process, find out how much it’s
worth before you go shopping for a new car to be sure the dealer gives you a
fair price. Glass’s
Guide is a great price to do this, as it’s where a lot of
dealers get their trade-in values.
www.truebluedeal.com/online car
mart in Cuddalore
What are the running costs?
It’s tempting to stretch yourself as far as you can when setting
a budget for a new car, and monthly repayments can be tantalisingly low – even
for upmarket models. Be sure to bear in mind, however, that running costs are
easily dismissed at the buying stage, and excessive fuel consumption or
insurance premiums could leave you resenting your car.
Road
tax is calculated using a fairly simple system that takes into
account CO2 emissions, list price (including options) and fuel type. It’s worth
looking at this closely to determine your first year’s road tax obligations,
which are usually rolled into the car’s ‘on the road price).
Recent changes mean that unless your car is a zero-emission
model, meaning a purely-electric or hydrogen-powered car, you’ll pay £140.
You’ll get a £10 discount if you drive a hybrid, while those zero-emission cars
cost nothing to tax. One word of caution though - if you’re looking at a used
car registered before 1 April 2017, it’ll be subject to a different tax system,
which may cost you significantly more or less.
If you’re a company-car
driver, CO2 emissions will also affect how much Benefit-in-Kind
(BiK) tax you pay, so be sure to take this into consideration too.
Fuel economy
obviously needs to be taken into account. While manufacturers’ official figures
are often hard to match in the real world, they serve as a useful yardstick
when comparing cars. Keep an eye on the trip computer during any test drive for
a more realistic economy figure, and ask the dealer to show you how to access
this information if you’re unsure. If economy is important to you, our guide to
the most
economical cars on sale todayis well worth reading.
Don’t forget
to get some insurance
quotes for any car you’re thinking of buying, as some models
can cost significantly more to insure than others. If you’re a young driver, it
may be worth looking at a ‘black
box’ insurance policy, and be sure to check out our guide to the best
first cars. www.truebluedeal.com/second
hand car in Villupuram
Make a shortlist of cars and test-drive
them
Once you’ve narrowed down your search to two or three models,
it’s time to pick up the phone and book some test-drives.
If you know what engine and specification you want your car to
have, try to test a model that’s as similar as possible. This is well worth
doing; while it may mean you’ll have to wait for the dealer to get the right
car delivered, different engine and gearbox combinations can completely alter
the way a car drives, as can options like sports suspension and large alloy
wheels. If you’re after sat-nav or in-car tech features like Bluetooth phone
connectivity, check how well these work, as some systems are far superior to
others.
If you’re buying a car for the family, take your partner and
children along with you to see how they like the car. They may spot problems
that you hadn’t considered, such as poor interior storage space or
uncomfortable rear seats. It’s also a good idea to bring along any bulky items
– such as children’s buggies or golf clubs – that you regularly carry, to see
how well these fit in the boot.
On the test
drive, be sure to drive along a variety of roads, from dual carriageways to
twisty back roads. This will help you make a fuller assessment of the way the
car handles. Some dealers may let you borrow a car over the weekend, and this
can be helpful – though make sure you don’t become too attached to it, as
maintaining a clear, objective approach is key. Our
in-depth guide to test drives has more information.
The key focus of any test drive, obviously, is the car itself –
so don’t let the salesman distract you with small talk too much – though it
pays to be polite if you want to strike a good deal! Speaking of which… www.trueblue
deal.com/ used car mart in puducherry
Get haggling
Once you’ve
decided on which car to buy, it’s time to agree on a price. Some dealers are
more open to haggling than others, but do phone round their competitors to see
what offers are available elsewhere, and don’t be afraid to share this
information with the salesman; they want your business, after all. Our guide on negotiating
a great price for your new car has more information.
If the car you’re after is a particularly new or in-demand
model, discounts are likely to be rare. You should – at the very least – be
able to get a set of car mats and tank of fuel thrown in, though.
Deciding which car to buy is an involved process, and many
people try to get behind the wheel as soon as possible. Bear in mind, though,
that time invested in finding the right car should pay dividends during the
time you own it. Happy hunting!
www.truebluedeal.com/used
car in coimbature.