Formerly, cars were used for only transportation and convenience. Eventually, cars became more affordable and need by every family. In this article, we are discussing how to buy a new car. What are the steps to buying a perfect car and what are the factors that might affect your decision in the process? How to get the best value from money spent by you?
Let’s discuss some important points to consider before selecting your car!
Prepare a check-list at home
Before diving into the pool of the car market first prepare yourself that what are your wants and needs. Note down all the questions and currently available models that fit your needs. Do a small survey on the internet according to your requirements.
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Which body style?
Always be clear! Ask yourself how many passengers will be there most of the time. Do you need luggage space? Any special-purpose use like going off-road or luggage transferring? Do you need extra ground clearance? Are you going to drive the car yourself or do you have a driver?
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Petrol or Diesel, Electric or Hybrid?
The answer to this question is simple. Calculate your yearly running and maintenance budget before making the final decision. Electric cars are still pretty expensive compared to fossil fuel vehicles and so on. List down your requirements and make the final decision.
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Budget
Decide your budget. Take 50,000-1,50,000 rupees plus or minus. This variation should be set according to your convenience. While in the market, you would end up in a dilemma of variant selection, color selection, accessory fitment, and more; thus this extra budget will come to help.
Plan your yearly investments in maintenance. If you are going for companies that are notorious for their maintenance and spare part costs, make sure you make your budget accordingly. Even diesel car maintenance is costlier than petrol ones; where electric cars will cost you less per year maintenance costs – but after a defined period, the battery swapping cost will be pretty high on your pocket.
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New or old?
When you have your budget ready, and fuel type selected, and list down all the options you might get in that price range. List both options of new and secondhand cars. By any chance, if you are getting a good second-hand car that is approved by your known mechanic, you can consider that option as well.
However old cars are not advisable if you do not know the technicality of cars as you might end up buying a lemon. A fresh car at least gives you peace f mind as it will be more reliable.
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When?
Plan your buying time. Year-end will give you good discounts on the new vehicle purchase – but that will also make your car look a year older on the documents – thus do consider the timeframe if you are buying a car for resell value as well.
Also, if you live in an area where your decision to car buying will get affected by the economical up-downs or weather around you – change your plans.
What to look for?
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Safety first
Never consider the car’s exteriors to define its safety and structural rigidity, period. See all the safety features in the car – look for the number of airbags and ABS systems. More than 2 airbags will be the cherry on the cake. ABS and EBD are useful in any kind of road situation and not only at higher speeds or long-distance traveling, so check those needs first.
Recent cars are coming equipped with self-driving capabilities and driver aids to make driving effortless. Select those extra features if your budget allows.
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Does it satisfy all your needs?
Make a checklist of what you want and what you need. Mark small details like does it have bottle holders? Does it have space for 3 people in the backseat? Is it having enough storage space? Does it come with wireless charging? = add your questions to the list and when you visit the showroom, get them checked with your sales representative.
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Market analysis
Please do not go blind behind car reviews you see on the internet or what you listen to the TV commercials. Join communities, forums and groups on social media where you can connect with fellow car owners owning the same vehicle.
Ask them your questions and get valid suggestions before making the final decisions. The actual owners of the same model will be able to help you the best and show you the real side of niggles and issues with the car.
Check the sales volume of the car you want to purchase. If the manufacturer discontinues the car a couple of years from now, will you be able to source the new parts or not?
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Manufacturer’s background
Don’t go with those whose vehicles where customers have reported a lot of niggles and complaints. Avoid those who don’t give good after-sales services, as buying a car is one thing, and living with it is another. Joining the right social media groups and forums will apply here as well.
You can check that manufacturer’s social media page and see the comment sections that what its customers think about that particular brand.
Do not consider a media review as assured advice. As it may not fit your criteria and you finally buy a car that you don’t love.
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Aesthetics and other things
See all the color options, and other body details and looks at the final step. As looks don’t guarantee you the perfect car. Compare all the features with the competition and get a bang for your buck. Aftermarket accessories fitting is still easy – buying an unsafe car is not a smart decision.
Latest generation and manufacturing date
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Avoid old version
Go for a car that is relatively fresh in the market yet not so fresh that you become the initial customer and give feedback to the company to improve their unreliable product. Cars older than four years without a yearly facelift might give you nightmares procuring spare parts – thus try to avoid very old products.
If the dealer is offering a high cash bonus or discount on an old car, say no or yes on your due diligence.
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Get the fresh stock
Try to buy a car that is just 2-6 months old and rolled out from the factory. See the manufacturing date and detail by VIN. VIN will provide you with all the needed information. Buying a car with a year-old manufacturing date will lead you to pain while selling it.
Don’t get driven on the wrong track
Stick to your homework and research. A salesperson might show you thousands of useless features that are good to have but you might not need them in your vehicle at this stage – avoid those conversations. Go straight for what you are looking for and pay for the variant that satisfies all your needs and wants.
Double-check your decision before buying.
Choose authorized dealers and service centers
Don’t go with unauthorized guys to save a small chunk of your money. Fake bills and documents will not get helpful while claiming insurance or other things. And those can sell you old cars with new parts and fake registration. So at the end of the day, you’ll have to suffer all the pain.
Take multiple Test Drives
Drive the test vehicle in your surroundings, so that you can get an idea of ride quality. Go to those places where you have faced problems in your old vehicles like steeply inclined places or tall speed bumps.
Go with some stuff like a 1L bottle, pen drive, and some small stuff so that you can check all the storage spaces in the car and the quality of the stereo, etc.
Go on open roads to see high-speed behavior and in traffic to see the convenience. Park the car at your home parking and see if it fits properly or not. Just by looking at the car, you would not get a clear picture of how it drives.
Consider all the buying options before making a deal
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Check Competitors
Don’t get stuck to a single manufacturer; try all different brands in the same segment. So that you can get an idea about what are other companies offering in the same price range. Compare their ride quality, features, engine performance, build quality, and safety as well.
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Financial support from various banks
Check EMI options and the percentage of interest from all the reputed banks. If the car manufacturer is offering a loan, compare it with other banks and choose the best option to go with. Never sign any bank documents before reading them thoroughly!
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Different dealers or salespersons
Get quotations from other dealers in town as well for the same car so you can avail yourself of the best deal for your pocket.
You can try changing salespersons which will lead you to higher discounts and offers. Be polite to everyone and do not get yourself in a bad situation to avail discounts blindly.
Finance
Now financing your car is an important thing. Are you going to opt for a Loan or Lease? Are you going to avail of a long-tenure loan or a short-term loan, try online loan calculators and make the final decision.
Extra things to take with the car
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Insurance
Many people make a mistake by taking insurance offered by the dealer level itself. You might end up with a flashy discounted quote from dears and might not calculate the real amount of your insurance premium. Avoid that mistake and ask them for proper bifurcation of the quotation and check premium rates from the outside dealers as well.
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No claim bonus
Most people do not know that they can carry forward their no-claim bonus of an old car to their next car’s insurance. If your previous car was booked in X’s name, then you can get the NCB for your next car booked for the same name X.
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Zero depreciation insurance
Cars that cost more have expensive parts in them. Zero dep. insurance does not have a dramatic price difference compared to normal insurance. But, zero dep. insurance will give you peace of mind as it won’t cut a lot of money while repairs.
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Extended warranty
When you buy a car with a warranty of around 3 years or 1,00,000 km; you can extend it to the next one or two years. If you are someone who loves to modify their vehicles and those power updates, don’t waste money on an extended warranty as it won’t be calculated as soon as you modify your car. For example, if you are going to get a CNG kit fitted in your car from outside, this makes no sense to pay a premium to extend the warranty.
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Accessories
Floor mats, seat covers, and mudguards can be purchased at the dealer level. Don’t take unnecessary things like body styling kits and useless stuff.
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Road-side assistance
This is not a mandatory option if you do not go on highways and long trips frequently. But if you are buying a luxury car, you can opt for this so you won’t get stuck in the middle of the road and can get reliable backup anywhere anytime.
Exchanging old car
Never ever tell them (dealers) that you want to exchange your old car on the first visit. If they will come to know that you want an exchange offer then they will give a minimum price for an old car and take the maximum price for a new product. After finalizing all the rates and things, ask them to evaluate your car.
Always perform a Pre-Delivery Inspection of the car and never forget to do a small Post Delivery Checking of the car, too.
When you get your car allotted in the dealer’s yard, go there and see every detail. Check all the lights and electronic things are working or not. See paint finishing and is there any dent? Check the VIN number to confirm that the car is not old. Check all the small details in the car, it may take 1-2 hours to inspect the whole car, but when you are investing in 6-7 digits, you can give that much time for that at least.
On the day of delivery, you might be in a hurry and jumping because of the happiness, but never forget to check the car after the delivery process too, as you leave the dealer’s place, they won’t let you blame them for mistakes.
Be safe! Rev hard!
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