This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.
Thousands to pick from, hundreds of places to pick them from, and A LOT of things to consider… The car buying process can be so hectic believe me I just went through it. It is a big investment to make, which is why it was so complicated for me.
I may not speak for all women, but I can speak for myself when I say I had no clue what I was doing or looking for. Let’s be honest here, women just want a cute car they can look good in, am I right? I know that is what I wanted. My dream car would be a red SUV or white Lexus SUV, but who we kidding I am a broke college student.
Of course, I didn’t get the car of my dreams, but I know I made out in the long run and here is why….
Down below are some tips that will help save money on your car in the future because car buying is more than searching for a particular look….
1. First, before anything you should know if you are looking for a used car you want to get a car that will last. That means staying away from any American car. The top 3 cars that you want to look for are Toyotas, Nissans, and Hondas because they are Japanese & will last well past 200,000 miles. They can typically run till the 300,000. Let’s really think about it, if you were to get a car with 80,000 or 90,000 miles when it gets to 100,000 you typically start to experience problems, but since the Japanese cars last longer you will have less problems. With the American car since they don’t last as long they are more likely to break down, so just because American cars are cheaper they are more expensive in the long run because they don’t hold their value. Also, you might want to stay away from European cars if you don’t want a thousand dollar maintance fee. European parts are way more expensive than any other car. They are great cars just really expensive to bring in the shop and repair so keep that in mind on your search
2. Next, speaking of miles you want to make sure when you are shopping for an older car that you stay within 120,000 miles. You really don’t even want it that far up there. The lowest the mileage the better because you will have less problems. & way under if you do decide to go with an American car.
3. Gas mileage can be important, but only to some people. It was a major factor for me as I like to save as much money as I can. I looked for a car around 30 or over. Usually 27 and over is good.
4. One of the biggest factors of buying a car is making sure you are able to view the car fax because remember buying a car isn’t just about how sweet it looks. The car fax holds all the records of the car like where it was registered, when it was brought into the mechanic, how many accidents it was in and all that good stuff. This is VERY important. If a car doesn’t have a free car fax the odds are the owner or dealership is hiding something. If the car is in good shape than they will have no problem selling it so sometimes they make you pay for the car fax because they know people won’t and it helps them sell it as is. So, remember if it doesn’t have a free car fax there is no use in looking at it.
5. Now you don’t just make sure the car has a free car fax but you have to make sure it is a clean car fax, and what I mean by that is that the car fax has positive stuff. The positive stuff would be no accidents, and a good amount of service records. If it does have an accident reported it is okay as long as the car wasn’t totaled or re-fixed. Preferably you want one without an accident. The service records are the amount of times the owner took the car to a shop to get things replaced and fixed. This is important because it means the owner took good care of the car, and most likely it is in good shape. The service records are listed on the car fax. Usually it will say oil changed or brake pads replaced or some other mechanical stuff.
6. Now, just because the car fax checks out doesn’t mean it is a good car because you still have to check it out for yourself because sometimes a car fax is limited. When I was in the process of searching my boyfriend and I came across a car we thought looked good on paper, but in reality wasn’t when we checked it out. It happens, so never get to excited when things look good because sometimes they don’t always seem that way and you don’t want to settle because you don’t want to end up paying out of pocket for all the fixes it needs. With that being said, go check out the car at the dealership or wherever it is.
7. Test driving is key. You always want to make sure you test drive it to make sure it is okay. I remember my boyfriend test driving a car that he said the engine was really struggling. So, make sure you go for a quick spin and let them show you the engine so you can see if it looks clean.
8. Also, just because you test drive the car and the car feels great still doesn’t mean it is good. There could be hidden problems that would arise in the future causing you to spend more money. The next step is to take it to a local mechanic or family mechanic. The best bet would be to find someone you trust and take it to their mechanic . But taking it to a mechanic is a must because I really loved this one car we checked out and thought was great, but took it to the mechanic and found over a thousand dollars in charges the dealership wasn’t willing to pay or fix. Make sure you tell the mechanic you see that you are just looking to get the car checked out because you are looking to buy it if it is good this way you know they will be honest if you aren’t looking to spend money with them. I took the car that is now mine to FireStone and they did a really great job and were completely honest. Checkup usually ranges from 20 to 25, and it is definitely worth it because it will save you the trouble of getting stuck with a terrible car that will cost you too much money.
9. If everything checks out with the mechanic, the car runs great, and the car fax is cleaned then you may have yourself your very own car. However, if any of these go wrong then I would suggest leaving the dealership. Don’t let them talk you into it because then you would be settling. Trust me I had to walk away a lot, but it was worth it because then I finally found a really great car I haven’t had issues with. It will save you so much money in the future, trust me. Why buy a cheaper terrible car when you will just end up spending the same or more if you go with a better nicer car.
10. You aren’t finish with the process because then come the haggling of the price. I don’t care what they say about how they can’t go lower because they can you just have to let them know off the bat you know they can work it out with you, and you don’t want to play games. I would suggest you go with a man who can be stern and who wouldn’t let someone fool him. The salesperson needs to know you aren’t going to agree with their “lowest price”. Get it down to the price you want or walk away because half the time they are trying to rip you off.