What to Look for When Buying Your First Car

Buying your first car is an exciting experience. All that hard work to get your licence is done with, and it is now time to embrace the freedom by having your own car. The thing is, you shouldn’t just buy the first car you see. There are some considerations that you need to think about before you even begin to look at cars.

Budget

This is perhaps the most critical part of the process of selecting your car. Setting yourself a tight budget means keeping the car in a price range that you can afford to pay. This is not only what you are going to spend to actually purchase the vehicle. No, you need to factor in how much it will be to ensure? How much will it cost on road tax unless it is exempt? MOT costs? And how much you are willing to spend on fuel. All of these factors will cost you, some on a month per month basis, some yearly and some in between. But it is something that you need to know and understand your limits. You do not want to end up with a car that you cannot afford to pay for.

Where to Look

There are far more options on where to look for your first car these days. There are, of course, the traditional dealerships that you can visit in person to view cars and see what is available in your price range. However, thanks to technology, there are numerous ways online to search for your car and find out what is on offer before you even set foot in a dealership. Of course, you could also go through private sales and buy a used car from the previous owner rather than go to a dealership.

Check Things Over

It is a good idea to have a look at your car before any money changes hands, just so that you are aware of any issues. If there are issues, you can negotiate the price down lower or simply just walk away from the sale. If you are purchasing a new car, there should not be anything wrong with it, but give it a once over anyway. Once you drive away, it will be hard to prove that you had nothing to do with the issue that can arise, such as a scratch or dent. Check before you leave.

Buying second hand is different. It depends on whether you purchase through a dealer or a private sale as to what kind of quality of car you could get as a result. See, dealers are bound by law to ensure that any car they sell is sold at a particular stand. The cars need to be kept in the average standard for a car of that make, model, mileage, age, etc., it needs to be fit for purpose, legal to drive and match the description.

Unfortunately, private sellers are not held to the same legal obligations. For this, we remind you of the old adage ‘buyer beware, you indeed look closely at any car you are purchasing privately. You need to check all the documents to ensure there are no mistakes, have a current MOT, etc. Anything wrong with the paperwork should raise alarm bells, and perhaps this is not the car for you. Have a look at the mileage and see if it matches the car's age, and look and check it against the MOT certificates and service records. Is the paint finish even, or do the panels look different underneath? Look in the boot and under the bonnet. Are there any signs of unusual welding or rust? Check the tyre tread; if it is insufficient depth or near, you may need to replace this soon. Are the tyre jack and vehicle toolkit present? Are the seatbelts functioning and undamaged? Do any fault lights appear on the dashboard? Check against the manual. Are your washers and wipers functional? Are all the lights functioning? Do all the locks, windows and internal controls work? Are there signs of rust under the footwell mats or under the car? These are only a few of the things you should look at if you purchase from a private seller.

Test Drive

If you are satisfied with everything else, then the only thing left to do would be to take the car for a spin! You are seeing if you like how you drive the car, so test everything, the clutch, performance, breaks, everything. Most dealers have insurance for test drives, but private sellers will not, in most cases, so talk to your insurance about test drive cover.

Your next car is an online car selling platform that only deals with dealers. Private sale is not allowed on this site, which means that we can guarantee quality and affordability. To find out more, visit our website at www.your-next-car.com, or email us at success@your-next-car.com.