The last time I purchased a new car was just over 17 years ago. It’s been a couple of weeks and it still feels like I’m driving around in a car rental hahaha
The car buying process is not for the faint of heart, a lot has changed in 17 years; pricing, interest rates, functionality and most importantly availability, for both new and used/pre-owned.
However, knowing that my other car was not going to last forever, I saved up a lot of $$$ so that I could put down a significant down payment. I haven’t had a car payment in over 10 years y’all!
Anyhoo, a few PegCityLovely practical car buying tips if you’re searching for a new vehicle:
- Do your research before you step foot in the dealership! What do you really need vs what you want? It can make a huge difference in price. Be mindful of all the “extras/add-ons”
- Truly connect with the sales folks – it’s important. There were some dealerships I went to where both lack of confidence and overconfidence turned me off and even if I loved the car I had to walk away and go elsewhere.
- Prepare to spend a lot of time. Test drive as many vehicles as you can consecutively to really get a feel for them and be able to compare appropriately – take notes!
- If you are able, bring someone with you who knows cars. I’m lucky enough to have a hubby who is obsessed with cars so he was able to ask a lot of great questions I wouldn’t have thought of
- Do not feel pressured! It’s a huge decision and investment, if something doesn’t feel right, go home, sleep on it and return again the next day.
Hope these tips for buying a new car have been helpful folks! Shout-out to the team at Birchwood Honda Regent for their awesome customer service.
Kaylan, product advisor extraordinaire, found me the perfect slightly used 2023 Honda CR-V Sport (by a Wpg Jet no less) that will hopefully last me another 17 years!
Looking forward to making new memories and maybe even heading out on a long road trip. Now I just need to figure out what name to call my new car…lol