It’s easy to get overly excited about the prospect of a shiny new car with its new car smell. But jumping the gun on your buy will just be a headache in the long run – financially and psychologically. Because of this very expensive “buyer’s remorse”, your best bet is to make a list of specifications and necessities in regards to a new automobile.
1) Select the model that makes sense for you. Are you a child-toting soccer mom that needs all the room she can get, with a side of safety? Or are you a single chick looking for a small coupe to fit in your equally small garage? Regardless, make sure you’ve evaluated the pros and cons. Use common sense and don’t ignore weather restrictions. You’d feel pretty silly if you bought a beautiful, red Corvette with the best sport tires around that won’t be able to get you out of your driveway during a snowstorm.
2) Manual or automatic? It seems painfully obvious, but your biggest mistake would be investing in a car that you can’t even get out of gear. If you can’t drive a manual transmission, don’t buy a vehicle that has it. If you don’t know how, but are planning on learning, make sure you learn prior to buying your new car. You may find you’re just not very good at it, that it’s too much of a hassle for you, or that you just plain don’t care for it. Plus, if you can’t drive stick before you buy, how are you going to take it for a test drive?
3) Pick a color, any color. These days, you can pretty much find any vehicle in any color you can imagine, so your selection probably isn’t going to be your problem. It’s narrowing it down! Again, think practically. Keep in mind that bright red cars attract the most attention for squad cars, so if you have a tendency to drive on the wild side you might want to pick something else. Not only will you be a moving target for a ticket, it can also affect your insurance rates. If you park your car on a city street on a daily basis, you probably wouldn’t want a snow-white vehicle, as the frequent traffic will typically dirty your car more often than not.
4) Interior fashion. As tempted as you may be to get a lightly colored, plushy interior for your new ride, it might not be the best choice. If you’ll be hauling kids from football practice on a muddy field a couple times a week, chances are those little boys aren’t going to be squeaky clean when they hop in your chauffeur. And heated leather seats are fantastic during a winter storm, but traveling around Malibu probably won’t
