Collaborative post. Alongside our homes, cars are one of the most expensive items that we will buy. Yet, there is also an essential in of many of our lives. It isn’t always easy to live without a car. Although I don’t use my car daily, I wouldn’t be without one especially with public transport being what it is and the safety factor especially at night not being the best in London. My husband is looking to buy a car at the moment but we are working to a budget. We have limited funds as I’m sure many others do too. You can make savings when buying a car. Here I will look at How to Save Money When Buying A Car
How to Save Money When Buying A Car
Avoid New Cars
Lots of people argue that new cars are a good investment because they are likely to be more reliable than older vehicles. However, as some brand new cars often lose up to 40% of their value in their first three years, it isn’t always cost efficient. Instead, the best value vehicles are the ones that are already a few years old. These will have depreciated enough to make them far more affordable, but still be new enough to maximize their reliability. Of course, when looking at used cars it pays to find a provider that offers a Complete 114 point check, and a warranty.
Use Your Negotiating Skills
When buying a secondhand car, there is nearly always some room for negotiation. A reasonable offer may be considered or even accepted but stand your ground. If you can negotiate well you may be able to knock off a nice amount off the asking price. Research, find what others are selling the same car for so you know what amount is reasonable to offer. Most people selling a car will factor in an amount to knock off as a discount if it means they’ll make a sale. In some cases they will have added this to the price in preparation.
Also, don’t forget that you are under no obligation to buy a vehicle if the seller can’t reduce the price. It’s completely fine to just walk away and carry on looking for something that fits your needs and budget. Sometimes sellers will come back to you with a better deal if you do this, and sometimes they won’t.
Steer Clear of Trending Vehicles
While it may be nice to have the most popular type of vehicle parked outside your home, if you want to save money this is not the best car to choose to buy if you don’t want to spend too much. Opt for something that serves your needs but isn’t in such high demand. This way the seller isn’t being inundated with purchase requests and will be more likely to consider negotiating the price.
Shop Around
Most of us will have a good look around when looking to buy a car. You will often find a number of the same type of car being sold at the same time. Compare each. Look at the age, condition, whether it’s manual or automatic, the model can affect the price as can the colour. By choosing a colour that isn’t so popular you might be able to save a few hundred pounds off the asking price. You can always have the car repainted to your preferred colour after.
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Don’t Trade In Your Old Car
If you are getting a new car but haven’t gotten rid of your old car don’t be tempted to trade the old one in. Instead, sell this independently. This way you’ll get the best price for the car you are selling. Otherwise, you’ll end up taking a knock on the price for the convenience of the easy sale.
Boost Your Credit Score
Last of all, make sure your credit score is as high as possible. The reason for this is that your credit score will determine the interest rate that you will be offered. The higher your credit score, the lower risk you will be considered as by your lender, something that translates into a lower interest too. This means that by having a higher credit score you can ensure that you pay back the lowest amount, over time!
Have you ever negotiated a car purchase? What tips would you add to my post How to Save Money When Buying A Car?
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You have great tips here. We did a lot of these when we got our new vehicles. I am stubborn. I won’t stop asking for a better deal and I’ve walked away from dealerships before. Then they call back and are like “wait we’d like to make a deal!”
Oh wow, It’s good to hear you got a good deal Amber.
My best deals came when I could pay cash. Dealers might not like that though, because they make all kinds of money on loan fees.
Some dealers will give discounts where full payment is made in cash. Not many are able to do this though.
I wish I had seen this a few months ago. I could have used the tips!
The good thing is you have an idea of what to do next time.
I really enjoyed your post, and I found your tips really helpful.
Thanks Tasheena, I’m glad you liked the post.
I’ve negotiated a bit before, but I do think going for a new second hand car is a great way to get the best car but save loads as if it’s a year or so old it will have lost plenty of value but still be in great condition x
By the time they’re 3 years old the value can really drop. It tends to be a good time to get a car as you make savings yet still have loads of the benefits of a newer car.
That extra step of selling your car independently is a wise financial move. I skipped this step the first time I purchased a newer car unfortunately.
Honestly, you can get so much more for your car when you do that.
Great tips! I especially love your tip about selling your car independently instead of trading it in as my first thought would be to trade it!
Trading one in means you take a hit on the amount you will get for it. Selling your car yourself means you’ll get the highest possible price.
These are great tips and it’s so important to start saving and building your credit. My daughter just purchased a new car, and she did just as you stated sold her old car instead of trading it in. She got a much better deal doing it that way!
That’s great news. I bet she’s pleased she got the best price for her old car.
Using your negotiating skills can save you a lot of money. Thank you for these tips
It certainly can. If you don’t ask…..
These are some really good and sensible tips for saving while buying a car. Of course negotiation your way to a great deal is on top of the list.
It sure is. You’d be amazed at the savings some can negotiate.
These are some great saving tips. Saving them up to use if I purchase one.
You need to be smart in buying your car, and these are great tips. Thank you for sharing!
There are some really helpful tips here. I think many people overlook the importance of getting a credit score boost.
I think you’re right. It’s good to know what you can do to help you get the best price.
These are really good tips. It can be hard to save when you’re looking for a car. My husband and I usually always try to lower the price when possible.
Most people when selling a car have a degree of flexibility so it helps to ask and try to negotiate as low an amount as you can.
Thank you for sharing this really great and helpful post. I will take note of these tips it will help me save more.
I really enjoy reading this very informative post! Thanks for all of these helpful tips this is perfect because my husband is planning to buy a new car.
That’s great timing. I hope he gets a great deal on it.
We are in the market for a new car.SO many great tips here
These are some wonderful ways to save money, it sure is best to shop around. we have never bought a new car, all our cars have been older
That can really make a big difference to affordability.
We recently got a new car and sold our old van to Carvana. Carvana gave us way above any dealer offered (over 2x) and the offer was too good to refuse.
We generally buy second hand cars – it just makes a lot more sense overall.
It really does, it can save you so much!!!
Negotiation is key! Never settle and keep shopping is definitely something I do!
Shopping around is so important when it comes to buying a car. You never know what type of deal you’ll be able to find.
That’s so true. It pays to try to negotiate a deal and shop around too.
These are all great tips… socially buying brand new. We now will avoid that as I got the need for a new car out of my system after buying two of them. The last car we bought was 2 years old with no miles on it so it is like new but we saved a ton. Also… a good tip…. wait for now as the prices of cars… even used are insane due to the morons running our country.
This was very helpful, shopping around is especially a must in today’s climate. Thank you for sharing!
I doubt I will ever have enough money to own or manage a car its hard enough for me to save even without petrol and keeping a car running. It would be good to be able to take my children places though without relying on buses or trains and my dad when he visits!
Great tips. I also think that it’s super important to finance what you can really afford. Don’t take out a huge loan!
We just bought a new car because our minivan was not doing well. We found that there is basically no negotiation on new cars, and we ended up selling our van on carvana. We got almost 2x as much on Carvana as any dealership would offer for a tradein.