How to Buy a Car

[Different...Very.]

Hey everyone, especially any of you advanced adults out there,

Gaining experience to level up as an adult again... My car is getting old, so I'm going to sell it while it still works. My mom has always helped me get a car, from buying me a cheap new one at 16 to paying half for used ones or scouring her network for cheap cars for sale by friends and family.

This time, my mom told me to go to the bank for an auto loan and find another car. What is your strategy for going into debt for another car? Do you look for a used one that you hopefully won't have to spend too long paying for, or do you get a new car that you hope you'll still enjoy once you've finished paying it off? Any other tips, thoughts to consider?  

[Communist Nazi]

So, I'll share my experience with my first car (because I didn't have one until I was 23 or so).

I think its good to consider how reliable you want the car to be a few years down the line or how long you plan on keeping it, etc. As well as how many miles/use you plan on putting on it on average.

My first car, which I still have right now, was bought for around 12K, and only had 19K miles on it, and only 3 years old. It was a lease, and my dad helped to pay for an extended warranty for 3 additional years. This was because I was moving out of state for my first job out of college, and I was going to be putting a lot of miles on it. (I lived about an hour away from my job, 50 miles each direction, so during the week an easy 100 miles/day on it. I wanted something that was a little cheaper, so used car, but still had somewhat low miles given that I was going to put it through hell driving it so much.

It kept the car payment around 280/month, and I was able to pay a little more. It was also a BASE model car. So given that it's a 2013, it doesnt have fancy radio or screens, it has manual headlights, etc. At the time, I didn't see a need or want for these things, as I wanted a strong reliable car for work.

Fast forward to now, I'm now slowly deciding to look for a new car/suv. I live in a colder climate now and we get a ton of snow. While its not horrible and I've lived in snowy states my whole life.... I'm trying to decide on getting and SUV rather than another car similar to what I currently have. I want 4WD to be a stand option in my next vehicle. I would also like to buy a new car.... one because I have never owned a brand new, never driven by anyone else car.. and two, I'm the type of person who plans to the vehicle for WAY LONGER than just the time that I have to pay it off. I take really good care of my cars so they last a long time.. and plan to continue that.

I plan to trade my car in for the next vehicle I get. I have also saved money up since paying off my car so that I have something to put down on a next one, to hep limit the payment amount.

TLDR: Decide what YOU want in a car, look at how much usage you do to your current and future car, look for something reasonable, but makes you happy! smile  

[Different...Very.]

Communist Nazi

So, I'll share my experience with my first car (because I didn't have one until I was 23 or so).

I think its good to consider how reliable you want the car to be a few years down the line or how long you plan on keeping it, etc. As well as how many miles/use you plan on putting on it on average.

My first car, which I still have right now, was bought for around 12K, and only had 19K miles on it, and only 3 years old. It was a lease, and my dad helped to pay for an extended warranty for 3 additional years. This was because I was moving out of state for my first job out of college, and I was going to be putting a lot of miles on it. (I lived about an hour away from my job, 50 miles each direction, so during the week an easy 100 miles/day on it. I wanted something that was a little cheaper, so used car, but still had somewhat low miles given that I was going to put it through hell driving it so much.

It kept the car payment around 280/month, and I was able to pay a little more. It was also a BASE model car. So given that it's a 2013, it doesnt have fancy radio or screens, it has manual headlights, etc. At the time, I didn't see a need or want for these things, as I wanted a strong reliable car for work.

Fast forward to now, I'm now slowly deciding to look for a new car/suv. I live in a colder climate now and we get a ton of snow. While its not horrible and I've lived in snowy states my whole life.... I'm trying to decide on getting and SUV rather than another car similar to what I currently have. I want 4WD to be a stand option in my next vehicle. I would also like to buy a new car.... one because I have never owned a brand new, never driven by anyone else car.. and two, I'm the type of person who plans to the vehicle for WAY LONGER than just the time that I have to pay it off. I take really good care of my cars so they last a long time.. and plan to continue that.

I plan to trade my car in for the next vehicle I get. I have also saved money up since paying off my car so that I have something to put down on a next one, to hep limit the payment amount.

TLDR: Decide what YOU want in a car, look at how much usage you do to your current and future car, look for something reasonable, but makes you happy! smile

Thanks. It wasn't too long, I appreciate it.  

[Different...Very.]

DoctorLeaf

Not sure where you live, but in the US car loan interest rates have been crazy high and getting higher every week, so it's not the most optimal to get a big loan right now :')
On a positive note, I heard second hand car prices have gone down lately compared to a few months before. You can check car max or stores like that and negotiate. Remember, the key to negotiation is the ability to walk away.

Thanks for the input. My uncle found a 2021 pre-own for $30,000 before the fees, and we walked away for $29,000 after the fees.  

[Communist Nazi]

Different...Very.

DoctorLeaf

Not sure where you live, but in the US car loan interest rates have been crazy high and getting higher every week, so it's not the most optimal to get a big loan right now :')
On a positive note, I heard second hand car prices have gone down lately compared to a few months before. You can check car max or stores like that and negotiate. Remember, the key to negotiation is the ability to walk away.

Thanks for the input. My uncle found a 2021 pre-own for $30,000 before the fees, and we walked away for $29,000 after the fees.

Awesome to hear you got something and negotiated it lower! That's always a winning!