Biggest Mistakes in Buying a Car

We luckily don’t have a car, and I’ve never bought a car from a dealer, but an article on yahoo peaked my interest and got me researching mistakes when buying cars. My twin sis’ family has recently grown out of their car with a full-sized black lab, so it is a topic of interest.

Here is the low-down about car mistakes:

1) Buying more than you need. It’s easy to get lured in to wanting more.
2) Adding on extra features without realizing the real extra costs involved.
3) Buying new versus used. I’ll admit that with some deals out there for warranties on new cars that it can at times be a pretty good deal for new cars, but traditionally used will generally save you quite a bit. If you are buying used though, make sure you have it inspected by a mechanic.
4) Thinking in Monthly Payments. Salesmen try to do this to get you into buying more than you want, but thinking you can still afford it.
5) Zero Down. This might sound good, but it isn’t. My personal goal, in the event that we one day one a car, would be to pay this in cash up front. If you can’t do that, make sure you put down a good down payment.
6) Test Drive Mistakes. Two mistakes are common here. First is not doing a test drive. This is really necessary to know you like the car. Two, various articles also mentioned the common trick of having you test drive a better model and then getting back to the dealership and compromising on a model that is more within you budget. Scaling back is fine, but just make sure you test drive what you are buying!
7) Negotiate Up rather than Down. This may sound counter-intuitive, but it is better to start with the price the dealer paid and then work up rather than start at the sticker price and work down. The Consumer Reports New Car Price Reports does this for you with the CR Bottom Line Price.
8) Shop Around. This is a big purchase. Do not go to one dealership and buy. You aren’t shopping for milk here!
9) Research Financing Options. Before you go out to buy, or even look, do some research on rates and terms. You can get a great price and a terrible loan, and the later outweighs the benefits of the former.
10) Trade In Value. Make sure you’ve also done your homework in terms of what your car is worth. If you haven’t determined the value, you are guaranteed that you won’t get it at the dealership. Plus, if you can manage the hassle, you’ll always be able to sell it for more elsewhere. I sold my last car on Craigslist for a breeze.

Readers: Do you have any other tips for avoiding mistakes when buying cars?

Happy Driving,

Miel