Buying a new car can be really tricky as there’s a lot of things that can boost the price of a car, making it a really sizable investment that’s going to significantly affect your finances and your budget.
There are ways to save some dough when buying a new car either for yourself or your family, which can make it far more affordable while also not forcing you to compromise on your dream vehicle. Here are some easy ways to save money when buying a new car.
Buy used
Buying a used car may not sound like the most glamorous option, but it is one of the most financially sensible ones. Used cars can be significantly cheaper than new models, and depending on where you get them from, the quality isn’t much worse either.
New cars depreciate super quickly, meaning a car that’s just one-year-old and that has been driven for 10,000 miles can be cheaper by more than 25%. This means that by buying used cars that aren’t that old you can make serious savings without compromising on quality or missing out on the new technology that modern cars have. To find out how much your dream used car is worth, check out https://www.autouncle.co.uk/en-gb/used-car-appraisals/new.
Downsize
The best way to make sure you save money on a new car is to buy the car that best suits your lifestyle. This means that you need to consider what is necessary and what’s genuinely practical. Although a huge Land Rover Discovery sounds good, it may not actually suit the life you lead.
Smaller cars tend to come with more modest price points, so if you’re an individual who usually only drives themselves and on occasion an extra person, a two-seater might be a good option to go for. The reason for this doesn’t end at the price. Lighter cars also have better fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions, meaning you can save even more money due to less frequent trips to the petrol station.
Haggle
Haggling isn’t just a skill reserved for market traders, as it can be utilised when buying cars too. In fact, haggling is so widespread in the car industry that dealerships usually expect customers to haggle, so make sure you do and work hard to drive that price down.
To haggle effectively, it’s good to be prepared, so research competitors’ prices and use this to your advantage to hopefully get a cheaper deal. You can also haggle for extra features and bonuses or use the fact that a car may be lacking a feature to get the price down even more. Haggling can be a pretty scary and intimidating thing to do for first-timers, but it’s benefits are huge, so definitely give it a go.
Buy at the right time
Car dealerships usually have targets to reach, and these targets are usually quarterly, meaning that they need to hit a certain amount of sales before the end of March, June, September and December. This means that a lot of dealerships will be more willing to strike a deal to make a sale and get closer to achieving their target.
You also want to shop when there are fewer people at the dealership, meaning that you should avoid the weekend and also payday, as having fewer potential buyers around will make it easier to get deals.
