Student Credit Card and Credit Education Blog

To go along with my discussion about auto insurance, I thought I’d offer some tips for buying your new Bentley or Ferrari.

• Do you need a car? - Cars are expensive. Putting aside just buying it, you’ve got insurance, gas, maintenance, and parking. The costs can add up quickly so unless it is truly necessary to have one, you may simply want to tap into local public transportation.
• Check the gas mileage - SUVs are quite popular, but they can eat up quite a bit of gas. If you need something that has a lot of storage, try a station wagon. Subaru makes a number of good ones and they are all All-Wheel Drive, which is much safer in nasty weather.
• Think “used” - As I’m sure you know, cars depreciate as soon as their driven off the lot. This is why a certified used car, demo, or last year’s model can be the way to go. You’ll save thousands, and the car may only have a few thousand miles.
• Reliability is key - Japanese cars are more reliable than European and American cars. This is a fairly broad generalization, but if you take a look at Consumer Reports, you’ll find that this is usually the case. Therefore, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan products should all be at the top of your list of cars to look at. Other less popular (but still reliable) manufacturers include Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Subaru. Check out Edmunds.com, Cars.com, or Carsdirect.com to research further.
• Lease or buy? - A frequent question. If your plan is to move to an urban environment in a few years, but a car is necessary now, then leasing may make sense. Also, if you only like to keep cars for short periods of time, a lease will alleviate the potential hassle of selling your car when you want to give it up.
• Careful with financing - Unless they have a special rate, avoid using the dealership for financing. You can almost always get a better rate through a local bank, credit union or AAA. Have the financing in hand before you start the negotiations.

Heed these words of car buying wisdom and make a well-researched, intelligent car buying decision!