5 Car Buying Tips From Someone Who Just Did It

PHOTO DETAILS: GINGHAM DRESS – $27 | NAIL COLOR 

I did a thing! If you don’t follow me on Instagram then you may not be aware that I just purchased my first car. I now know more about car buying than I ever thought I would or was even interested in learning. I asked on my IG stories if you all wanted me to share my car buying tips as a first-time buyer and was surprised by the positive response.

I’m the type of person who likes to research before making big decisions. I can’t stand going into the process not knowing anything so wanted to help out other soon-to-be car buyers. I purchased my car from CarMax and was able to find a beautiful car that had barely been used. Talk about a win!

Since car buying can be an incredibly stressful experience I hope my 5 car buying tips can make it just a little bit more seamless for you. Keep reading to find out what I’ve taken away from the experience in purchasing my first car.

5 CAR BUYING TIPS TO FIND THE CAR OF YOUR DREAMS

Have Your List of Must-Have’s & Don’t Deviate

The car buying process can be a tedious one – that is no lie. To ensure you don’t get swayed by a pretty car or wanting to act rashly after a frustrating search, create your list of non-negotiables. Whatever those must-haves are (ensure they are reasonable of course), but don’t deviate to keep you from acting on emotions or impulse.

Car buying is an expensive purchase so it’s important that actually get what you’re looking for.

My car must-haves included:

– leather seats

– 1 owner

– very low mileage

– backup camera

– remote entry + lock

– A car in white or silver

Get Your Financing Sorted ASAP

This is probably my biggest car buying tip! The process is much easier if you go in knowing what you can actually afford. It also ensures that you can act quickly when you find the car of your dreams. To find the best rate, I highly recommend getting a quote from at least 3 credit unions. You’d be surprised how the rates change and the discounts offered. USAA offered a percentage off every month if I signed up for automatic payments.

I also highly suggest putting some sort of downpayment down to lower your monthly payments. I’ve heard that a minimum of $1000 is recommended, but you can put more if you’d like.

CarFax Reports are Everything

Just by putting in the car’s VIN number you can not only get accident reports but a detailed report on the number of owners, recalls, where & when service has been completed, where the car originated from, and how it was used (personal, fleet, rental, etc.).

CarMax had a minimized version of the report so I purchased CarFax reports for the final cars I was choosing between. While Carvana offered the full report for free under the details of each car.

It is always best to find cars with one owner that was used for personal use and had work done at the dealership. My father also recommended (because they are great resources for cars) to avoid buying cars from areas where flooding is common or have a large snowfall as this will likely rust the cars early.

Read the Details

Just like with most things in life – especially expensive purchases – it’s essential to read the details! Don’t be afraid to ask questions from the dealership if you don’t fully understand and they should be open to your questions. Since my purchase was mostly online, CarMax offered generous details on the cars.

Make sure you know if there are any recalls, damage listed, number of keys (having a backup key is everything), what features come with the car, and are there features that come with the car but require you to pay to set up.

In terms of the dealership find out what is their return policy and what fees or criteria do you have to meet to make a return. Also if there are any non-refundable fees that you would lose out on if you decide the car isn’t for you or you. It’s important to know if they truly stand behind their products and if a dealership doesn’t then I would think twice about purchasing from them!

Trust Your Gut

I cannot stress this enough! Trust your gut! If a car seems too good to be true then it probably is. I passed up on another car in my car buying process because I felt deep in my gut that something was telling me not to move forward. If you feel like something doesn’t seem right or the price is too good compared to others on the market then don’t be afraid to walk away.

Also never let a dealership force you into making a decision. It’s your money at the end of the day and no one can force you to make a purchase before you are ready.

I hope you found this post helpful if you’re in the market or about to purchase your first car soon. If you’ve already been through the process feel free to share your best car buying tips in the comment section below!