3 Essential Car Buying Tips to Save You Money

Buying a car should never be simple. It is an expensive depreciating asset that also involves maintenance and other costs. When you are shopping for a car, you better follow some basic car buying tips to avoid ending up with a money pit.

Rule #1: No Test Drive, No Deal

You should always test drive the car you plan on buying. If the dealer will not let you drive the car, something might not be right. Just because the engine starts it does not mean that the car is worth the money. It may have problems with the transmission, steering, breaks, and so on. Also, it should be obvious that the car you will test drive needs to be the one you will buy and not a different car of the same model.

Rule #2: Never Mention Financing!

One of the most important car buying tips is to never mention upfront that you plan on financing a car. If the dealer knows that you are not paying for the car with your cash, he will be less keen on negotiating the price. They reason that it is not your money anyway and a few hundreds of dollars will not make much of a difference in the monthly payments.

Rule #3: Avoid Project Cars

If you found your dream car but maybe it needs a few repairs, you should avoid it. Cars that have problems tend to become money pits. If you value your money, you should get a reliable car that runs and drives properly off the dealers’ lot. Many car buyers have the false impression that they can get a damaged car or a car with multiple problems for cheap and they will fix them themselves. When you do the math, you end up wasting more money. If there is any lesson to be learned is that one of the most important car buying tips is to avoid project cars.