How to Choose the Right Car for You

I know when I was looking to buy a new car; I didn’t even know where to start. I liked so many different makes and models of cars that it was difficult to find a starting point. First I only looked at cars that I could afford, if it was out of my price range then there’s no sense in wasting time checking it out. Then I looked at all the makes & models of cars I liked and started to narrow it down. Then I went to the actually website’s of the models I liked and did more research. I also checked out dealership websites to see what was out there and if there were any deals. It was a long process but I narrowed it down to 4 cars (some might think that’s still a lot, but I started out with over 10 cars in mind). I went to the dealerships in person and compared prices, styles, features etc. I was in a rush to find a car, so if they didn’t have what I was looking for, then we were gone. I am not really that picky when it comes to cars. All I needed was a CD player, auxiliary power outlet, power windows, and DARK interior. Finally I narrowed it down to a Mazda 3. It had everything I wanted (that I listed above), and now that’s what I have. It took about a month to finally narrow it down to a Mazda 3, but if you really want to find the perfect car for you, it does take time. You can’t get discouraged; you just have to keep looking. Enough about what I think here are some facts.

Think about what you use your car for. Here are some questions to keep in mind. How many people do you need to transport? What type of driving do you do most often? How long is your commute? Is it important that your next vehicle get good gas mileage Let your needs, not your wants, drive your decision? Here are a few other questions to keep in mind when you begin your car-buying process:

Do you want a manual or automatic transmission?
Do you really need four-wheel drive? Or all-wheel drive?
What safety features do you want?
Do you require a lot of cargo capacity?
Will you be doing any towing?
Do you have a bad back and need flexible seating positions?
Will the car easily fit in your garage or parking space?

Regardless of whether you decide to buy or lease your next car, establishing a realistic monthly payment that fits into your budget is crucial. How much should this be? A rule of thumb is your total monthly car payments shouldn't exceed 20 percent of your monthly take-home pay.

Want to know if you can get pre-approved? On Basil Resale you can get pre-approved in seconds! Or you can check the Edmunds.com Affordability Calculator to help you estimate what your monthly payment will be based on purchase price, down payment, interest rate and length of loan. Run the numbers now and print out the results. It will not only show you what you can afford, it will also help you control the numbers when you negotiate with a car salesman.

If you’re stuck on what make and model of vehicle you should get don’t worry! On Basil’s website you can look at many different cars by a certain make, or you can look at different cars in the same class. This can help you to compare different cars and find the best car for you. You can find all that on most dealership websites. Or you can research cars on the makes website such as www.mazda.com where you can look at many different types of Mazda’s out there. You can check out Kelley Blue Book to see reviews, prices, seating capacity, gas mileage etc. Other websites that are good to check out are www.emunds.com and www.cars.com. The list goes on from here. You can probably use any major search engine and find out about any type of car you’re interested in.

Make sure when you’re looking for your perfect car that you know what you want. For example if you want a car that has high safety rankings or good on gas etc. Remember there is a car out there for everyone! If you really want to find a car with all the features you want I’m sure it’s out there! Sometimes you might have to compromise but you’ll still get the most of what you want.

Courtney Walczak